Before Nebraska began spring football, the Journal Star took a stab at compiling a projected depth chart on each side of the ball.
Now that spring ball has come and gone, it’s a good time to revisit. Over the past week, each defensive position got an updated look.
Before shifting to offense next week, here’s an updated depth chart projection based on what coaches and players said over five weeks and 15 practices, what we’ve seen and what is known about injury situations.
On a veteran defense, only the projection for the defensive line remained the same.
Defensive line
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DE: 1. Ben Stille, senior. 2. Deontre Thomas, junior.
DT: 1. Damion Daniels, junior. 2. Jordon Riley, junior.
DE: 1. Ty Robinson, redshirt freshman, OR Casey Rogers, sophomore.
Changes from pre-spring: None. Stille missed the spring after having surgery this winter, but he’s expected to be back in the mix over the summer. Overall, it was a pretty straightforward spring for the Husker defensive line, which has big expectations for itself this fall. The only surprise — and new candidate for a spot on the two-deep — is walk-on Colton Feist.
The spring gave the rotation players a good chance to get work in and also allowed for some development time for the next wave of young guys, but this is going to be a veteran group in 2021.
Outside linebacker
1. JoJo Domann, senior. 2. Javin Wright, redshirt freshman OR Isaac Gifford, freshman.
1. Pheldarius Payne, junior, OR Garrett Nelson, sophomore.
Changes from pre-spring: Wright and Gifford enter the picture at the Sam/nickel spot, having worked there the entire spring with Domann limited. That dropped junior Caleb Tannor out of this particular projection, though he’s still going to be part of the rotation. It’s just a matter of how Mike Dawson and company want to utilize the group and also how much even front vs. odd front the Huskers end up playing. There are situations, for example, where two of Nelson, Tannor and Payne plus Domann could all be on the field.
Inside linebacker
1. Chris Kolarevic, junior 2. Garrett Snodgrass, redshirt freshman.
1. Luke Reimer, sophomore, OR Nick Henrich, redshirt freshman.
Changes from pre-spring: Senior Will Honas drops out of the two-deep because of the knee injury he suffered during drill work on the last practice before the Red-White Spring Game. Honas will not be ready for the beginning of the season and, given his status as a sixth-year player with a different major knee injury in his past, it’s unclear whether he’ll play at all in 2021.
Kolarevic impressed coaches and teammates alike and looks like a strong candidate to start with Reimer. Listing Henrich on the co-starting line with Reimer is more a nod to the fact that Barrett Ruud is likely to use primarily a three-man rotation without Honas available. Henrich was mostly healthy this spring but didn’t play in the Red-White Spring Game. NU could really use at least one more whom Ruud trusts to play at least some snaps, and Snodgrass seems like the best bet at this point.
Cornerback
1. Cam Taylor-Britt, junior. 2. Nadab Joseph, sophomore.
1. Quinton Newsome, sophomore. 2. Braxton Clark, sophomore.
Changes from pre-spring: Elevated Newsome to the starting spot ahead of Clark after giving the OR designation pre-spring. Defensive backs coach Travis Fisher said Newsome has taken the lead for the job and nothing late in spring ball suggested the Georgia native was letting it slip.
One thing to watch here: With Joseph out during the spring game, the No. 2 corner across from Clark was Benkelman walk-on Phalen Sanford. Sanford was a track standout at Dundy County-Stratton High and then went to Hastings for his freshman year before transferring to NU. He’s been near the top of the Huskers’ performance index testers in several categories. At the least, he’s likely to play on special teams like he did in the final five games of 2020.
Safety
1. Marquel Dismuke, senior. 2. Noa Pola-Gates, redshirt freshman.
1. Deontai Williams, senior. 2. Myles Farmer, redshirt freshman.
Changes from pre-spring: Dropped Gifford off the No. 2 line because he spent most of the spring backing up Domann. Other than that, the top four look solid coming out of spring ball. Fisher expressed a high degree of confidence in Farmer and Pola-Gates, referring to them as 1.5s rather than 2s. When push comes to shove, Fisher hasn’t done a ton of rotating in-game over the past couple of years. Will that change this fall?
Specialists
Placekicker: 1. Connor Culp, senior. 2. Gabe Heins, redshirt freshman.
Punter: 1. Daniel Cerni, freshman OR William Przystup, sophomore.
Long snapper: 1. Cade Mueller, sophomore, OR Cameron Pieper, sophomore.
Changes from pre-spring: Cerni and Przystup get the OR designation for now as Cerni, a freshman from Australia, didn’t appear to do enough this spring to clearly win the job. That’s not to say he won’t, but for now, Przystup remains a candidate to win the job.
Also moved Gabe Heins to the No. 2 placekicking job behind Culp, mostly because he was the only other player to attempt a kick in the Red-White Spring Game. NU hopes it won’t have to go beyond Culp, of course, since he’s the reigning Big Ten kicker of the year.
The more pressing question on the kicking front is who will handle kickoff duties. Freshman walk-on Kelen Meyer is a candidate when he gets to campus this summer, or NU could look for a transfer addition. The Huskers would be much better off if they had somebody who could regularly drive the ball into the end zone, and neither Culp nor Heins has shown that.
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