Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Return Trip To Nebraska Emotional One For Buffs' Hagan
September 05, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Colorado running backs coach Darian Hagan began studying the 2018 Buffs schedule in earnest and saw Nebraska, he saw a symmetry that was hard to ignore.
Back on the schedule after an eight-year layoff was the team with whom Hagan very nearly signed his letter of intent 30 years ago — and the team against whom he ended up having a 2-0-1 record as a starting quarterback after signing with Colorado instead.
That alone is enough to open the memory floodgates.
But this year's trip — along with marking the 30th anniversary of his first trip to Memorial Stadium (he suited up but did not play in the 1988 game there) — will be an emotional one for other reasons.
This year, Hagan will be thinking of the woman who changed the course of CU football history three decades ago.
He will be thinking about his mother, Wanda Webb, who is currently in hospice care in California and could be watching her last Colorado-Nebraska matchup.
"She is why I'm here," Hagan said Wednesday morning after the Buffs wrapped up practice. "I was committed to Nebraska. I had all intentions of going there. But after Coach (Bill) McCartney and Coach (Gary) Barnett came to our house, she told me I was going to Colorado. So I came here in 1988 and I'm still here in 2018."
Since that fateful visit by CU's then-head coach and assistant coach, Wanda Webb has been a Colorado fan. She reveled in her son's big wins over the Cornhuskers as a player and she has followed his career with the Buffs ever since.
But for the last 24 years, she has also battled cancer. Four times she has fought back the disease, only to see it return for a fifth time this summer.
"She is a tough woman," Hagan said admiringly. "I've been around a lot of tough people in my life playing football — but she's as tough as they come. She's been battling cancer for 24 years and has never complained once. Even while she's been in hospice care, she's worrying about us, not herself. Any toughness I've ever had I attribute to her. All she's ever wanted is the best for the people around her. That's something I think about all the time."
The memory of that recruiting visit 30 years ago still brings a smile to Hagan's face. He remembers sitting in his living room with his mother, McCartney and Barnett, and he remembers McCartney asking a simple question.
"Coach Mac looks at my mom and says, 'What neighborhood is this?'" Hagan recalled.
Wanda knew immediately what McCartney was referring to.
"At the time, gangs were prevalent in L.A.," Hagan said. "My mom says, 'It's a Crips neighborhood.' Coach Mac looks at her and says, 'He can't go to Nebraska. He goes to Nebraska, they're going to kill him here. He can't wear red in this neighborhood.'"
It was, Hagan admits, something neither he nor his mother had even considered. But McCartney's statement had merit.
"I'd never thought about it, my mom had never thought about it," he said. "But at that moment, it hit us. If I went to Nebraska and came back to the neighborhood wearing red, something bad could happen to me. That's when she looked at me and said, 'You're going to Colorado.' All I'm thinking is that you can wear black anywhere — and the rest is history."
Of course, there was more to it than just that. McCartney made sure Wanda Webb knew that he would take care of her son and usher him into the next phase of his life. Hagan saw McCartney at work and by the end of the evening, knew he would be a Buff.
"He knew all the buttons to push, all the right things to say," Hagan said. "Back then — and still to this day — the mom often has the decision-making ability for the kid. She has the key and when you get mom's blessing, that means she believes wholeheartedly in you and your school. She said I was going to Colorado and to this day, I'm grateful for her and grateful for the University of of Colorado."
After playing every year for 63 years as members of the Big 7, Big 8 and Big 12 conferences, the Buffs and Huskers ended their annual meeting after the 2010 season, when Colorado left for the Pac-12 and Nebraska headed for the Big Ten.
Thus, CU's current players are not well-versed in what the rivalry once meant to Colorado fans. But Hagan has spent the week reminding them of the history that goes with the meeting, and the opportunity ahead.
"When I saw it on the schedule, it took me back to old times — heated rivalries, games that always seemed like they went down to the last minute," Hagan said. "It brought me back to my youth. To have them on the schedule again, it's a privilege to play there and play them again. I'm sure they're saying the same thing. It's a great opportunity to go back to a special place like Nebraska and a special thing for our kids."
One of CU's most-memorable games came at Memorial Stadium. In 1990, the Buffs trailed 12-0 going into the fourth quarter, only to score 27 unanswered points in the final period to come away with a 27-12 win.
That victory paved the way for CU's national title run.
"That was an epic game," Hagan said. "For us to be victorious in that game showed the heart and will that we had. We could have easily folded. We were down 12-0 and our running back (Eric Bieniemy) had fumbled five times. For him to go and keep his composure and keep that same mental drive and toughness and score four touchdowns in the fourth quarter … that was amazing."
Now, he will make another trip to Memorial Stadium, hoping to create one more memory for his mother.
"She'll be right there with me," Hagan said. "She means the world to me and I think about her constantly. Every time we've ever played Nebraska, she was the same way — she wanted to make sure we went out there and kicked butt. She wanted us to play hard and play with passion — and that's what we're going to do Saturday."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Â