Rickey Thenarse was cited for DUI this weekend after the Lincoln police found his car in the middle of O Street. Clearly Thenarse had never reviewed Monty Python's course on "How Not To Be Seen", although it would been difficult driving a maroon 1988 Oldsmobile 88. Thenarse had just graduated, but will be suspended for his final game.
Joking aside, it's pretty sad news, and not just that Thenarse made a poor choice - it's because he's been through quite a lot and it would have been great to give him a proper senior Husker send off against the Huskies in the Holiday Bowl.
Thenarse has been through a lot. He's been a Husker since 2006, earning MVP honors as a special teams player and playing in all 14 games as a true freshman. He earned the same award his sophomore season, and began play in the secondary. As a junior, he earned his first career start as a safety, and although he missed two games because of a shoulder injury, he finished with 24 tackles, including five tackles for loss and two sacks.Thenarse missed most of the 2009 season due to a torn ACL, but received a medical redshirt to come back this season.
Throughout his career, Thenarse has been a fan favorite, largely because of his big hits on special teams. This year he had an interception return for a touchdown against Idaho, and had racked up 34 tackles this season with a high of ten against South Dakota State.
Football wasn't the hardest part of Thenarse's life. He grew up in a particularly violent environment, and was the subject of a 2008 ESPN College Gameday segment in which he talked about his life and his two brothers who were killed in gang violence.
With whatever you choose to do, Rickey Thenarse, we at CN wish you the best. It would have been nice to cheer you on one more time, but that's not in the cards. Perhaps one more thing to overcome.