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Former Huskerfootball player McCrady dies of cancer at age 45

Former Nebraska football player Tim McCrady, 45, passed away at his Omaha home Tuesday night after a two-year bout with cancer.

McCrady was a three-year letterman for the Huskers, walking on from Plainview to play wingback from 1978-80.

One of his best performances came in his final game, against Mississippi State, when he caught two passes for 107 yards and a touchdown to help NUto a 31-17 win in the 1980 Sun Bowl.

Listed at only 5-feet-9, 175 pounds in the 1980 Nebraska football media guide, McCrady elevated himself to starting status his senior year through a strong work ethic.

"I'll remember his determination," said his longtime friend Dave Bivens, 46, of Norfolk. "Coming from a small town and walking on, not many people ever imagined he could earn a starting job at Nebraska. He was a gamer -- very tenacious and competitive."

Said Nebraska coach Frank Solich: "He was certainly not a guy who was very imposing, but he made the most out of what he had. He's like a lot of players who have come through this program who maybe don't fit the prototype football player in height and weight, but work hard until they max out their abilities."

Despite being gravely ill, Bivens said McCrady was eager to attend the Husker Nation Celebration, an event that will bring together former Nebraska football players prior to the Aug. 30 home opener against Oklahoma State.

Solich had heard about McCrady's illness and sent out a special phone invitation for him to attend the event about three weeks ago.

"Iknew he wasn't in very good shape and Ijust wanted him to know that we were looking forward to seeing him down here and wanted to tell him to keep fighting," said Solich, who coached the Husker freshman team during McCrady's playing days. "He was a very easy guy to get to know, very friendly and very outgoing."

McCrady is survived by his wife, Michele, daughter Alyssa, 13, and 10-year-old son, Rand.

-- Brian Christopherson


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Press Box Perspective
Pressbox Perspective

Criticize Frank Solich if you must, but give the man credit for tapping all the outside expertise available in his efforts to right the Big Red ship.

His latest quest for knowledge took him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camp.

That's right. Frankie meets Chucky.

Solich recently spent some time with Jon Gruden and the Buccaneers, a visit arranged by former Husker player and assistant Monte Kiffin, now the Bucs' defensive coordinator.

"It was a great experience," Solich said. "I was truly amazed at how open Jon Gruden was and how hospitable he was.

"Normally, most pro coaches don't allow you into the meetings."

Solich said he picked up all kinds of valuable information from the Super Bowl champs, including a better way to work on special teams during practice.

Previously, NU did its special teams work at the end of the practice. But now, following the Bucs' lead, the Huskers are doing those drills in the middle of practice.

The Tampa Bay way is to do several minutes of kicks and coverages before letting the players take a short break. After that rest time, it's back to work on the kicking and return game again.

"It's like coming out for the second-half kickoff," Solich said. "You're sitting in the locker room or you're taking a break, and then, all of a sudden, you have to be ready to go."

Solich also picked up some tips on the Bucs' goal-line offense and the Tampa Bay passing game.

"They go into a game with about 125 different (pass) patterns," Solich said. "And when (Gruden) is in meetings and when he's on the field, he's coming up with (more)."

Of course, the revamped Husker offense will be limited to about 100 pass plays, right, Coach?

"Well," he said, laughing, "if you run too many, it will look like you have 100 patterns because you'll never see the same thing twice. So you don't want to get to that point."