Nebraska Football: Throwback Thursday- The Hail Westy

Let’s take a trip back in Nebraska football history: November 2, 2013 – The right man in the right place at the right time.

This accurately describes Jordan Westerkamp’s entire career as a part of the Nebraska football team but never more so than on that November day against the Northwestern Wildcats.

At the time, Westerkamp was a redshirt freshman wide receiver who entered the game with 10 catches on the season and he began to etch his name into the Husker football landscape during that game, finishing with four catches for 104 yards.

The Lombard, Ill. native finished his freshman season with one touchdown catch, but oh what a catch it was.

In the midst of a 9-4 season that would culminate with a Gator Bowl win over Georgia, the Huskers took the field against Northwestern sporting a 5-2 record.

Freshman quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr scored an early touchdown to give the Huskers an early lead but Northwestern battled back with three unanswered touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter.

An Armstrong touchdown pass to Quincy Enunwa closed the gap and a pick-six by Avery Moss from 25 yards out tied the game at 21 midway through the third period.

A Jeff Budzien 21-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the fourth quarter gave Northwestern a 24-21 lead and set the stage for a big-time Husker rally.

Ron Kellogg III, who had split time with Armstrong at quarterback during the game, was inserted for the final drive and came up with a game-saving 16-yard completion to Ameer Abdullah with the Huskers staring at a fourth-and-15 at their own 24.

Nebraska moved the ball to the Northwestern 49.

Following an incompletion and a Wildcat timeout, Kellogg and the Husker offense prepared for its last-ditch effort with just four seconds left on the clock.

Kellogg took the shotgun snap and bought himself an extra second or two by rolling right as right tackle Andrew Rodriguez held his block with the help of Abdullah before launching his pass from the Nebraska 43-yard line.

Enunwa and Tyson Broekemeier battled six Wildcats at the goal line as the ball came down with Westerkamp positioned behind the group, hoping for a tipped ball that turned into reality.

Westerkamp secured the pass amid the pack of players and the celebration was on as Kellogg ripped off his helmet and sprinted in the opposite direction of the play in one of the wildest displays of unscripted euphoria ever seen in Lincoln.

Nebraska 27, Northwestern 24. Final.

Here is the clip from the BTN network of the play:

Of course, for every thrill of victory, there is usually agony of defeat on the other side.

Here is a clip of the radio calls (with video) from each team, Northwestern first.

Westerkamp went on to finish his Husker career with 167 catches and 18 touchdowns while also returning kicks.

As he prepares for a possible NFL career, Westerkamp is the prime example as to why pro scouts should focus more on actual game tape when assessing the total body of work of a football player and worry less about 40-yard dash times and other athletic intangibles that don’t necessarily translate to football.

Next: 10 Best Nebraska Wide Receivers of All-Time

World class speed is great, but without the hands to go with it, the speed means nothing.

Westerkamp is a football player in the truest sense of the term and some lucky NFL team is about to find that out, just like the Husker Nation did on that November day in 2013 and each and every Saturday during his Nebraska career.