January 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Sean Callahan Remembers Husker Legend Calvin Jones
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sad news today. I wanted to touch on this Omaha native,
Nebraska football legend, NFL draft pick, NFL player Calvin Jones
found deceased yesterday and the news came out today about
his passing, and I figured, you know, this would be
a good time for us to chat with Sean Callahan,
(00:22):
our Husker insider on our phone line today and Sewn,
we really appreciate the time. Thanks for being on the
show today.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, thanks for having me on. Yeah, tough news to
hear about the loss of Calvin Jones. Obviously, you talk
about history and you know the Central High School history
with Nebraska particularly, you know, he was a part of it.
You know, from nineteen sixty seven to two thousand and two.
You know, Central High School is dubbed Iback High. From
eighty six to ninety seven, all but one year the
(00:52):
starting running back at Nebraska came from Central High School,
and all but one of those years are in Calvin Jones, obviously,
is the more decorated backs of that group of players
that played from Omaha Central to Nebraska. And to hear
his loss at such a young age was tough news.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah. You go back and you know you talk about
the legacy of people in sport, And I think it's
kind of interesting because every team, or every school or
every professional organization kind of has their own lore in
how people fit. But like you mentioned the lineage from
Omaha and specifically Omaha Central to Nebraska in that era,
(01:35):
especially in the early nineties, I mean, this was just
an incredible time to be a fan here and to
cheer on Big Red. So you have a guy who
basically averaged about a thousand yards a season wearing that
uniform for that team under that coach in that era,
where does he kind of fit in terms of that lore,
(01:56):
Like you mentioned of just important players in an incredibly
successful decade that Nebraska was able to enjoy in the nineties.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, he held the rushing record in a single game
for a short while at Nebraska, but you know, I
think he'd arguably be in that top ten conversation of
running backs at Nebraska. There's been so many good ones.
But you think about Central High School and just what
it meant to high school or to football in this region.
(02:26):
I mean, it started with Gail Sayers, who ended up
going to Kansas, but then you know Joe Arduna Pernell
Gaston both went to Nebraska to Central and then the
great run began where when Calvin Jones and Aman Green
and Leotis Flowers and then that group of players all
came in to Nebraska. I mean Calvin Jones, you know,
(02:50):
finished his career. He was one of the leading rushers
in program history at that point when he wrapped up
his career. Keith Jones is another center running back that
came to Nebraska during that period. But yeah, Calvin Jones
rushed for three and fifty three yards and forty touchdowns
from nineteen ninety one to nineteen ninety three, so over
(03:11):
three thousand yards. And you know, in today's college football world,
he'd be ranked right up there. And from Nebraska football
in that era, that was every running back they had
such a great run, and many of those backs from
eighty six to ninety seven, all but the one year
of Derek Brown came from Central High School.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
It's just a wild, wild lineage there and kind of
a progression. So when it comes to this as well,
being a college player and then having a chance to
you know, make it in the NFL is a completely
different thing. A third round draft pick that has to
mean something and then having a chance to play for
organizations like the Raiders and the Packers win the Super Bowl.
(03:51):
The Packers won a Super Bowl when he was on
the team as well. You know, when it comes to
kind of that legacy as well of you know, a
player like Calvin Jones and making it to the league,
what does that mean for Omaha in the state of
Nebraska just to have the kind of careers that some
of these guys have had, because there certainly are a
(04:12):
lot of them that you like you mentioned, but there's
something about, you know, a player like this that you
have such fond memories and wanting to root them on
when they get to that next level.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Well, you just think about the history of Nebraska football
and really from the early eighties all the way until
about Rex Burkehead and Roy Hallou and a mayor of
Doulah that that was kind of last run that they
had a run of running backs where every one of
them went to the NFL to some extent, and you know,
(04:41):
that was a thirty plus year run where you know,
all these guys play at that level, near forty year
run of NFL running backs and Calvin Jones was right
in the middle of that group and just set the
standard for that position with what he was able to do,
and you know, all that central group that went to Nebraska.
(05:01):
You know, I think Aman Green would be regarded as
the best one, and he was the most highly recruited,
but you know, I'd say Calvin Jones would be right
there with him. I mean, and Amon Green came in
kind of right after Calvin was done. But you know,
he's on that first national or that first team that
played for a national championship in ninety three for Osborne
and they came short against Florida State, but he was
(05:23):
a dominant running back. He was the best running back
in the Big Eight Conference in that era. And you know,
just tough news to hear because obviously very very young.
