Jan. 2, 2002
By DOUG ALDEN
AP Sports Writer
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – The “little brother” label on four Nebraska starterscan probably be dropped now.
Tight end Tracey Wistrom, defensive end Chris Kelsay, defensive back DionBooker and linebacker Mark Vedral have gone from watching their olderbrothers win national titles with the Cornhuskers to taking Nebraska to itslatest championship bid.
“The genes must be pretty good,” Kelsay said.
Apparently so. They are a big reason Nebraska (11-1) is playing Miami (11-0)in the Rose Bowl on Thursday for the Bowl Championship Series nationaltitle.
“All of them have been able to work themselves into starting positions andthat’s not always the case,” coach Frank Solich said. “Just because theolder brother was a great football player doesn’t mean that the youngerbrother is going to be.”
In these four cases, the pedigree theory seems to be holding true.
Vedral and Booker are tied for second on the team in tackles with 62 each.Kelsay, the only junior among the bunch, is sixth with 52 and second insacks with five.
Wistrom is second on the team with 21 catches despite being hobbled in thefinal five games by a knee injury.
Solich said the success of Nebraska’s band of younger brothers isn’taltogether surprising, considering what their older siblings accomplished asNebraska won national titles in 1994, ’95 and ’97.
Grant Wistrom was a two-time All-America defensive end who won the LombardiAward in 1997 as the nation’s top lineman. He now plays for the St. LouisRams.
Michael Booker was a cornerback who was the defensive MVP in Nebraska’s62-24 rout of Florida in the Fiesta Bowl to clinch the Huskers’ ’95 title.He plays for the Tennessee Titans.
Chad Kelsay was a defensive end for the Huskers from 1995-98. Mike Vedralwas a tight end at Nebraska from in the early 1990s and Jon Vedral playedwingback from 1994-96.
Nebraska has had successful brother combinations in the past. Fullbacks Jeffand Joel Makovicka and defensive linemen Christian and Jason Peter were partof the ’90s title run. Running backs Curtis and Roger Craig played for theHuskers in the ’70s.
Wistrom said the first person to remind him he wasn’t going get any favorsas a Husker legacy was Grant. As a freshman on the scout team, Tracey saidhe often lined up across from his brother and just about as often waspicking himself up in the backfield after getting run over.
“I took my beatings every day. Trust me, he didn’t take it easy on me,”Wistrom said.
“It was difficult at times. Everybody was trying to compare me to Grant thewhole time,” he said. “I think slowly but surely I’ve stepped out of thatshadow a little bit and kind of made a name for myself.”
Playing a different position and being a two-time All-Big 12 selectionhelped the comparisons go away. Wistrom has been a starter for three yearsand Booker has started most of the last two.
“Now that I’ve settled into my own I don’t feel like I need to go out thereand do the same things my brother did,” Booker said. “I think every brotheron the team has that same mentality – just do the best you can. You can’tlive up to someone else.”
Wistrom, Booker and Vedral were redshirted in 1997 when the Huskers sharedthe national title with Michigan. All three were in the stands as Nebraskamade a last-minute campaign by beating Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowland overtaking the Wolverines in the final USAToday/ESPN coaches’ poll.
They each have title rings from that season, but don’t feel comfortableclaiming that crown as their own.
“When you’re a redshirt you don’t get that whole sense of being part of theteam – being on the field and getting to experience an actual kickoff,”Vedral said. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.”
And if they do walk away with a ring after the Rose Bowl, Tracey Wistromsaid he won’t hesitate to flaunt it in front of Grant, even though the elderWistrom has three college title rings and a Super Bowl championship.
“He’s a little bit jealous,” Tracey said. “He never got to play in the RoseBowl. Everybody calls this the granddaddy of all the bowl games.”