Brook Warren Berringer (July 9, 1973 – April 18, 1996) was a quarterback for the University of Nebraska football team in the mid-1990s. Berringer came to Nebraska from Goodland, Kansas, and played a back-up role to Tommie Frazier. He is best known for replacing an injured Tommie Frazier during the 1994 season and leading the Cornhuskers to seven consecutive wins and to the Orange Bowl national championship game against the University of Miami Hurricanes.

[edit] Early Life

Berringer was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. At the age of 7, Berringer lost his father to cancer; soon afterward, he moved with his mother and two sisters to Goodland, Kansas. Throughout his childhood, he played several different sports.^[1]

[edit] College Career

[edit] Freshman and Sophomore Seasons

Due to his impressive statistics and accolades throughout his high school career, Berringer was recruited by many Big 8 schools. He chose to attend the University of Nebraska and arrived on campus in the fall of 1991. Berringer played a backup role during his freshman season which saw Nebraska finish 9-2-1. Berringer played a similar role during his sophomore season, playing backup to starting quarterback Tommie Frazier. Nebraska would reach the Orange Bowl, playing Florida State for the National Championship. The Huskers would lose to the Seminoles by a score of 18-16, finishing the season ranked #3 in the nation.^[1]

[edit] Junior Season

In 1994, Berringer's junior season, he started seven games as a junior after Tommie Frazier, the heralded first-string quarterback, developed blood clots in his right leg. Wearing special protection for his chest, operating an offense slightly readjusted to make use of his passing skills, Berringer completed 94 of 151 passes, 62 percent, for 1,295 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.^[1] Prior to his junior season, Berringer had completed a total of 17 passes at Nebraska. But as teammates adjusted to the impact of Frazier's absence and the frightening possibilities the blood clots created, Berringer's leadership helped return the Huskers to order. The Cornhuskers completed the regular season undefeated and won the Big 8 Conference Championship. Once again, the Huskers were pitted against a Florida team in the National Championship. This time, the Huskers faced the Miami Hurricanes in Miami, Florida. Frazier won back the starting spot in the Orange Bowl after a Christmas Eve scrimmage. But Berringer came off the bench in the second quarter, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass at the end of a 40-yard scoring drive after Nebraska had fallen 10 points behind the University of Miami. The Cornhuskers won, 24-17.

[edit] Senior Season

In his senior season, Berringer returned to his backup role, completing 26 of 51 passes for 252 yards in the 9 games he played. In another perfect Nebraska season, Berringer became an afterthought. For the third straight season, the Huskers played a Florida team for the National Championship, this time against the Florida Gators. Berringer scored a 1-yard touchdown for the final Nebraska points in a 62-24 Fiesta Bowl victory over Florida.

[edit] Plane Crash

Berringer was expected to be selected in the 1996 NFL Draft, but he died in a plane crash just two days before the draft. Berringer, an amateur pilot, was in control of a 1946 Piper Cub over Raymond, Nebraska, when the aircraft went down in an alfalfa field. Friend Tobey Lake, the brother of Berringer's girlfriend Tiffini, was also killed in the crash. Berringer was survived by his mother Jan, his grandparents Lois and Bill Berringer, and his sisters Nicoel and Drue.^{[2] [3][4]}

A memorial service for Brook was held on April 20 at Memorial Stadium, before the start of the annual Red-White spring football game. A somber crowd of 48,659 attended. ^[5]

[edit] Epilogue

Country group Sawyer Brown recorded "The Nebraska Song" in tribute to Berringer. (The song was actually written before his death; he never got the chance to hear it.) It appears as Track 18 (the same number as Berringer's jersey) on the group's 1997 album "Six Days on the Road,"^[6] and its first live performance was in the Devaney Center on the University of Nebraska campus during the 1997 Nebraska State Fair^{[7] [8]}

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Brook Berringer, 22, Substitute Who Helped Nebraska to a Title" (English). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE0D81E39F933A15757C0A960958260. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
2. ^ "Brook Berringer, 22, Substitute Who Helped Nebraska to a Title GO BIG RED" (English). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE0D81E39F933A15757C0A960958260. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
3. ^ Brian Christopherson (September 27, 2007). "High school coach remembers Berringer for more than football" (English). http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/10/15/huskerextra/locker/doc44370510a2400158671896.txt. 
4. ^ Lee Warren (December 29, 2006). "A heart for discipleship". http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=5517. 
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ "Sawyer Brown discography" (English). http://sawyerbrown.com/index.htm?id=249&inc=7&album_id=425. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
7. ^ ""Sawyer Brown's 'Nebraska Song' helps add to success of State Fair"" (English). http://www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4593735-1.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
8. ^ "YouTube video: Sawyer Brown performs "The Nebraska Song" live at the Nebraska State Fair, 1997" (English). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XORGoTmLJ8. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 

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