Former Cornhuskers will add flavor to Samuel's first fundraiser tourney

~ Nebraska standouts Frazier and Williams have committed to play in the July 10 event.

First-year Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel is dipping into his Nebraska roots to spice up his program's fundraiser golf tournament.

Samuel said former Nebraska stars Tommie Frazier and Jamie Williams have committed to attending, while ex-Cornhuskers standout Broderick Thomas also is likely to be on hand.

"And there are also a couple of other guys we hope to get in who might not be quite the household names as the others," said Samuel, a former Nebraska player and assistant coach.

Needless to say, Samuel is excited about his program's TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) Tournament, a four-person scramble set for July 10 at Dalhousie Golf Club. The cost is $100 per person and the field is limited to 30 teams.

Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. Flag, hole and cart sponsorships will be available. Various prizes will be awarded, and there will be closest to the pin and long drive contests. Outback Steakhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings will be providing lunch on the course.

"Hopefully this is something we'll be able to do every year," Samuel said. "It's a nice way to get the community together, and we need money. We'll try to get the combination of the two going every year, to find ways to make money for the program."

Samuel is happy that some fellow former Cornhuskers players are willing to help him as he begins the process of rebuilding the Redhawks' program.

"It's always good to get the guys wanting to come back and help out. We've just kept in touch, that's how we are," he said. "They're just mainly coming in to golf, but they'll come in the night before and we'll show them around town a little bit, maybe have them meet some people."

There is probably not a bigger name in the storied history of Nebraska football than Frazier, who quarterbacked the Cornhuskers to consecutive national championships in 1994 and 1995. Samuel was an assistant coach on those teams.

A four-year starter for Nebraska, Frazier captured most valuable player honors in both national championship games.

In 1995, Frazier was a first-team All-American, won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, and received the UPI's Player of the Year and The Sporting News Offensive Player of the Year awards.

Named one of the 10 greatest college football players of the century by Sport magazine, Frazier's No. 15 jersey was retired by Nebraska in 1996. He is about to enter his second season as the head coach at NAIA Doane (Neb.) College.

"He was something special," Samuel said.

While Frazier never played in the NFL and had only a brief CFL career -- primarily due to health problems resulting from a blood clot -- Williams carved out a solid 12-year NFL career as a tight end for several teams from 1983 to 1994. He won a Super Bowl championship with the San Francisco 49ers in 1990.

Thomas, an All-American linebacker at Nebraska in 1987 and 1988, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1989 NFL draft by Tampa Bay. He played 10 seasons in the NFL for several teams.

"The whole day should be a lot of fun," Samuel said. "I think people will really enjoy it."

For more information on the golf tournament, call (573) 986-6165.