Kenny Larabee, NRG Media
Six Nebraska football standout players were elected to the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, the NU athletic department announced. The class is headlined by fullback Cory Schlesinger, linebacker LaVonte David and punter Sam Foltz. Defensive back Charles Fryar, offensive lineman Jim Scott and running back Cory Ross also gained induction into the hall of fame. Chadron State’s Joe Planansky, a two-time All-American tight end, was the state college inductee. Longtime football and men’s basketball radio voice Kent Pavelka was named the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award Winner, while Frank Solich was named as the second Legends’ Award winner.
Schlesinger scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in the 1995 Orange Bowl, propelling the Cornhuskers to a 24-17 victory over Miami to clinch Nebraska’s first national championship since 1994. His senior year, he averaged over seven yards a carry while rushing for 456 yards. Schlesinger went onto a 12-year career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL.
David piled up 285 tackles in two seasons with Huskers, including a school record 152 stops in 2010. He earned second-team All-America honors and a first-team All-Big 12 citation for his work for the Big 12 North champions. His senior season, 2011, he earned first-team All-America honors and the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year award. David went on to a 14-year NFL career, all with Tampa Bay. He earned three All-Pro selections and won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. David announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this season.
Foltz earned Big Ten Punter of the Year in his final season, 2015, averaging over 44 yards a punt while grabbing first-team all-conference honors. Foltz passed away in a car accident just before the opening of fall practice his senior season.
Fryar was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back in the 1980s. He made 121 tackles in three seasons as a starter. He had seven interceptions in his senior season, 1988, including one returned for a touchdown 86 yards against Oklahoma State.
Scott started at center in 1992, and played regularly on two Husker teams that won Big Eight championships. Both those teams led the nation in rushing and advanced to the Orange Bowl.
Ross rushed for 2,743 yards from 2002 to 2005, ranking in the top 15 in school history in career rushing yards. He was All-Big 12 and was Nebraska’s offensive MVP in 2004 and 2005.
Solich earned the Legends’ Award after being inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame as both a player (1992) and as a coach (2012). Solich was also inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 2024.
Pavelka earned the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award after serving as the Voice of the Huskers for football from 1984 to 1995. He called a pair of national championships as the lead play-by-play announcer. Before that, Pavelka was the color commentator for a decade with Bremser on KFAB. Pavelka has called over 1,000 men’s basketball games and continues as the voice of the Nebraska men’s basketball team to this day.
The inductees will be honored at a ceremony Sept. 4, and will be recognized at Memorial Stadium Sept. 5 before the Huskers’ season opener with Ohio.