Tom Osborne helps former Nebraska football coach, star player
Former Nebraska football head coach Tom Osborne isn’t just lending his sage advice to Huskers’ coach Scott Frost, he’s taking it on the road.
There are many people around the country who consider former Nebraska football head coach Tom Osborne a mentor. Because of that, the Hall of Famer has to take his act on the road from time to time.
Earlier this week, Osborne took his act on the road to Liberty University. That’s where one of his proteges is now the head coach.
Turner Gill’s Flames are making the leap from FCS to the FBS Independents. Apparently the veteran head coach believes the jump up in levels was causing some nervousness amongst his team.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The News & Advance reports Osborne traveled to Liberty in order to try and help the players “maximize their performance.”
“I was just hoping that I could impart some thoughts that would help them become more cohesive and better able to maximize their performance,” Osborne said. “There are so many forces today pushing and pulling kids sometimes apart. Some guys are thinking NFL, some guys are thinking about a girlfriend, some guys are thinking about a demotion on the football team or a class or what they’re going to major in.”
Osborne added that it can be hard for players to focus given all the outside distractions including social media. Gill said Osborne was able to impart a message about how they need to shut out all the outside influences and just focus on winning during the football season.
Gill knows first hand how Osborne can get players to play their best. He was the quarterback for the Huskers when Nebraska came one point short of winning Osborne’s first National Title in 1983.
When Gill’s playing days were over, he became a part of Osborne’s staff. He eventually rose to the level of quarterbacks coach for Osborne and his successor, Frank Solich.
When Solich was fired, Gill struck out on his own, first getting the head coaching job for Buffalo before moving to Kansas. That Kansas job was a disaster from the get-go.
Next. Predicting the 2018 football season game-by-game. dark
After being fired by the Jayhawks, he moved to Liberty where he’s had a great deal of success. Now he’s back at the FBS level and looking for all the help he can get in this first season back.