I've met Calvin a few times over the years and
always was very kind, always very friendly, and he did
a lot of different business ventures over the course of
his retirement from pro football and would seehim around and
so it's tough news to hear about Calvin.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Sean Callahan joining us. He's our Husker insider. I know
this is really fresh news, and you know, this being
the football offseason, I'm not exactly sure, you know, what
where a lot of these people are, But have you
gotten a chance to get at least a pulse on
the universe and its reaction to this news, because, like
you mentioned, not only is this a lot of the
Nebraska legend, but a guy who was only fifty four
(06:06):
years old and was still living in the area.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You know, they haven't said any kind of state me yet.
I mean, the one person in that building though, that
could speak authoritatively on Calvin Jones would be Ron Brown.
I mean Ron Brown was a coach on that staff.
He's still in the building with Matt Ruhle, So you know,
I'm sure, you know, there'd be anybody to speak on Calvin,
and I'm sure he'd be a great guy to have
on to talk about his impact and the type of
(06:30):
person he was. You know, Coach Brown would be able
to speak on that as well as anybody because he
was with Calvin that entire time at Nebraska and watched him,
you know, grow up in that program to where he
won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. So
he yeah, he you know, it's put into respective We've
had We've had a rough month here at Huskernation with
(06:52):
the loss of Jack Kaufman and now the news on
Calvin Jones.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Yeah did Jack Kaufman. Thing is so so sad in everything.
The one thing that I think I learned from that
moment as well is the impact that these people, whether
it's Jack who touched our hearts at a spring practice
as a small kid, or a Calvin Jones who was
able to have an incredibly successful career on the field
(07:17):
for the Huskers, is that the people of this state
and the people who love the Nebraska football program, they
care so much and it means so much to them
as well. And I know you to be a big
sports guy just in general, and you kind of get
a vibe on that. What makes this connection though, from
(07:37):
the Nebraska fans to anybody associated with the Nebraska program,
and such a special experience for the people who are
rooting them on in Lincoln every single year.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Well, just I mean, first of all, the small state.
I mean, I always tell people to stay in Nebraska.
If you break it down and Class A and Class
be the two largest classes, there's only abound sixty schools.
If you went to like the state of Texas, there's
hundreds and hundreds of schools of that size. So we're
a very small state with not a lot of big
(08:09):
high schools, and it's the kind of state where you
could literally and this is a common Nebraska thing to do,
where did you grow up, where'd you go to high school?
And then generally, if you're a well versed Nebraska that's
been around, you could always connect somebody that went to
that high school or knew that person, you know, because
it's such a small state to connect the dots of
(08:29):
people and everybody feels a connection, especially when it's an
Omahall player like Calvin Jones. And to have all those
great Central running backs, I mean, people were proud of
that run here that you know, Nebraska is the best
running team in college football in that era, and one
high school from eighty six to ninety seven produced those
running backs that started for the Huskers during tom Osborne's
(08:53):
national championship run. You know, you had Lawrence Phillips in there,
and you had Derek Brown, but other than that, I mean,
it was primarily Omaha Central running backs that were starting
back there. So people took great pride in that, and
teams from around the country recruited Omahall. They were regulars
at Omaha Central to see the coaching staff there, to
(09:13):
visit about those players at that time, and Aman Green
was as recruited as anybody, with Michigan and Notre Dame
and you name it. Everybody wanted him in that era,
and he picked Nebraska at that time to play for
tom Osburn and helped him win his final national championship.
But yeah, Calvin Jones was right before that run began,
and he was a big part of kind of the
(09:33):
next step when Lawrence Phillips stepped in, followed by Amon Green.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
So so such an interesting, you know, conversation with that lineage,
and certainly tragic news to have lost Calvin Jones this
week at the age of just fifty four. Sean Callahan,
thank you so much for the time and the information
today as always, and Will Chattigan.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Soue hey, thanks hem we appreciate it, yep.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
And Super Bowl champion as well. We mentioned that All
a third team All American in his nineteen ninety three
where he also was first team All Big Eight. He
was also first team All Big Eight in nineteen ninety two,
when he was also the Offensive player of the Year
in the Big Eight, second team All Big Eight when
his first year as a starter for the Huskers back
in nineteen ninety one. What an outstanding career and just
(10:15):
an unfortunate loss that Calvin Jones passes away at the
age of fifty four here in Omaha.
