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Yankee Stadium in New York might seem like a dangerous place for a major league baseball rookie, but not for Darin Erstad.
Before Erstad ever set foot in the Bronx, he had played for a college football national championship in the Orange Bowl. Against the University of Miami. Before a crowd of 81,753.
"I got hazed and taunted and yelled at more in the Orange Bowl than I did in Yankee Stadium," Erstad said.
In Erstad's one and only season of college football in 1994, Nebraska went 13-0 and won the first of back-to-back national championships. It was a brief diversion from a blossoming baseball career that would quickly take Erstad to the majors with the Anaheim Angels.
"That was the single best time of my life so far," Erstad said. "You can have all the individual accomplishments you want, but until you win a team championship, you don't realize how great it is. Being a punter, I had the best of both worlds: I could be a fan most of the game, but I still got to go in and play."
For his contributions to the 1994 NU team, Erstad ranks No. 46 on the list of Top 50 Huskers of the century in voting by World-Herald readers.
Erstad, from Jamestown, N.D., averaged 42.6 yards on 50 punts during the regular season. In the 24-17 win over Miami in the Orange Bowl, the junior had seven punts for a 41.1 average.
Erstad came to NU specifically for baseball, but a highlight tape he and his father prepared for then-Coach John Sanders inadvertently had some football on the end, which Sanders passed along to the football staff. NU coaches learned more when they heard about Erstad booming kicks around Cook Pavilion when the baseball team would fool around after Friday workouts in the offseason.
Erstad spent a few days with the Huskers during spring practice in 1994 as he worked around baseball. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder was a little rusty when fall camp rolled around, but got off to a good start by averaging better than 40 yards on punts in NU's first five games.
"I'd still say I was inconsistent," Erstad said, "but I couldn't expect to be totally consistent."
Football was shelved by the following spring. Erstad was the 1995 Big Eight baseball player of the year and started his pro career after being the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Darrin Erstad
 Hometown: Jamestown, N.D.
At NU: Punter-kicker, 1994
Career Highlights: Husker baseball star joined football team for one season...Punting in Orange Bowl against Miami was a key in the win that gave NU the national championship...Averaged 42.6 yards per punt during regular season...No. 1 pick of 1995 major league baseball draft..
Update: Still playing for the Anaheim Angels.
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