With spring ball in the rearview mirror, Nebraska rolls into the summer having answered some questions over the course of its 15 spring practices and with some still remaining.
The Journal Star is looking at each position to recap what's been learned, what hasn't and who stood out this spring.
Today, we turn our attention to the secondary and Nebraska's cornerback group.
Monday: Defensive line
Tuesday: Outside linebacker
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Wednesday: Inside linebacker
Today: Cornerbacks
Friday: Safeties
Saturday: Defensive depth chart projection
What we learned
Quinton Newsome is a strong contender for the starting job opposite Cam Taylor-Britt. Newsome, a Georgia native, pulled ahead of Braxton Clark and other candidates for the spot with a solid spring. He’s played a lot for Nebraska already in his career — 18 games played, including special teams work in all of them and defensive snaps in 12 over his first two seasons — but a starting assignment would be a big step forward for him.
What we didn’t
Instead of learning more about the two-deep, we might come out of spring ball knowing less. Clark is the No. 3 at this point, but youngsters Marques Buford and Tamon Lynum missed most (all, in Buford’s case) of spring ball with injuries, and Nadab Joseph didn’t play in the Red-White Spring Game due to an injury.
Standout player
Easy. Taylor-Britt has ascended into a face-of-the-program type player and perhaps the best player on the roster. The second-team All-Big Ten cornerback in 2020 is NU’s best candidate for All-America-type honors in some time. Offensive coordinator Matt Lubick put it simply in a video detailing Taylor-Britt’s spring: “It’s a challenge to complete a pass on that guy.â€
Stock-riser
Newsome’s the easy pick here. It’s also good to see Clark back healthy after missing all of 2020 with a shoulder injury. At 6-foot-4 and 200-plus pounds with starting experience, he’s going to factor in some way, somehow for the Huskers this fall.
Summer to-do list
Cornerback might be the safest bet when it comes to where Nebraska will look this summer for help in the transfer portal. So that’s certainly something to keep an eye on. A young guy might be ideal, considering this is Taylor-Britt’s last season barring something unforeseen. Then, it’s about getting Lynum, Buford and Joseph healthy and adding Malik Williams to the group this summer.
— Parker Gabriel
A look at the 2021 Nebraska football schedule
Week 0: at Illinois
When: Aug. 28, NoonÂ
Where: Champaign, Ill.
Illinois in 2020: 2-6
Last time the Huskers and Illini played: Illinois 41, Nebraska 23 (2020)
All-time series: Nebraska leads, 11-4
Week 1: vs. Fordham
When: Sept. 4, 11 a.m.Â
Where: Memorial Stadium
Fordham in 2020: 2-1 (shortened by COVID-19)
Last time the Huskers and Rams met: No previous matchups
Week 2: vs. Buffalo
When: Sept. 11, 2:30 p.m.Â
Where: Memorial Stadium
Buffalo in 2020: 6-1 (5-0 in MAC)
Last time the Huskers and Bulls met: No previous matchups
Week 3: at Oklahoma
When: Sept. 18, 11 a.m.Â
Where: Norman, Oklahoma
Oklahoma in 2020: 9-2 (6-2 Big 12)
Last time Huskers and Sooners played: Oklahoma 23, Nebraska 20 (Dec. 5, 2010, Big 12 Championship)
All-time series: Oklahoma, 45-38-3
Week 4: at Michigan State
When: Sept. 25
Where: East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan State in 2020: 2-5
The last time the Huskers and Spartans played: Nebraska 9, Michigan State 6 (Nov. 17, 2018)
All-time series: Nebraska leads, 9-2
Week 5: Northwestern
When: Oct. 2, 6:30 p.m.Â
Where: Memorial Stadium
Northwestern in 2020: 7-2, Big Ten runner-up
The last time the Huskers and Wildcats met: Northwestern 21, Nebraska 13 (Nov. 7, 2020)
All-time series: Nebraska leads, 8-6
Week 6: Michigan
When: Oct. 9Â
Where: Memorial Stadium
Michigan in 2020: 2-4
The last time the Huskers and Wolverines played: Michigan 56, Nebraska 10 (Sept. 22, 2018)
All-time series: Michigan leads, 5-4
Week 7: at Minnesota
When: Oct. 16Â
Where: Minneapolis
Minnesota in 2020: 3-4Ìý
The last time the Huskers and Gophers played: Minnesota 24, Nebraska 17 (Dec. 12, 2020)
All-time series: Minnesota, 34-25-2
Week 9; Purdue
When: Oct. 30Â
Where: Memorial Stadium
Purdue in 2020: 2-4
The last time the Huskers and Boilermakers met: Nebraska 37, Purdue 27 (Dec. 5, 2020)
All-time series: Nebraska leads, 5-4
Week 10: Ohio State
When: Nov. 6Â
Where: Memorial Stadium
Ohio State in 2020: 7-1 (national runner-up)
The last time the Huskers and Buckeyes met: Ohio State 52, Nebraska 17 (Oct. 24, 2020)
All-time series: Ohio State leads, 8-1
Week 12: at Wisconsin
When: Nov. 20Â
Where: Madison, WisconsinÂ
Wisconsin in 2020: 4-3
The last time the Huskers and Badgers met: Wisconsin 37, Nebraska 21 (Nov. 16, 2019)
All-time series: Wisconsin leads, 10-4
Week 13: Iowa
When: Nov. 26, 12:30 p.m.Â
Where: Memorial Stadium
Iowa in 2020: 6-2
The last time the Huskers and Hawkeyes met: Iowa 26, Nebraska 20 (Nov. 27, 2020)
All-time series: Nebraska leads, 29-19-3
Contact the writer at pgabriel@journalstar.com or 402-473-7439. On Twitter @HuskerExtraPG.
In this Series
Spring post-op: Catch up on our position-by-position look at where the Huskers stand after spring
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Updated
Spring post-op: Martinez is QB1, but NU quarterback room has some work to do this summer
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Updated
Spring post-op: Taking a comprehensive look at the Husker safeties, led by Dismuke, Williams
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Updated
Spring post-op: The leader for the other starting CB spot, the stock-riser and summer to-do list
- 6 updates