Sad news today. I wanted to touch on this Omaha native,
Nebraska football legend, NFL draft pick, NFL player Calvin Jones
found deceased yesterday and the news came out today about
his passing, and I figured, you know, this would be
a good time for us to chat with Sean Callahan,
(00:22):
our Husker insider on our phone line today and Sewn,
we really appreciate the time. Thanks for being on the
show today.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, thanks for having me on. Yeah, tough news to
hear about the loss of Calvin Jones. Obviously, you talk
about history and you know the Central High School history
with Nebraska particularly, you know, he was a part of it.
You know, from nineteen sixty seven to two thousand and two.
You know, Central High School is dubbed Iback High. From
eighty six to ninety seven, all but one year the
(00:52):
starting running back at Nebraska came from Central High School,
and all but one of those years are in Calvin Jones, obviously,
is the more decorated backs of that group of players
that played from Omaha Central to Nebraska. And to hear
his loss at such a young age was tough news.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah. You go back and you know you talk about
the legacy of people in sport, And I think it's
kind of interesting because every team, or every school or
every professional organization kind of has their own lore in
how people fit. But like you mentioned the lineage from
Omaha and specifically Omaha Central to Nebraska in that era,
(01:35):
especially in the early nineties, I mean, this was just
an incredible time to be a fan here and to
cheer on Big Red. So you have a guy who
basically averaged about a thousand yards a season wearing that
uniform for that team under that coach in that era,
where does he kind of fit in terms of that lore,
(01:56):
Like you mentioned of just important players in an incredibly
successful decade that Nebraska was able to enjoy in the nineties.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, he held the rushing record in a single game
for a short while at Nebraska, but you know, I
think he'd arguably be in that top ten conversation of
running backs at Nebraska. There's been so many good ones.
But you think about Central High School and just what
it meant to high school or to football in this region.
(02:26):
I mean, it started with Gail Sayers, who ended up
going to Kansas, but then you know Joe Arduna Pernell
Gaston both went to Nebraska to Central and then the
great run began where when Calvin Jones and Aman Green
and Leotis Flowers and then that group of players all
came in to Nebraska. I mean Calvin Jones, you know,
(02:50):
finished his career. He was one of the leading rushers
in program history at that point when he wrapped up
his career. Keith Jones is another center running back that
came to Nebraska during that period. But yeah, Calvin Jones
rushed for three and fifty three yards and forty touchdowns
from nineteen ninety one to nineteen ninety three, so over
(03:11):
three thousand yards. And you know, in today's college football world,
he'd be ranked right up there. And from Nebraska football
in that era, that was every running back they had
such a great run, and many of those backs from
eighty six to ninety seven, all but the one year
of Derek Brown came from Central High School.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
It's just a wild, wild lineage there and kind of
a progression. So when it comes to this as well,
being a college player and then having a chance to
you know, make it in the NFL is a completely
different thing. A third round draft pick that has to
mean something and then having a chance to play for
organizations like the Raiders and the Packers win the Super Bowl.
(03:51):
The Packers won a Super Bowl when he was on
the team as well. You know, when it comes to
kind of that legacy as well of you know, a
player like Calvin Jones and making it to the league,
what does that mean for Omaha in the state of
Nebraska just to have the kind of careers that some
of these guys have had, because there certainly are a
(04:12):
lot of them that you like you mentioned, but there's
something about, you know, a player like this that you
have such fond memories and wanting to root them on
when they get to that next level.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Well, you just think about the history of Nebraska football
and really from the early eighties all the way until
about Rex Burkehead and Roy Hallou and a mayor of
Doulah that that was kind of last run that they
had a run of running backs where every one of
them went to the NFL to some extent, and you know,
(04:41):
that was a thirty plus year run where you know,
all these guys play at that level, near forty year
run of NFL running backs and Calvin Jones was right
in the middle of that group and just set the
standard for that position with what he was able to do,
and you know, all that central group that went to Nebraska.
(05:01):
You know, I think Aman Green would be regarded as
the best one, and he was the most highly recruited,
but you know, I'd say Calvin Jones would be right
there with him. I mean, and Amon Green came in
kind of right after Calvin was done. But you know,
he's on that first national or that first team that
played for a national championship in ninety three for Osborne
and they came short against Florida State, but he was
(05:23):
a dominant running back. He was the best running back
in the Big Eight Conference in that era. And you know,
just tough news to hear because obviously very very young.
