LINCOLN — Ndamukong Suh finished his Nebraska football career asthe most decorated defensive player in school history.
He’s now the most charitable, as well.
The former NU defensive tackle pledged a donation of $2.6million to NU athletics at Saturday’s spring game, an announcementthat drew perhaps the biggest applause of the day. It’s the largestsingle gift the university has received from a former player,Athletic Director Tom Osborne said.
Suh, expected to be a top-five pick in Thursday’s NFL draft,said $2 million will go to the strength and conditioning programand $600,000 is to endow a scholarship to the UNL College ofEngineering. Suh earned a bachelor of science in constructionmanagement in December.
“It’s a great feeling,” Suh said.
“I didn’t feel like I had to, but I definitely wanted to giveback to a university that gave me so much. It didn’t feel like Ineed to, but I definitely felt like I wanted to.”
NU will receive Suh’s donation after he signs an NFL contract.The $2 million portion is expected to go toward renovations andupdates in the north stadium strength and conditioning center.
“I had a fantastic football career at Nebraska, and, thanks tomy coaches and support staff, I have learned the value of hardwork, teamwork and life skills,” Suh said in a release. “Theseskills will help me tremendously as I prepare for my career in theNFL.”
Husker coach Bo Pelini raised a fist in the air when Suh wascheered during the ceremony.
“Suh’s a special human being,” Pelini said, “and obviously he’smeant a lot to this program and accomplished a lot. And I thinkhe’s smart enough and mature enough to realize that there are a lotof other people that played a hand in helping him achieve that andput him in the position he’s in now. It just shows the type ofmaturity he has. He’s a tremendous young man whose life is about tochange here in five days.”
Nick Rubek reports for the Omaha World-Herald.