Nebraska senior Dicaprio Bootle (7) hugs fellow senior Marquel Dismuke (left) as JoJo Domann looks on after the Huskers' 24-17 loss to Minnesota on Dec. 12, 2020, at Memorial Stadium.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star file photo
Nebraska wide receiver Levi Falck catches a pass against Penn State on Nov. 14, 2020, at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s senior class has reached the end of the season, and now each member must decide what his next move is.
Seniors in college football (and many other sports) have an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s plausible that any of them could return for the 2021 football season.
The guiding principle here is that seniors will have to make their decision by the NFL’s early entrant deadline, which is typically in mid-January. That also happens to be around the time Husker players will return to campus for the beginning of the spring semester and winter conditioning. Some may make their choice much sooner. For example, NU senior running back Dedrick Mills said after NU’s 28-21 victory over Rutgers on Friday that he thought he’d know something “in a few days or maybe a week or so.â€
It also would appear that kicker Connor Culp is poised to return in 2021, as he was the only senior on Nebraska’s roster not to be recognized on Senior Day earlier this month at Memorial Stadium.
NU has 11 other scholarship seniors who find themselves in a variety of situations. We’re not going to try to guess who’s going to decide what, but below is a quick guide to what is known so far and the position each senior is in.
The defensive core
Nebraska had seven senior starters on defense and all have decisions to make except for Miller, who has already decided to give up his playing days.
The rest:
* Ben Stille, DL
* Will Honas, ILB
* JoJo Domann, OLB
* Marquel Dismuke, S
* Deontai Williams, S
* Dicaprio Bootle, DB
The group includes players at all three levels of the defense and the top four tacklers on the team in 2020 (Domann, Honas, Williams and Dismuke, respectively). What’s more, all six have used redshirt seasons and the same four players that led the team in tackles have each dealt with major injuries at some point during their college careers.
Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said late in the season that he hopes he gets the chance to coach every one of Nebraska’s seniors on defense again next year. Going 6-for-6 with the above group seems unlikely, but it is certainly possible that at least some decide to return.
Input from NFL evaluators will be interesting. All six have at least some reason to believe they can make it, but are any of the six guaranteed draft picks? Domann was selected for the East-West Shrine Bowl. He, like each of the others, played perhaps the best football of his career to date over the past several weeks.Â
Being drafted isn't the only consideration, though. So is whether a sixth year of college football can considerably alter one's stock. That answer may not be the same for every player.Â
They aren’t the only Blackshirts with decisions to make, either. Junior cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt saw his stock rise considerably over the course of the fall and will have to make a decision about whether to return for a fourth year in the program or jump for the NFL after three. He was a second-team All-Big Ten pick by the conference’s coaches and logged his second interception of the season against Rutgers.
Have indicated a return is unlikely
* Boe Wilson, OL
* Christian Gaylord, OL
Wilson played in 39 career games and appeared in four in 2020. He began the year as NU’s starting left guard and split time with redshirt freshman Ethan Piper before eventually seeing his snaps decline. He struggled to stay healthy in 2019. After the win Friday, he tweeted a photo from the locker room with the caption, “Sending us old guys out with a Husker win!! Love y’all boys.â€
Sending us old guys out with a Husker win!! Love y’all boys🤙ðŸ¼
— Boe Wilson (@boewilson56)
Gaylord appeared in every game in 2020 on special teams and was already in his sixth year of college football. He received a medical hardship waiver after suffering a season-ending knee injury in preseason camp before the 2019 season. Gaylord wrote eloquently for Huskers.com recently about losing his father in a car crash last year and the importance of family and faith. He also joked about visiting soon in search of a job. Six years is a heck of a run.
The rest of the offensive guys
* Mills
* Matt Farniok, OL
* Jack Stoll, TE
* Levi Falck, walk-on WR
Mills eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in his NU career against the Scarlet Knights and played his best football of the season (236 total yards, including 191 rushing on 31 touches). He said he’ll have a decision soon.
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Farniok is a captain and showed versatility this year. He could help the 2021 team, but the same versatility will likely only aid his standing in the eyes of evaluators at the next level.
Stoll suffered a knee injury in the season opener but only missed one game and then played his way back into shape the rest of the season. Tough dude.
Falck transferred from South Dakota and worked his way into NU’s rotation, playing in all eight games and starting four. He finished with 13 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. If he returns for 2021, he could be in line for scholarship consideration.
Photos: Nebraska outlasts Rutgers to earn third win of season
Nebraska senior Dicaprio Bootle (7) hugs fellow senior Marquel Dismuke (left) as JoJo Domann looks on after the Huskers' 24-17 loss to Minnesota on Dec. 12, 2020, at Memorial Stadium.