Nebraska has a new senior special teams analyst and now also a new special teams player.Â
Walk-on punter Sami Khawja announced his verbal pledge to the Huskers on Thursday afternoon after finishing up his high school career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.Â
He committed just days after Jonathan Rutledge was formally hired as Nebraska's new senior special teams analyst.Â
Khawja, a Class of 2020 player, will join a battle for punter that will include at least two others vying to replace departed senior Isaac Armstrong.Â
On paper, sophomore walk-on William Przystup would seem to be the early favorite. A Michigan State transfer last year, he was the No. 2 option behind Armstrong and also handled about half of the Huskers' kickoff attempts on the season. Also in the mix are redshirt freshman walk-on Grant Detlefsen, a Lincoln Southeast graduate who has not yet appeared in a game for NU, and incoming walk-on Tyler Crawford (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma).Â
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Overall, Nebraska will have several options — and likely spirited competition — in each of its kicking battles. Sophomore Barret Pickering and walk-ons Matt Waldoch, Gabe Heins, Chase Contrerez and Crawford will all compete for the place-kicking job. The Huskers would also be well-served if they can find a player who can drive the ball deeper on kickoffs. Nebraska logged touchbacks on just 21.1% of its kickoffs in 2019, which was No. 111 in the country and lower than all but two teams in the Big Ten.Â