clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Matt Davison, University of Nebraska

Matt Davison arrived in Lincoln as a lightly recruited small-town Nebraska kid; his only other scholarship offers were from Colorado State, Kansas State, and Wyoming. I'm not sure anybody expected him to play right away, but in his first game as a true freshman, he caught three passes for 64 yards against Akron. Two months after that, Davison went from being a starry eyed freshman to a legendary hero. Top-ranked Nebraska had struggled all day against an upstart Missouri team. With just over a minute left, Nebraska got the ball back, trailing 38-31 with no timeouts. Quarterback Scott Frost calmly led the team downfield, and in the closing seconds, Frost threw to Shevin Wiggins at the goalline, who was hit immediately. The ball bounced free, and teammate Lance Brown dove for the loose football trying to salvage the catch. But Wiggins instead kicked the ball up in the air, and Davison dove for the ball, snatching it just before it fell to the turf incomplete. Touchdown, Nebraska...and the Huskers win the game in overtime. Davison's catch saves Nebraska's undefeated season which culminates in Nebraska third national championship in four years.


The "Miracle at Missouri" or "FleaKicker" went on to earn an ESPY award for play of the year. But that wasn't the end of Davison's contributions at Nebraska. He went on to be three-time honorable mention all-Big XII receiver, and even played basketball in the second half of the 1999 season to shore up a short-handed roster. That shows character and devotion to his school and his state.

After his career, Davison didn't fade off. He joined the broadcast crew as a color analyst on both football and basketball coverage, gaining notoriety in 2007 for not sugar-coating Nebraska's struggles that season. More importantly, Davison created "Creating Captains", a foundation to teach youngsters in Nebraska about "Character, Courage, Leadership, and Respect" using sports as a foundation. He does about a dozen camps each summer, then speaks at schools throughout the school year. The revenue generated by the camps goes into both the camps but also into a companion program with the Food Bank to help ensure that kids don't go hungry.

Matt Davison - a former Husker hero doing even more heroic things off the field now that his athletic career is over.

To see the rest of the Buick Human Highlight Reel, and even share a story of your own, go to ncaa.com/buick. This post is sponsored by Buick.