"Diary of a Husker" written by David Kolowski, is an account of the five years (1998-2002) he spent as a walk-on offensive lineman for the University of Nebraska football team. His book, based on the daily journal he kept during his Husker football career, is a behind the scenes look into the world of Cornhusker football. I'm guessing that most Husker fans have never heard of David Kolowski. That's understandable, because he was a walk-on player from Millard West High School in Omaha and who, during his Husker career, played perhaps the most obscure position in all of football, that of deep snapper. Deep snappers are more inappreciable than the Maytag Repairman. To make matters worse, David languished for much of his career as the third string deep snapper and as a scout team O-lineman. (In a moment of self-deprecation, David quipped that his career at Nebraska could be summed up as "Relentless Mediocrity.") David came to Nebraska in the fall of '98 as a wide-eyed, eager and perhaps, naive Husker wannabe who had visions of greatness, but ended up spending most of his career stuck on the scout team. But during his final year in 2002, he earned a letter as the starting Husker deep snapper. He also was a First Team All-Academic Big 12 player; was on the Husker Unity Council and was a member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team for his volunteer work. Sounds like a nice story with a happy ending, right? Not quite. After enduring four years on the scout team, David found himself at the start of 2002 burned out and depressed, counting the days until his Husker career would finally come to an end. He writes: "A lot of people don't understand my frustration with football. To the rest of the state, what I'm doing everyday is a dream come true. But this dream gets really old really fast when it becomes all that you do, leaving you very little time and energy to do anything else. The dream quickly turns into a nightmare when you realize all your effort will get you nowhere." "Diary" takes the reader on a five year journey through the harsh, grueling and mostly unglamorous life as a Husker scout team member. For those who might not know, scout teams exist primarily to provide cannon fodder for the varsity players. Life there is often brutal, knowing that you'll get the snot knocked out of you at every practice, on every play, every day; that you'll be assured of getting almost no coaching to make you a better player and that you'll likely never see any playing time. "Diary" is a compelling and revealing book about the inner workings of the Husker football program. Husker fans will have a tough time putting this book down. What makes the book so compelling is that it covers the transition from the Tom Osborne Era to the first five years of the Frank Solich Era. (During that time, the Huskers went from National Championship winners in '97 to a struggling .500 team in 2002.) Since its introduction, "Diary" has been labled by some as a book that is all about Frank Solich bashing. (Those who share that belief, clearly haven't read the book.) To be sure, David's book is critical of many aspects of the Husker football program, but "Diary" is more than a book about Solich bashing-much more. To understand the numbers, when David was on the team, there were more than 180 kids in the program. With only about 40 players actually getting into any given game, the odds that the other 140 would see much, if any playing time, were remote. (Kudos to Bill Callahan for reducing the insane numbers of players.) Many of the fringe players-those who knew they would never get to play-figured out the gig pretty quickly. They managed to put forth just enough effort in practice and in the weight room to stay on the team. And by doing so, they could still get the clothes, watches and goodies and would be able to go to parties and tell --HuskerPedia.com
Diary of a Husker is a diary kept by David Kolowski throughout the years 1998 - 2002 when he was a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. Kolowski started as a walk-on offensive lineman and then spent the majority of his five years on the scout team. As Kolowski continues through years you re treated to what it s like being an unheralded offensive lineman on the Husker football team - a lot of work without much recognition. Daily entries include everything from winter conditioning, weightlifting, how practices were conducted, to how Kolowski is feeling on a particular day. Kolowski recounts his high and low points, gives his insight as to why he keeps going even though there may be little payoff, and spends a fair amount of time relating stories about other players. At the end of each year, he reflects on the year and then summarizes where he is at that point in his life. There are stories of hazing (you learn what about paying rent means), drunkenness and fights at practice. Many entries include how much money he is given because he s a non-scholarship player and all of the stuff the athletic department gives out to Nebraska football players for merely being a member of the team. Mixed with these entries are revelations about the Husker team throughout this period, including: · Team members drinking Long Island Ice Teas and other alcoholic beverages after getting destroyed by Kansas State 49-13 in 2002. · Annual parties at offensive line coach Milt Tenopir s house at which much beer was consumed · Observations, good and bad, about Frank Solich as a head coach and many of the other Husker coaches, including a joke about Dan Young s senility · Jobs he had that were arranged by the athletic department · Problems caused when the nutrition staff left in 2002 Kolowski doesn t pull any punches or worry about offending the people he s talking about in the book. He has plenty of revealing items in the book about people who were on the team during his tenure. In the last 15-20 pages of the book, the author does an excellent job of providing a summation of what he thinks happened to Nebraska s failing football program. I m not going to spoil the ending - if David Kolowski could stick it out five years being a Husker lineman without much recognition, you can do him the honor of buying his book and finding out for yourself. The bad news is that the book is long 491 pages. It is is a diary and as such, at times it s tedious and repetitive. That it s a diary makes the book unique because it is written in present tense, as Kolowski is going through his daily routine. Most books about sports are glamorized accounts of glory days- reflections of the past which ultimately become the good old days . Such is not the case here. Diary of a Husker is a book that Husker fans should read because it does the following: ·It gives detailed insight a into a top Division IA football program on the decline and the work required to play at Division IA ·Kolowski does not make judgements about Frank Solich and the Husker program, but includes enough so that the reader can pass their own. Points are offered on both sides. ·There is so much in this book about the daily life of a Husker football player that if you really want to know what s going on, buy the book and read it. Diary of a Husker is must-read book for any Husker fan. --CornNation
Kolowski discusses his career in high school as a 6'3" 255 lineman and his early years in Huskerville, but I was most interested in his last couple falls when he saw a little p-t on the field. Coincidently, they were Frank Solich's final two turmoil-filled seasons, also. The author doesn't disappoint, he's gives us a detailed picture of the player's perspective through an almost daily journal. A would-be center, he sees playing time through long-snapping, almost solely in his senior season, 2002. Is Kowolski bitter for not playing more? A little, but a reading of his work will show he realizes he wasn't the mistreated player, just a guy who didn't live, eat, and/or breathe Husker football. An Academic honored scholar-athlete, Kolowski accepted a 3.0 grade point for one semester because he knew he had given it his best effort. That closely resembles his perception of his career on the offensive line, that maybe he wasn't cut out for stardom and that he might not have been able to do anything about it. I read enough to pick up who the slackers were, who the egotists were and who were the guys who "got by and got away with things". Frank Solich? Kowolski and I are blood brothers here. The Ohio University head coach is a nice guy, a good assistant coach, but not really a big-time Head Coach. This comes from the first recruit ever signed by Solich, (though recruited by Dr. Tom Osborne). Good read? Absolutely. It's not as biting as other tattle-teller book sellers such as Gary Shaw's 1972 Meat on the Hoof, an indictment of Darrell Royal and the University of Texas football program. Kowolski wrote Diary over the course of 4 years as he lived it; not having to rely on a tarnished memory, not writing with a grudge in hindsight. And while it may not be held in high esteem by some Husker fanatics, it won't bring the program crashing down either. --Victory Sports Network
Product Description
Diary of a Husker is the actual diary of David Kolowski, an offensive lineman for the Nebraska Cornhusker during the years 1998-2002. This never-before-seen view of college football goes behind the facemask and into the locker room to share everything about the life of a football player for one of the top teams in the country. Foreword by 2001 Heisman Trophy Winner Eric Crouch in which he recaps his Husker years, including the emotional highs and lows. This is a must-read for any football fan, especially Husker fans.
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