The dirty secrets about Tommie Frazier's recruiting deserve to come out. The fact of the matter is, Tommie was tired of the sunshine/beach lifestyle in Florida, and he was looking for something different. Of course, Nebraska was the only school recruiting Tommie as a straight-up QB, which helped immensely, but that was only the "foot in the door." It was on Tommie's recruiting visit that we sealed the deal. The sordid tale can now be told.
Rick Stockstill was well acquainted with Tommie's burnout on the sunshine, sandy bikini-filled beaches and party lifestyle of South Florida, so after the regular meet-and-greets were done with Coach Osborne and the offensive staff, Stockstill began a whirlwind courtship of Frazier at Dan Bess' farm north and west of Colon. Stockstill outfitted Tommie with all the bling – a used and slightly torn pair of coveralls, galoshes and an old John Deere cap – and set Tommie down in front of Bess' grandfather's corn sheller. Frazier was in heaven, fascinated by how easy it was to "make it rain" by putting in a dried ear, cranking the fly wheel, and watching the kernels pile into the bucket.
From there I'm told they gave Tommie the keys to the neighbor's Case 2090 and put him to work disking the field, followed by what is rumored to be a hayrack ride, although it's unclear when exactly the hayrack ride happened. What is clear is that Frazier was treated to an afternoon of detassling, rogueing and walking beans in various neighbors' fields, followed by at least 1/2 an hour of irrigation rides.
But the whirlwind courtship didn't stop there. That night Frazier dined on fried chicken and mashed potatoes – all that he could buy – with fresh-baked apple pie for dessert. There's a rumor it was a la mode, but I haven't been able to substantiate that.
Tommie was back at the farm the next day, dark and early, for a breakfast of flapjacks, jaternice and eggs from the hen house, then it was off to the cow pen where "bossy" was separated and gelded, followed by a morning of tossing hay bales with the locals. I'm told that Frazier was then allowed – at no charge – to sweep out the chicken coop and feed sugar lumps to the goats and kids.
By the time the weekend was over Tommie's recruitment was a done deal. Awed by the glamorous Nebraska lifestyle and all but guaranteed that he could come back and work the farm whenever he wished, Frazier committed to the Huskers.
I understand that some Husker fans will be shocked at how blatantly we've used our farm-life advantages to land such a big recruit. Yes, it is completely unfair that Nebraska should be blessed with such an abundance of cattle, crops and combines while schools in Florida have to rely on such paltry recruiting tactics of yachts and hookers, but we can't apologize for being this lucky, nor can we fail to utilize these things to our advantage. To do so would be to cheat ourselves.
Note that I'm only willing to disclose these gross NCAA violations nearly 20 years after the fact, now that the statute of limitations has expired.