BTN.com staff, BTN.com staff, October 19, 2014
What kind of a man was Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer? Well, put it this way: Berringer was trending worldwide late Saturday night following BTN Original's documentary "Unbeaten: The Life of Brook Berringer."
That says so much about Berringer's character, the impact he had on people, and Big Ten/Nebraska fans.
The film told the story of Berringer, an unheralded quarterback from the small town of Goodland, Kansas. A career backup, Berringer was the No. 2 quarterback behind Heisman Trophy candidate Tommie Frazier as the 1994 season unfolded. When Frazier was diagnosed with blood clots four games in to the season, Berringer was thrust into the starting role.
Hint: Berringer handled the role really well.
He won all seven games he started, in fact, and helped lead the Cornhuskers to an unbeaten regular season and a berth in the Orange Bowl against Miami, which they won to give legendary coach Tom Osborne his first national championship.
The next season, another national title year, Berringer lost the quarterback battle to Frazier. The following spring, on April 18, 1996, two days prior to the NFL draft, Berringer, 22, died in a plane crash near Raymond, Nebraska.
If you missed the feature-length documentary, here's when you can catch it again on BTN/BTN2Go:
- 9 p.m. ET Monday
- 10 p.m. ET Wednesday
Here's a small sampling of the tweets about the documentary:
I didn't grow up in Nebraska but grew up a #Husker fan because of guys like Brook Berringer and Tom Osborne – talent and character.
— Steve White (@NTVsSteveWhite) October 19, 2014
Is anyone else still crying? No? Just me? #brookberringer
— Jenna Lou (@TheREALJNu) October 19, 2014
Great BTN doc on Brook Berringer. Tragic story but yet he inspired so many. Need to be on everyone's watch list.
— Chris Hubbard (@chubtennis) October 19, 2014
That #BrookBerringer documentary was tough to watch #eyeballsweat
— Nate Mumm (@NMumm13) October 19, 2014
https://twitter.com/Jared_Bush21/status/523695060693815296
Brook Berringer documentary? Well done. Well freaking done. Good job by the BTN.
— Josh Peterson (@joshtweeterson) October 19, 2014