As the Denver Broncos sweat through the rigors of training camp, two players had more on their minds than just football. Former University of Nebraska Cornhuskers Andy Janovich and Zaire Anderson practice with heavy hearts while also trying to epitomize the legacy of their former teammate.
University of Nebraska punter, Sam Foltz was laid to rest in Grand Island, Nebraska Saturday morning after dying from a car accident on July 24. The crash also claimed the life of Michigan State punter Mike Sadler.
As the news of his death reached coaches, fans and teammates last weekend, a common theme was shared about Foltz—He was a humble athlete that, despite recent acclaim, was also willing to work a little harder and shower praise in any other direction than his own.
Saturday, in Englewood, Colorado his former teammates echoed that sentiment.
“He was probably one of the best teammates you could ever have,” Janovich said following practice. “He didn’t expect to get anything unless he was ready and willing to work for it. Even when he got a scholarship, he said, ‘I’m still a walk-on. It doesn’t matter.’ He was basically saying, ‘I’m going to come to work every day. It doesn’t matter whether my school is paid for or not.’ That is just the type of guy he was.”
Foltz, a native of Nebraska walked onto the football team in 2012 and after redshirting that season found immediate success for the Huskers. On and off of the field, the awards and accolades accumulated quickly. He was a five-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll winner, was awarded the Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award (2016), Brook Berringer and Tom Osborne Citizenship Team awards and was First-Team Big All-Ten in 2015 while also being placed on the Ray Guy Award Watch List (the top college award for punting) twice. At 22 years-old, he was already a shining example to any teammate he met.
Janovich, in particular, soon became close with Foltz. Both were initially walk-on football players and both were natives of Nebraska. While Janovich also excelled as a fullback he never lost his immediate role on special teams, punt team included. He saw day in and day out Foltz’s example and how to treat each day with sincerity.
“He showed up to work every day, but he didn’t want any credit for anything,” the fullback explained. “He wasn’t a guy who wanted limelight or anything. It just goes to show you that put your nose down and good things will happen. He was one of the best punters in the nation. He didn’t look at it that way. It never got to his head, never cocky about it. He just kept working.”
The two also shared the common Nebraska bond of hunting. Janovich recalled, fondly, going coyote and turkey hunting with Foltz, and regretted that he never would get a chance to go duck hunting as his teammate had always wanted them to. As their fellow Cornhuskers mourn Saturday, Janovich and Anderson will also, but from afar.
“I just wish I could have shown up,” he said, pausing for a moment. “It was just a terrible thing to happen right now; I just couldn’t make it, and I’m sorry for that.”
Both Janovich and Anderson find themselves in similar professional situations that Foltz found himself in back in 2012; trying to make a roster, making the best out of life’s opportunities each day. Foltz’s legacy is far more than football, but his demeanor and mindset on the field can be applied to far more than a game. Janovich and Anderson will always have an unbreakable bond with the Foltz, and they surely will do what he displayed in his short 22 years on earth, “Just keep working.”
“He is like a brother because we worked together, sweat together, grind together,” Anderson concluded, somberly. “It was sad news, and I’m praying for him and his family,”
