Fans usually get the version of college football wrapped in noise and color: packed stadiums, marching bands, the swell of a Saturday crowd. At Nebraska, that scene lives every weekend at Memorial Stadium, where people come from across the state, the Plains and beyond to be part of it. It’s the part of the sport that stays with you.
What fans don’t see is the other side - the one that can take a player out of the game entirely. That’s the side Nebraska defensive tackle Mac Markway ran into this week when he retired from football because his knees could no longer hold up.
Markway played in Nebraska’s season opener against Ohio, his first game in three seasons. It turned out to be the only game he would play for the Huskers. For a player who loved the sport and was clearly talented enough to keep pushing, that’s the hard reality underneath the pageantry.
He explained the decision in an Instagram post: “The reality is my knees just aren’t what they used to be and aren’t letting me play at the level I want to. I got a huge weight and stress off my shoulders with this decision and I am truly at peace with it.”
Markway, who is from St. Louis, began his college career at LSU as a four-star tight end. He said in the same post, “From playing at LSU as a freshman to coming to Nebraska and betting on myself, I completed my story by getting back on the field after 5 career-ending injuries,”
He also thanked the people around him for getting him through it. “To all my teammates and coaches I love you guys a ton, because of how much you guys helped me through all my hardships,” Markway said in his Instagram post.
“I am going to be around the facility helping y’all boys in another aspect of football. It’s time to conquer the world in a different aspect of not just Mac the football player but as MAC MARKWAY.”
The toll behind that kind of decision is easy to overlook from the stands. Markway described his path as five career-ending injuries, which says plenty about the pain, rehab and uncertainty he dealt with just to get back on the field. Athletes spend months grinding through that work without any guarantee they’ll ever feel like themselves again.
Football, more than most sports, makes that grind visible. It’s a collision sport by design, and the damage piles up fast.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule touched on Markway during his Monday news conference, saying, “His role will, I think, significantly be amplified each week,” Rhule said. “I think you’ll see him continue to move forward.”
Markway logged six snaps against Ohio. That was it. Sometimes football gives you a brief return, then takes it away just as quickly.
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Nebraska Has A New Debate After Week 1 Standouts Took Over
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Matt Rhule and Dana Holgorsen both offered praise for the way those players have shown up, underscoring the mix of mindset, physicality and impact that can separate a good contributor from the guy everyone else is chasing. The larger question for Nebraska fans is the one that never really goes away after an eye-opening opener: who is actually the best football player on this roster, and who is becoming indispensable as the season takes shape? [Read more 🡒]