Davison's camp scores with kids

COLUMBUS - Matt Davison obviously believes in giving back to a game and to a state in which he is still somewhat of a household name.

But that's not the main enjoyment the former Husker wide receiver gets in putting on his Matt Davison Touchdown Camp 2003 football camps.

"It's nice for us because we see ourselves in those little guys," Davison said after he and another former Husker, tight end Tracey Wistrom, conducted camp for 39 Columbus area kids at Bradshaw Park.

"When they make a play, and you see that big smile on their face, when they catch a pass, when they throw a pass. To be able to come out and touch somebody's life like that, that's great for us. So that's what I get out of it."

Davison certainly put a lot into the sport. Though relatively small in stature for a Division I wide receiver - Davison was listed in past NU media guides as 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds - he made a big mark on the Husker record books.

A Tecumseh graduate, Davison finished second on the NU career receiving list with 93 catches for 1,456 yards and six touchdowns. But it was one catch many NU fans - and college football fans, for that matter - will remember Davison for.

Davison made a diving catch of a tipped and kicked ball to score the tying touchdown on the final play of regulation against Missouri during his freshman season in 1997. Nebraska won the game in overtime on the Huskers' way to an unbeaten season and a third national championship in four seasons.

The thrower of that pass, quarterback Scott Frost, was originally supposed to be at the camp with Davison and Wistrom.

"He had a tryout with the Oakland Raiders today, so he wasn't able to make it," Davison said.

The camp is the first of six Davison will have during the summer. Other camps are scheduled for Beatrice, Falls City, Hastings and Norfolk, as well as his hometown of Tecumseh.

"I've done a couple camps for the last couple of years in Tecumseh and Beatrice," Davison said. "This year, I decided to expand it a little bit because the kids just seemed to have a great time."

Davison's partner at the Columbus camp was no slouch in the receiving end.

Wistrom finished 12th on NU's career receiving list with 58 catches for 1,150 yards and 10 scores. His 19.8 yards per reception is fifth on the Huskers' all-time yards-per-catch list.

Davison said he hopes to return to Columbus again next year and hopes more kids will be there when he does.

"Obviously, the first year it takes a while to get going," Davison said. "I'd love to do it again next year, and hopefully we have more kids. The more kids we have, the more players I'm going to bring along.

"It's good for Tracey and I to get out and have a couple other players come. It's fun to be around the kids. I remember being in their shoes. I would have done anything to have some Nebraska football players come and do a camp with me. So I hope they enjoy it."