Johnny Rodgers Coming to Sacramento

Nebraska's 1972 Heisman Trophy winner will attend two events.

1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers will visit the Sacramento Delta area and attend a scholarship fundraising event for the Sacramento Husker Alumni Chapter on Saturday, June 12, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Player's in Sacramento, located at 4060 Sunrise  Blvd. His Heisman Trophy will be there, and attendees can get their picture taken with Johnny and his Heisman Trophy and get the photo autographed that evening. The event is currently sold out with a waiting list. If you are interested in getting on the waiting list, send an email to Sacramento chapter president Rich Fuchs at norcal4ne@gmail.com.

On Friday, June 11th, Johnny and his Heisman will be at the Adkins Family Winery tasting room in Elk Grove at 8980 Grantline Road from 3 to 5 p.m. Attendance is limited and if you would like to reserve a spot in Elk Grove, please provide your name and email at this link.

Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers attended Nebraska from 1969 to 1973 after being voted high school athlete of the year at Omaha Tech High School. At Nebraska, Johnny was a running back, receiver and return specialist. In his three years as a starter (freshmen did not play on varsity), he established an NCAA record of 5,586 all-purpose yards.

In the 1971 Oklahoma game dubbed the Game of the Century, he had the famous punt return for a touchdown immortalized by this call by Lyell Bremser. The score ended up being the margin of victory in the classic 35-31 win. (Jeff Kinney scored the four other Nebraska touchdowns). Audio version here.

Jonny Rodgers' punt return for a touchdown against Oklahoma in the Game of the Century

In his final game as a Husker in the 1973 Orange Bowl 40-6 victory over Notre Dame, he had his most complete game. He ran for three touchdowns after shifting from wingback to I-back, caught a 50-yard touchdown pass and threw a 52-yard touchdown pass.

Fifty-yard pass reception for a TD against Notre Dame in the 1973 Orange Bowl

In 2012 Johnny established The Jet Award to honor kickoff and punt return specialists. Joe Adams of Arkansas was the first winner. Other winners include Tyler Lockett and Christian McCaffrey.

In addition to the Heisman, Johnny's awards at Nebraska include the following: 1970 Omaha World Herald and UPI Second Team All-American; 1971 UPI, FWAA, Kodak-AFCA, FBN and CAA All-American; 1972 Walter Camp Player of the Year and ABC-Chevrolet Player of the Year.