Football unites brothers on, off the field
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Editor
Last year Jason Peter and Joel
Makovicka watched intensely from -
the sidelines as their older brothers
sacked quarterbacks and ran for touch
downs.
Makovicka and Peter are back this
season, and so are their brothers, Jeff
Makovicka and Christian Peter.
The Peters and the Makovickas rep
resent opposite ends ofthe Comhusker
football spectrum. The tattooed Peter
brothers are both highly touted schol
arship athletes from New Jersey and
will start alongside each other on the
Nebraska defensive line.
The Makovickas are small-town
Nebraska walk-ons, who played eight
man football in high school and will
play important roles in a loaded Ne
braska backfield.
* * * *
Jason Peter was in a hurry to climb
the Nebraska football depth chart.
Now, he can climb no higher.
Less than one year after playing his
first game as a Husker, Jason found
himself listed No. 1 at defensive tack
le, right next to his brother, Christian.
“The whole reason why I came to
Nebraska was the opportunity to play
side by side with Christian,” Jason
said. “So I am definitely excited about
it.”
Jason’s motivation is evident from
the results of his performance testing
earlier this month. The 6-foot-4,285
pound sophomore graded fourth on the
team, setting personal bests in the pro
agility run and the 10-yard dash. Jas
on was also eight pounds heavier than
last spring and cut his body fat by 2
percent.
“The chance to play made me work
a lot harder,” Jason said.
But as hard as Jason worked, Chris
tian was still one step ahead.
The returning second-team All-Big
Eight selection graded No. 2 among all
players. At 6-3 and 298 pounds, Chris
tian, a senior, recorded a personal-best
vertical jump of 35 1/2 inches and set
a position record for points earned
in the pro-agility run.
Christian led the Huskers with sev
en sacks a year ago and totaled 14
tackles behind the line of scrimmage,
often fighting through double teams.
With the graduation of three se
niors from last season’s defensive front
four, Christian said he would assume a
leadership role this year.
“There’s going to be a lot of guys
who are going to look up to me,”
Christian said, “and I’m just going to
go out there and play my hardest —
lead by example.”
When the Peters line up next to
each other on Aug. 31 in Stillwater,
Okla., it will mark the first time they
have started a game together on the
field at any level.
Christian, who played only one year
of high school football, transferred to
Middletown South High School as an
Scott Bruhn/DN
Jason and Christian Peter return to lead Nebraska’s defense in 1995. The brothers from Locust, N.J., will start side by side on the
Nebraska defensive line this season. c
V .V. Mi 0
“The whole reason why I came to Nebraska was
the opportunity to play side by side with Christian.
So I am definitely excited about it. ”
■
JASON PETER
defensive tackle
underclassman and as a result, he was
ruled ineligible as a senior. Jason also
attended Middletown South but was a
freshman during Christian’s only sea
son.
Jason transferred to the Milford
Academy as a senior and was one of
the nation’s top defensive line pros
pects after his final season.
“Our parents are just so proud of
us,” Christian said. “That’s where we
get all our support from is our parents.
We love them to death, and it’s just
great to think that every time we go out
there, we are making our parents proud
of us.”
The Peters, from Locust, N.J., said
family had always been an important
part of their lives.
“I just want Christian to be proud of
how I’m playing and what I’m doing
out there on die field,” Jason said. “It’s
going to push me extra hard and hope
frilly, it’ll do the same for him.”
Damian Peter, who is one year
younger than Jason, was the third Peter
in four years to accept a football schol
arship, signing with Notre Dame in
February 1994. But the youngest Pe
ter’s career never took flight.
Damian broke his neck in a diving
accident lastyear. He returned to school
this year and has recovered nearly 100
percent from the injury, but his future
in football remains in doubt.
“We were out here when it hap
pened,” Jason said. “My mom called
us that morning. We couldn’t do any
thing, but we jumped on the next flight,
and we went home to support him as
much as we could.”
Christian said he felt awful seeing
his youngest brother in a helpless po
sition. The experience has given him
and Jason a new outlook on their foot
ball careers.
“We play every down like it could
be our last one,” he said. “We go out
there and give 110 percent each time.
called the younger Makovicka one of
the spring’s pleasant surprises.
“He had it a lot harder, as far as
coming out of high school and not
knowing what to expect,” Joel said.
“What he has accomplished are goals
that I am trying to reach for. It’s good
to have something to strive for and
make myself work for. He really taught
me a lot and helped me, especially in
my decision to come here.”
In three years, Jeff, who played I
back in 1993 and for part of 1994
before switchingto fullback, has gained
532 yards and scored five touchdowns
in a backup role.
He has also gained 41 pounds, cut
more than one-fourth second from his
40-yard dash time and increased his
vertical jump from 271/2 inches to 34
inches.
He also holds the fullback record
with 2,832 total performance index
points, a score that places him fifth all
time in Nebraska football history. Jeff
Tanna Kinnaman/DN
Jeff and Joel Makovicka will help carry the load on the Nebraska offense this season. The
brothers from Brainard will rotate at fullback.
You never know what could happen.
* * * *
Joel Makovicka figures he’s got a
two-year advantage over his brother,
Jeff.
For most of Joel’s playing days at
East Butler High School, Jeff was in
Lincoln, putting on weight, becoming
faster and stronger.
“What he has
accomplished are goals
that I am trying to reach
for ”
m
JOEL MAKOVICKA
fullback
In the offseason, Jeff came home to
Brainard, a town of 326 people 45
miles northwest ofLincoln and worked
with Joel. He showed his younger broth
er drills and techniques taught in Lin
coln.
The work paid off.
When Joel walked on to the foot
ball team last season, he was prepared
for college football.
After a redshirt season, Joel turned
coaches’ heads last spring and moved
up the depth chart. Coach Tom Osborne
should start his hrst game on Aug. 31
against Oklahoma State.
Joel — who heads into the season
listed third at fullback behind his broth
er and Brian Schuster — also tested
well before fall camp.
Joel weighed in at223 pounds, a 21 -
pound increase from last year, and set
personal bests in the pro-agility run,
10-yard dash and vertical jump. His
performance index total was No. 12
among all Huskers.
He may play fourth at fullback if
Clinton Childs, who has been working
out at fullback and I-back, switches
permanently to fullback.
Jeff said the Makovickas, who com
bined for 7,500 yards at East Butler,
had no secret formula to success. Small
school players, he said, are simply
overlooked in recruiting many times.
“There’s a lot of players in eight
man ball who are very talented,” he
said, “It’s not just Class A, not to take
anything away from them, but every
one’s human, and you’ve got to realize
that It’s what you make of yourself
that makes the difference.”
Joel's promising future, Jeff said,
will assure the Makovicka parents of
many more memorable road trips.
“They get akick out of it” Jen said.
“They ukially go to all the road games,
and they are really supportive of what
we do. Having two here now, they can
follow it a little more. And when I’m
gone, I’ll be back watching him play.”