Hardest Hitting defensive player ever for NU is Traveon Henry!
- Thread starter Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan
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I wrote Brian Peters, but meant Brad Phillips. The guy could flat out hit.
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Peters, Phillips, Campbell, and Henry were/are hard-hitting safeties, and I've seen all their games, but they're not Pete Shaw. I think our older alums here will agree with me on this. Pete Shaw explored the limits of football violence as a player. He's right there with Ronnie Lott, Jack Tatum, Doug Plank and other hyper-violent hitting safeties in the NFL. One of Pete Shaw's hits was featured in the "psyche up" videos they show before games. This may seem like hyperbole, but it isn't.
The way you talk about him, I wish I'd seen him. Missed him by a few years. From what I'VE seen, I'd have to include Brad Phillips on any list like this.
Too young to have seen Shaw, but the sound made when Napoleon Harris hit someone was just different from the sound of anyone else's hits.
There have been plenty of hard hitting players. If he had just said on this team, he might have been OK but best ever is a stretch.
I can't say he was the hardest hitter ever to wear purple, but Pete Shaw as a real bright spot on some pretty dismal teams and sure packed a wallop. I had a class with him and he seemed like a nice guy.
I agree with you. For my money, Pete was the hardest hitter I ever saw at NU. He had a decent pro career as well
Rereading my post above, there's a pinch of hyperbole in there, but the hardest hits I ever saw while at NU in games or in practice were hits by Shaw. Nobody else in the Big Ten then came close.
One can tell people's general age here by who mentions Shaw.
One can tell people's general age here by who mentions Shaw.
I love Traveon as a player, but he's not even the hardest hitting safety on this team. Godwin lays the wood harder than Traveon.
Both safeties have been a bit MIA in the big hit department (and overall physical play) since at least the Minnesota game. I suspect they've been a bit banged up and really needed the bye week.
Meh. No one hit harder than me for NU's rugby team. I once knocked some poor kid so hard he did three backward somersaults. Another time, I knocked a guy into Lake Michigan. Then I hit a guy, and he knocked his teammate over, who knocked another teammate over, and then another. The dominoes didn't stop until all 15 guys were on the ground, stunned and meek. They forfeited right there. We all drank beer until I accidentally knocked the keg over by simply looking at it. Yeah, I did all that.
I should add that I never saw Ayeni's big hits, so I can't compare him with the others. However, NU fans over 60 still mention Shaw over Ayeni. The guy who impressed me recently was Campbell with his hit on man-beast, Donnell Kirkwood. Kirkwood was the nastiest RB I saw over the past few years, and Campbell knocked the M-sticker off his helmet.
I remember Ayeni knocking the lips off an Air Force receiver back in their '03 contest in Evanston. On TV, the hit sounded like the crack of a rifle. That poor Falcon staggered off the field, never knowing what hit him.
Shaw was tough. I was there. However sometimes the hardest hitters are players unknown to most. In this case the dude was Doug Belko. Ask any running back who played then...and he was a year older than Shaw. Pete was a buck though and talented enough for the next level. ..Glades you remember Belko?
Yes, I remember Doug but he was a senior when I was a freshman so I didn't see him play as much. He was an undersized DE with a reputation as a big hitter whose forearm shiver was considered the nastiest on the team. I never experienced it because he was a DE and we didn't practice against each other. Norm Wells had a forearm shiver with sphincter loosening properties, however. Pete Shaw redshirted so I saw him for 3 seasons and 2 springs. Pete also had a greater opportunity for making big hits because he played safety. When he had the opportunity, the hits were devastating. I've posted before about his hits in scrimmages against TB Greg Boykin (6'0", 230 lbs) . They were as violent as any hits I've seen anywhere. Hdhtr1 is correct that the sound of a big pop is distinctive. The sound of those hits were amazing. The scrimmage had to be stopped so that both players could retrieve various pads that came flying off of them from those collisions. One of Shaw's hits against Purdue is featured in one of the "fire up the crowd" videos...the one where the QB goes flying backwards like he was shot by a cannon, with his arms, legs and the football going every which way.
I hope you're doing well and catching fish, heet.
I loved to hit Glades and I guess I was known as a bit of a headhunter. I always thought I was a pretty clean player but when I caught a guy with his head down it was a mega green light to finish the check. To me at least in Hockey there is a concussive sound when you hit someone square and the air just voids their body. Sort of s "huh" of "whumph" sound. Because we can't tackle though you don't the popping of pads or the thunk of helmets. Nothing better though that a good clean form hit in either football or hockey. Absolutely love it! Never minded getting smashed either as long as it was clean. Ismaeli I remember as a hitter as well.
The way football is played now, you'd probably have to go back into the past to find the hardest hitter. I wonder if physically, the more recent vintage of players is capable of harder hits than those meted out in the past, but the laws of the game don't allow them to do so. I do remember BP knocking Arrelious Benn silly toward the end of the 27-10 win in 2008. That was pretty cool.
Agreed! I think it's very unfair to defensive players in today's game. I understand injuries are an issue but there is just nothing wrong with a solid hit. If someone gets hurt that's the game. No one is making anyone play football or hockey. I understood the risks when I played and I had broken bones, concussions and plenty of stitches due to the game I played. I played physically, but had no problem when I got hammered as long as it was clean. The only time the gloves came off was when someone gave me a cheap shot.
I know this guy doesn't make the lists we're talking about, but one of my favorite hits ever for a Wildcat came from an offensive player, which made it all the more impressive. I wish I could remember the details, but I believe it was against Minnesota in 1995, and someone on the Gophers made an interception right around the end zone, and Matt Hartl was there immediately to make sure there was no return. Did I dream that?
I'm sure you're right! One the hardest hits I have ever seen was a kicker on some team hammered a kickoff return guy. Layed him out cold. It happens sometimes from players who don't normally tackle.
