Listen to Brandon Rigoni's philosophy on football, and it's easy to see what he's about.
The senior free safety Lincoln Southeast High School graduate approaches life much the way he does football.
``It's better to play three plays in a game and make two big plays than to play 50 snaps and be an average player,'' Rigoni said. ``Whatever opportunities you get, make the most of them.''
The 5-foot-6 Rigoni has made a name for himself as a gunner on NU's punt coverage for the last two seasons while dishing out some vicious hits to players sometimes nearly a foot taller than he.
This spring, he has seen action at the No. 2 free safety spot behind senior Andrew Shanle and is looking for an opportunity he has yet to see as a Cornhusker: significant playing time on defense.
``I want to contribute more on defense,'' Rigoni said. ``I want to be more a part of this team as far as leadership. We have a lot of great leaders, but we could always use more.''
Rigoni started dreaming of the opportunities as a child while attending Nebraska football games with his father, Chuck Rigoni.
Throughout high school, Rigoni never thought about playing anywhere else.``He's a very goal-oriented person,'' Chuck Rigoni said. ``Each thing he obtains, he always sets a new goal. He always wants more.''
Rigoni walked onto Frank Solich's program in 2002, the season after Nebraska lost in the national championship game to Miami.
He practiced on the scout team for two years and was forced to return to the stands with his father to watch the games.
But all the time spent practicing without suiting up is where Rigoni found his niche of being a big hitter.
``I was taking on crack blockers every play in practice because all we did was run the option,'' Rigoni said. ``I made a living off of taking receivers out that were coming to crack me.''
After Rigoni's second year, Solich was fired and Coach Bill Callahan brought in a new staff.
Rigoni feared he would never see the field again, but Callahan's safeties coach, Bill Busch, noticed Rigoni right away.
``There's no one I've ever been around that's worked harder and has more compassion and more commitment to the program and to his team than he does,'' Busch said.
Rigoni caught Busch's eye in spring practice and got his chance as a gunner on the punt team. The gunners line up away from the rest of the line, like a receiver would, and have one mission: to hit the punt return specialists as soon as he catches the ball.
Playing gunner gave Rigoni the opportunity to get on the field, even if it was just a few plays a game. Rigoni made seven tackles in 2004 as the Huskers went 5-6.
As Callahan's staff built the foundation for the future, the biggest turning point of Rigoni's career came in the form of Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave Kennedy.
``All of a sudden my training went to another level with him in the weight room,'' Rigoni said.
That extra training translated into more playing time.
With Kennedy's help, Rigoni became quicker and stronger and found himself in more special teams situations, mainly kickoff coverage as well as more time at gunner.
Last season, Rigoni had 15 tackles on special teams and appeared in all 12 Nebraska games as the Huskers went 8-4, including a win over Michigan in the Alamo Bowl.
``Last year I tried to focus on being more consistent and make more tackles and not be like a one hit wonder out there,'' Rigoni said. ``I didn't really get that done as much as I would have liked.''
Now in his last spring practice season in a Nebraska uniform, Rigoni has his sights set on more playing time and more special teams opportunities.He is learning both the strong and free safety positions so he can be used at either spot.
He's still doing plenty of hitting, too. During Monday's practice, Rigoni, from the safety position, leveled wide receiver Isaiah Fluellen, drawing gasps from teammates and congratulations from coaches.
But from watching Nebraska games as a kid with his dad, to watching them as a scout teamer all the way to actually playing in the game, Rigoni has had the dream.
``I consider myself fortunate to be here and to see the changes,'' Rigoni said. ``It's only a matter of time before this program is back on top. I feel like I was a part of that change along with a whole lot of other guys.''
