The Huskers have landed a second scholarship specialist.
Nebraska hit the transfer portal hard during the offseason so far to fix special teams. The team already picked up Furman scholarship transfer kicker Timmy Bleekrode. Nebraska also nabbed Georgetown long snapper Brady Weas. The Huskers received some more good news from the portal when Montana punter Brian Buschini (6-0, 220) announced that he is transferring to Nebraska.
This is a dream come true! Thank you god for blessing me with the opportunity to commit to @HuskerFBNation @coach_frost, @TMossbrucker, and coach Busch! I am so excited to come in and follow in the footsteps of my favorite punter in the NFL @Sam_Koch4! GBR!!! #Thegoodlife pic.twitter.com/8G3r3n676l
— BRIAN BUSCHINI (@brian_buschini) December 14, 2021
The punter went into the portal on Monday morning and immediately heard from coach Scott Frost. He also talked to special teams analyst Bill Busch and special teams graduate assistant Joey Connors. Director of fooball and recruiting administration Trent Mossbrucker began the conversation. The Huskers offered Bushini on Monday afternoon and he couldn’t have been more excited about the opportunity after being offered.
“I was super excited,” Buschini said. “It is one of the most storied programs in college football history. Sam Koch is my favorite punter along with (Los Angeles Rams punter) John Hekker so potentially following in his (Koch’s) footsteps is very exciting.”
The newest Husker specialist also said the Huskers showing him so much attention right away made him feel important. There was a reason that the Huskers showed him so much love immediately. Buschini was named FCS punter of the year on Monday.
Congratulations to our winner of the 2021 FCS Punter of the Year Award, Brian Buschini of @UMGRIZZLIES!#FCSFootball #FCSPunteroftheYear pic.twitter.com/opEPwxGSUC
— FCS Punter of the Year (@FCSPunterofYear) December 13, 2021
Buschini averaged 46 yards per punt during the 2021 season. That tied for third in the FCS ranks. The specialist had 28 punts that went for more than 50 yards. He also pinned 30 of his 69 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
The Huskers’ punting last season was an adventure. There were several games that Frost rotated punters in-game to try and shake things up to get consistent play at the position. We’ll see what happens moving forward with scholarship punter Daniel Cerni. The Australia native hasn’t quite the same since his leg injury in 2020.
Buschini selected the Huskers over Mississippi State, Utah, Oregon State and Washington. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at Nebraska.
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
