Blackshirts (football)

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The Blackshirts is the name for the first-string defense of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

The term originally dates back to the early 1960s and refers to the black practice jerseys that Nebraska's first-string defenders wear in practice. Long-time sports information director Don Bryant credits much of Blackshirt mystique to defensive line coach George Kelly, who served on Coach Bob Devaney's staff until 1968. Kelly was often heard yelling and exhorting the Blackshirts during practices and scrimmages. Eventually, the rest of the coaches began calling the top defensive units by the same name. The first string defense came to wear black practice jerseys in 1964, when a defensive coach went to a local sporting goods store to get yellow practice jerseys, and black was the only color available.