I've met Calvin a few times over the years and
always was very kind, always very friendly, and he did
a lot of different business ventures over the course of
his retirement from pro football and would seehim around and
so it's tough news to hear about Calvin.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Sean Callahan joining us. He's our Husker insider. I know
this is really fresh news, and you know, this being
the football offseason, I'm not exactly sure, you know, what
where a lot of these people are, But have you
gotten a chance to get at least a pulse on
the universe and its reaction to this news, because, like
you mentioned, not only is this a lot of the
Nebraska legend, but a guy who was only fifty four
(06:06):
years old and was still living in the area.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You know, they haven't said any kind of state me yet.
I mean, the one person in that building though, that
could speak authoritatively on Calvin Jones would be Ron Brown.
I mean Ron Brown was a coach on that staff.
He's still in the building with Matt Ruhle, So you know,
I'm sure, you know, there'd be anybody to speak on Calvin,
and I'm sure he'd be a great guy to have
on to talk about his impact and the type of
(06:30):
person he was. You know, Coach Brown would be able
to speak on that as well as anybody because he
was with Calvin that entire time at Nebraska and watched him,
you know, grow up in that program to where he
won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. So
he yeah, he you know, it's put into respective We've
had We've had a rough month here at Huskernation with
(06:52):
the loss of Jack Kaufman and now the news on
Calvin Jones.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Yeah did Jack Kaufman. Thing is so so sad in everything.
The one thing that I think I learned from that
moment as well is the impact that these people, whether
it's Jack who touched our hearts at a spring practice
as a small kid, or a Calvin Jones who was
able to have an incredibly successful career on the field
(07:17):
for the Huskers, is that the people of this state
and the people who love the Nebraska football program, they
care so much and it means so much to them
as well. And I know you to be a big
sports guy just in general, and you kind of get
a vibe on that. What makes this connection though, from
(07:37):
the Nebraska fans to anybody associated with the Nebraska program,
and such a special experience for the people who are
rooting them on in Lincoln every single year.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Well, just I mean, first of all, the small state.
I mean, I always tell people to stay in Nebraska.
If you break it down and Class A and Class
be the two largest classes, there's only abound sixty schools.
If you went to like the state of Texas, there's
hundreds and hundreds of schools of that size. So we're
a very small state with not a lot of big
(08:09):
high schools, and it's the kind of state where you
could literally and this is a common Nebraska thing to do,
where did you grow up, where'd you go to high school?
And then generally, if you're a well versed Nebraska that's
been around, you could always connect somebody that went to
that high school or knew that person, you know, because
it's such a small state to connect the dots of
(08:29):
people and everybody feels a connection, especially when it's an
Omahall player like Calvin Jones. And to have all those
great Central running backs, I mean, people were proud of
that run here that you know, Nebraska is the best
running team in college football in that era, and one
high school from eighty six to ninety seven produced those
running backs that started for the Huskers during tom Osborne's
(08:53):
national championship run. You know, you had Lawrence Phillips in there,
and you had Derek Brown, but other than that, I mean,
it was primarily Omaha Central running backs that were starting
back there. So people took great pride in that, and
teams from around the country recruited Omahall. They were regulars
at Omaha Central to see the coaching staff there, to
(09:13):
visit about those players at that time, and Aman Green
was as recruited as anybody, with Michigan and Notre Dame
and you name it. Everybody wanted him in that era,
and he picked Nebraska at that time to play for
tom Osburn and helped him win his final national championship.
But yeah, Calvin Jones was right before that run began,
and he was a big part of kind of the
(09:33):
next step when Lawrence Phillips stepped in, followed by Amon Green.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
So so such an interesting, you know, conversation with that lineage,
and certainly tragic news to have lost Calvin Jones this
week at the age of just fifty four. Sean Callahan,
thank you so much for the time and the information
today as always, and Will Chattigan.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Soue hey, thanks hem we appreciate it, yep.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
And Super Bowl champion as well. We mentioned that All
a third team All American in his nineteen ninety three
where he also was first team All Big Eight. He
was also first team All Big Eight in nineteen ninety two,
when he was also the Offensive player of the Year
in the Big Eight, second team All Big Eight when
his first year as a starter for the Huskers back
in nineteen ninety one. What an outstanding career and just
(10:15):
an unfortunate loss that Calvin Jones passes away at the
age of fifty four here in Omaha.
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