Scott Strasburger (born February 14, 1963) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

Early years

Strasburger attended

Holdrege High School Holdrege High School is a public high school located in Phelps County, Nebraska. It serves 9 to 12 grade students and was founded in 1960. Notable alumni * Todd Brown, former football player * Tom Carlson, former Nebraska state senator * Ed Schr ...

, where he was a starter at

and was named All-state as a senior. He walked-on at the

. As a true sophomore, he was a backup right defensive end behind All-Big Eight selection Tony Felici. He made 31 tackles and 6 sacks. His most famous play came in the eleventh game against

Oklahoma University , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

, intercepting a pass late in the fourth quarter that he returned 22 yards to the opponent's one yard in the final 30 seconds of the game, helping the team clinch a 28-24 victory and win the Big Eight Conference Championship. He was named the starter for the

1983 Orange Bowl The 1983 Orange Bowl was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, January 1. Part of the 1982–83 bowl game season, it matched the thirteenth-ranked LSU Tigers of the Sout ...

against

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. As a junior, he was named a full-time starter at standup right defensive end. He made 42 tackles (22 solo), 3 pass breakups and 2 fumble recoveries (led the team). He made 10 tackles against

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. As a senior, he made 12 tackles for loss (tied team lead), 7 pass breakups (school record for linemen). He made 7 tackles (5 solo), 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups and one fumble recovery against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He earned a National Football Hall of Fame scholarship. He finished with 15 career sacks. In 1984, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a scholar. In 2005, he was inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Strasburger was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the 9th round (243rd overall) of the

1985 NFL Draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also hel ...

, to play him at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He was released on September 2. In 1986, he was re-signed by the Cowboys and was released on August 23.

References

External links

Strasburger Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strasburger, Scott 1963 births Living people American football defensive ends Nebraska Cornhuskers football players People from Holdrege, Nebraska Sportspeople from Stuttgart Players of American football from Nebraska