11 Huskers get Blackshirts on Tuesday

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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star

Armando Murillo started to panic.

The Nebraska senior cornerback, finished with classes for the day, went to his locker Tuesday afternoon before team meetings to get ready for practice.

One problem.

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“I’m like, ‘Where’s my jersey at, man?’” Murillo said.

It wasn’t there. Equipment manager Jay Terry told Murillo it was still in the wash. When Murillo returned from team meetings, there indeed was a jersey in his locker.

A black one.

“I almost starting crying,” Murillo said. “It kind of shocked me. I wasn’t even thinking about it.”

Neither were the other 10 players on Nebraska’s defense who found Blackshirts in their lockers. It’s the first time in this Bo Pelini era that Blackshirts — longtime symbols of starting status on Nebraska’s defense — have been awarded.

Coaches made the decision during a staff meeting on Sunday, the day after a 45-35 victory over Kansas. The Huskers allowed 422 total yards — 42 above a season average that ranks 81st nationally — but sacked quarterback Todd Reesing five times and intercepted him once.

“We thought the physical nature of the play on Saturday, the great effort our guys made running sideline to sideline, we felt like that was a performance where they earned the Blackshirts,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said.

Blackshirts went to defensive linemen Pierre Allen, Zach Potter, Ty Steinkuhler, Clayton Sievers and Ndamukong Suh; linebackers Phillip Dillard and Tyler Wortman; cornerbacks Eric Hagg, Murillo and Anthony West; and safety Larry Asante.

“It’s a special honor to be a part of something like that,” said Wortman, a walk-on from Grand Island. “I think we can always keep getting better. Just because we got our Blackshirts doesn’t mean we’re going to settle. We got to keep getting better and better every day. It’s just more of a motivational factor.”

Said Allen: “Easy as we got them, they can easily be taken away. We’ve got to keep it up.”

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.