Nebraska's game against Maryland might be seen as somewhat of an afterthought to Husker fans. Coming off of a brutal two-game road trip against two of the top teams in the conference and an emotional win under the lights at Memorial Stadium, an 11 a.m. game against the 5-5 Terrapins would be easy to overlook.
However, one of Nebraska's deepest senior classes is preparing for its final game in front of the Sea of Red. The Nebraska faithful will say goodbye to the largest graduating class in over a decade with 30 seniors.
"I don't think that it's really hit me that it's going to be the last time," senior defensive end Ross Dzuris said. "It probably won't hit me until really after the game. It will be kind of surreal, but I've enjoyed every minute of it and it will be fun to go out there one more time."
For senior wide receiver Brandon, this game is a realization of how much improvement this senior class has made since their first days at Nebraska. Almost half of the current scholarship seniors started as walk-ons, including Reilly.
“I knew I could probably play a little, I just didn’t know how much," Reilly said. "I came in and I was pretty scrawny and weak. I came in and saw all these other older guys and was like ‘Wow, I got a lot of work to do.’ I kind of just put my head down and put the work in and I am happy the way it went.”
Reilly said a conversation with former Nebraska wide receiver Kenny Bell helped him realize he had the potential to contribute to the team in a big way.
"Kenny Bell kind of got to me early and was like ‘Dude, don’t let this walk-on thing fool you. You can play here for sure.’ Just hearing that from a guy like him, coming in obviously looked up to a guy like Kenny, and to hear that from him, I took it and ran with it," Reilly said.
Some seniors will have specific memories to look back on as their favorite with their time at Nebraska. For Reilly, that was the day he earned his scholarship. For Dzuris, it's the little things he will remember.
"I don't know if there's a single moment I can draw on," Dzuris said. "There's just been a lot of times getting to be with the guys a lot and getting through some really hard times, some of of the worst practices or the worst training and just getting to go through that with my brothers and getting better have been some of the best times ever."
While Nebraska's graduating class is celebrating its final game at Memorial Stadium, it will not be without heavy hearts. Nebraska punter Sam Foltz, who passed away following a tragic car accident just before the season, would have been one of the 30 graduating seniors.
"It’s going to be a tough moment for us," senior tight end Trey Foster said. "We’ve been saying it all year long. He made the most out of what he had. He was a great dude that showed us how to work hard. Showed us how to do things the right way, so it’s going to be tough for us to go through that.”
Senior center Dylan Utter said after all this class has been through, they want to be known as the class that puts Nebraska football back on track.
"We kind of want to be known as the guys who turned the program around from last year," Utter said. "We all talked over the summers and over the winter on how it would be up to us to pull the team together. And with Foltzie passing, we just wanted to jump start the legacy of Coach Riley here and everything that happens.”
Nebraska will take on Maryland at 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
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Twitter: @TylerMartinOSI
Email: Tyler.Martin@KMTV.com
