Sam's Story
On July 23rd, Sam Foltz was tragically taken too soon from this earth at the mere age of 22 in an automobile accident coming home after a day of mentoring and teaching at the Kohl’s Kicking Camp.
Many people knew Sam as the star punter of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, but he will be forever remembered for the tremendous legacy he leaves in his wake for the man he was.
Sam grew up in the small town of Greeley, Nebraska and as a small town kid, he had always dreamed about playing for his beloved Huskers. As time went on, he began to show the world his phenomenal athletic skills in multiple sports while at Grand Island Senior High and that dream became a reality when he was offered to walk on at the University of Nebraska to have the opportunity to punt.
He redshirted his freshman year and worked tirelessly at his craft every day, only to become the starting punter for the Huskers as a redshirt freshman and even earned himself a scholarship later on. Many people had thought he had made it big, but little did we know that punting was only the beginning to Sam’s niche in this world.
Sam continued to work tirelessly every day at punting (even in the off season or on days off), but the world began to see the way he was able to excel off the field. Sam stayed true to the person he was raised to be even after he became statewide celebrity and he was always seen with that ear-to-ear grin that would brighten up a room. He worked hard in the classroom and earned himself multiple academic awards.
Sam also gave a large amount of time to giving back to the younger generation. He spent many hours volunteering with young children whether it was sitting in a classroom reading a book, or hanging out with sick children at the hospital, or putting on events to raise money for children with diseases or needs, or going out of his way to take pictures and sign autographs, or most recently traveling across the country to mentor kids with the same dreams he had.
No matter what Sam was doing, he was doing it with a full heart and giving it his all. Even in his final hours, he was said to have passed time at the camp from the rain delays by grabbing the microphone to speak about his story to the campers to maybe help change that one life that took his words to heart.
Everything we have spoke of already is enough to fill a person’s schedule, but Sam never forgot to find time for his family and friends. Every off moment he had, he loaded up that Silverado and headed back to the family farm, whether they needed him to pick up bales or run the combine. Once he got out of the tractor, he was always seen with his beloved nephews and niece that really gave him the drive to help out other members of the younger generation. Sam saw the way those kids loved and adored him and he let that family love guide him along his journey. If Sam wasn’t with those kids, he was found looking up to his brother and father who he so idolized.
He never forgot about the women in his life that made him the person he was. Both of his sisters were never far away from Sam, and he couldn’t ever get enough of it. His mom raised him to be the kind, gentle giant that he grew up to become and he was never at a loss of words of how much he loved his mom. Sam also loved spending time with his grandparents so he could just take in the some of the wisdom they had to offer.
Sam’s friends were also a big part of his life and he took pride in just being one of the guys. Whether he was in Lincoln, Greeley, or Grand Island, he was always that happy-go-lucky kid who just loved spending time with his friends who didn’t want anything more from him than to just have some fun.
Sam Foltz was an all-star punter on route to becoming a four year starter, B1G punter of the year, and named to multiple Ray Guy Award watch lists, but his light shined brightest when he was off the field simply for the man he was.
His passion and drive became second to none and he became one of the hardest workers this generation could have met. Sam was known to many for being one of the most humble people you could have met and he was always more than willing to drop everything he was doing to help another soul out. His people skills shined not only his multiple opportunities to speak in front of crowds of younger people, but any person could come up to Sam and he’d talk about anything with you for hours.
It’s with no exaggeration when we say that when you met Sam, you never forgot who he was.
Even though Sam’s life was cut short, his legacy will live on forever. He left a legacy behind that no one could ever forget. Some of us lost a son, brother, uncle, grandson, friend, or a football star, but we all lost a great man who was role model and hero, even if the only cape he wore was his long red hair.
Since the day of his passing, it can easily be seen how much Sam meant to the world. The thousands of lives that he touched taking to the news and social media to show how much they thought of him. We are selling these bands in hopes of allowing Sam to touch thousands more lives even after his passing.
It was clear that no matter if you knew Sam for 15 minutes or 15 years, he had a profound impact on your life with the love and care he showed you and that one in a million smile he was never shy to share. These bands are simple reminder of the man Sam was, but more importantly a reminder for us to follow in Sam’s footsteps to be heroes in our ways, to realize every day is an opportunity to get better, and allow nothing to change.