aware of George Flippin because he inspired Anthony Blue, one of 12 talented student artists who participated in The Flippin Project, a public unveiling of a four-by-six-foot mural-style portrait of the iconic Flippin standing proudly in his Nebraska football uniform. Flippin is wearing a white sweater emblazoned with a red 'N'. The art was the culmination of a dozen student volunteer workers and the brainchild of Jon Humiston, the creative director for University Communications at the University of Nebraska­-Lincoln.

For the past five months, Humiston coordinated the project, giving each student - from Nebraska, California, Oregon and Texas - the opportunity to create art for a permanent collection and to gain exposure for their talents. A scholarship recruit from Cedar Hill, Texas, Blue is no longer on Nebraska's officialroster, but he remains in good standing with coaches and teammates. The one-time president of Your Degree First, a student-athlete organization, Blue had ACL surgery on both knees and was forced to concentrate exclusively on succeeding in academics and in life.

"George Flippin inspires me because he was able to achieve in such hard times," Blue said. "That just goes to show that there is opportunity and there is a chance for you to do something great in life and make a difference." Blue, an art major, also has painted a portrait of Husker teammate Jermarcus "Yoshi" Hardrick. "He's had his ups and downs," Blue said of Yoshi, "but his future's bright, and he's someone I really look up to." Blue, of course, has someone else now to look