One of the best linebackers in school history, Lavonte David is on the short list with Mike Rozier for the best Junior College transfer in school history. David appeared to be as fast going sideline to sideline as he was going straight ahead. Combine that with his ability to detect plays before anybody else, and it is no wonder he racked up so many tackles in his two year career. As a junior, he set a single season record with 152 tackles. He followed that with 133 more as a senior. To put that in perspective, Lavonte David played in 27 games as a Blackshirt. In 14 of those games, he recorded ten or more tackles.
David racked up the honors in his two years. Big XII Defensive Player of the Year, Big XII Defensive Newcomer of the Year, All Big XII, All Big 10, Big 10 Linebacker of the Year, All-American, and finalist for the Butkus, Lott, and Bednarik Trophies.
In my years of watching Nebraska football, I’ve seen some outstanding linebackers. Barrett Ruud. Ed Stewart. Demorrio Williams. Trev Alberts. Terrell Farley. But I’m not sure if any of them were better than David. He always seemed to either make the tackle, or be within 5 yards of the ball carrier. And he had a knack for making a big play when Nebraska needed it the most – especially his stop, strip, and recovery of Braxton Miller in the 2011 Ohio State game.
