Nebraska Football: Mark Pelini passes away, ex-teammates pay respects
Former Nebraska football player Mark Pelini has tragically passed away. The former center, who arrived in Lincoln as a walk-on and eventually worked his way up to starting spot, was reportedly a victim of a traffic accident on an Indiana toll road on Sunday evening.
The former Nebraska football star was traveling in a car with a passenger, and both were killed in a collision with another vehicle, according to a local ABC News affiliate. The passenger in the other car was also pronounced dead at the scene and the driver and two passengers in that car were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
As the news spread on social media on Monday morning, several ex-Huskers voiced their shock and sadness at the news.
Among them was former quarterback Tommy Armstrong who called Mark his “very first center” at Nebraska as he expressed his grief in a post on Twitter.
Woke up this morning wishing I didn’t hear what I heard.. Rest Easy to my very first center in college!! Love you big guy!!
— Tommy Armstrong Jr. (@Tommy_Gun4) October 3, 2022
Former defensive back Josh Mitchell shared a story that he called his “favorite memory” of Mark Pelini that involved a trip down to Las Vegas after the two had played in the Holiday Bowl.
https://twitter.com/J_Mitch05/status/1576965934056542208
Former Nebraska football receiver Brandon Reilly posted in that thread that Mark Pelini passing away was indeed terrible news.
Man…terrible news on this Monday
— B. Reilly (@brandonreilly87) October 3, 2022
Other former Nebraska football players, as well as current Husker fans have been posting their own tributes and words of sadness as the news began to trickle out on social media.
Mark Pelini started 11 games in 2014, but he earned several honors for the Huskers before that. He was an academic All-American in 2012, 2013, and 2014 and was on both the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team and Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in that final season as a Husker. Unfortunately, his season was cut a bit short as he suffered a knee injury early on during the Cornhuskers’ senior day game.
On what has indeed become a very sad Monday afternoon, I want to join the entirety of Nebraska football nation in wishing condolences to Mark’s father, Vince, Bo, and the entirety of the Pelini clan during this horrible time.