The first time Ernest Hausmann returned to Nebraska wearing a Michigan jersey felt like a reunion of sorts. So many friends and former teammates to catch up with on game day.
That was September 2023, when the Wolverines narrowly missed a shutout with a 45-7 beatdown in 90-degree heat. Hausmann — a Husker transfer and linebacker who starred at Columbus High School — made two tackles that sweltering day as UM passed through on its way to an eventual national title.
Hausmann and Michigan return this week to fresh circumstances. A competitive game — potentially a defining one for Nebraska — is likely. Only 13 Huskers are still around from the 2022 squad that included Hausmann, who emerged late amid injuries to finish with 54 tackles as one of Big Red’s most promising freshmen.
“Being able to go down for my second time, that’s a whole different experience,” Hausmann said. “… I’ve got a job to do. That’s what I’m going to do.”
The defender offered that thought at Big Ten media days in late July, fielding questions even then about crossing paths with Nebraska once more. He reflected on the firing of coach Scott Frost early in that 2022 campaign while asserting he wasn’t blameless for why it happened.
“It hurts my heart,” Hausmann said, “because, myself, I feel like I was part of the reason he had to leave.”
Hausmann left the program a few months later and joined Michigan after two weeks in the portal. Not an easy choice, he told reporters. But well thought out.
The 22-year-old has become perhaps the most successful former Husker in the transfer era across two-plus seasons in Ann Arbor that include a Big Ten crown, a national championship and being voted a captain for this fall. He led Michigan in tackles in 2024 with 89. The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder owns a team-best 20 now.
Hausmann’s personal story made national headlines after a recent ESPN profile. Born in Uganda as one of 23 children. Adopted at age 5 by Bob and Teresa Hausmann of Columbus. He returned to his home country last spring for the first time to help dig clean-water wells in multiple villages including his native Ivukula
“If that doesn’t speak to who he is,” Bob told The World-Herald this week, “I don’t know what does.”
The best part about this weekend for the Hausmann family is exchanging a flight — Bob and Teresa attend every game to support their son — for a 160-mile round-trip drive. Three of their young grandchildren will also be at Memorial Stadium on Saturday to watch “Uncle Ernie” play football.
Bob usually took Ernest to one Nebraska game each year growing up. They watched countless more on television. Ernest was always fascinated by how the players prepared on the field.
When Ernest first arrived in Columbus in 2008, he hobbled around with one leg paralyzed. Bob and Teresa started looking at activities other than sports because of his limited mobility. They tried football to help rehab the limb.
“It healed,” Bob Hausmann said. “Then — oh my gosh — he’s really good.”
Ernest blew up as a national recruit in the spring of 2021 and became NU’s first 2022 commit that March. He played cornerback and receiver as a prep sophomore at Columbus but put on good weight and drew attention as a junior as a havoc-wrecking linebacker.
Columbus coach Craig Williams said this week he still references Hausmann as a standard to his current players. His diet was “perfect” and his work ethic unmatched in the classroom and during workouts.
It’s no wonder Hausmann is a Michigan captain, Williams said. People gravitate to guys who make consistently good decisions.
That’s true on the field too. Watch the linebacker after the snap, the Columbus coach said, and see how quickly he processes what is happening. Preparation, ability and instinct collide.
“You can just see right away when he’s got it figured out, he takes off and he’s aggressive,” Williams said. “It’s fun to watch that and why he’s gotten some of those big plays.”
Williams won’t be in attendance Saturday while preparing for the Discoverers’ next game at North Platte. But he’ll take breaks whenever Michigan is on defense.
A contingent of Columbus players are traveling to Lincoln with more complex rooting motivations than usual.
“Everybody on our team follows him and pulls for him and are maybe a little bit distant Michigan fans,” Williams said. “We want to see him succeed and are pulling for him to be successful.”
Hausmann said in July his season at Nebraska “laid a huge foundation” for what he’s done since. It’s where he learned he could play major college football and that his routine produced results.
A couple former NU teammates smiled this week at the prospect of another meeting. Safety Marques Buford recalled Hausmann playing well against Michigan in 2022 — 10 tackles, including a sack — while adding “I always got our offense over anybody.” Running back Emmett Johnson figured a second-level meeting with Hausmann could be fun Saturday afternoon.
“He’s gotten a little bit bigger and more athletic since he’s been here and gone there,” Johnson said. “But honestly, it’s really never about other opponents. It’s about us and what we do.”
Bob Hausmann said the weekend is mostly just the next game for his son, whose passion since childhood has been to uplift others. Ernest works with an adoption agency in Michigan and wants to help provide more clean-water wells in his native country while still pursuing a future in professional football.
One more trip back to Nebraska first for the former top high-school recruit growing into himself as a man.
“He doesn’t need attention, he doesn’t need to be out in front, he doesn’t need to be on social media and those sorts of things,” Bob Hausmann said. “He’s going to live his live in a morally strong way and work his hardest at whatever he does. He tries to go a little step beyond what everyone else does.”
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