Nebraska released their depth chart on Monday for the Akron game. There weren’t many changes and ‘OR’ still shows up at a few positions. The most notable difference was the loss of WR Janiran Bonner for the season. Bonner suffered a torn ACL during the Cincinnati game. He is a big loss as he was seen as a leader and was awarded a single digit jersey.
The biggest question continues to be at left tackle, where there has been a three-way battle between Gottula, Corcoran, and Pritchett. Matt Rhule stated before the Cincinnati game that mistakes were what kept Pritchett from being named the starter. Fans witnessed what Rhule was talking about during the Cincy game when Pritchett jumped offside with the Huskers having the ball first and goal from the one-yard line. Due to the penalty the Huskers ended up settling for a field goal. The three left tackles shared snaps almost equally with Pritchett getting 33, Corcoran 26, and Gottula 23. Matt Rhule has since stated Gunner Gottula would start the Akron game.
While the Huskers rotated players throughout the game there are positions where additional depth needs to be found. Running backs is the biggest concern as starter Emmett Johnson saw 32 touches, while backups Mekhi Nelson and Isiah Mozee only saw 2 touches apiece.
At TE, Carter Nelson only saw 5 snaps and with the loss of Bonner Matt Rhule indicated Nelson would need to see more playing time as he has several of the same skill sets as Bonner. It is yet to be seen where Nelson will line up.
On defense eight players saw playing time at defensive back with all five starters playing over 45 snaps apiece while backup Donavan Jones saw 29. Seven players saw action at linebacker, Javin Wright got 48 snaps, Desean McCullough 37, Vincient Shavers Jr. 29, and Marques Watson-Trent 25. Seven players saw action on the defensive front with Cam Lenhart and Williams Nwaneri each playing 38 snaps. Keona Davis and Elijiah Jeudy got 32 each and Riley Van Poppel saw 20. Jeudy didn’t have a particularly strong showing, and it is anticipated Van Poppel will get most of the snaps against Akron.
In all 21 players saw action on offense and 22 on defense. Look for that number to go up substantially over the next two games against Akron and Houston Christian. The Huskers should win the next two games with ease, which can’t be the attitude of the team, but is what most fans expect. The Huskers won a tough game against a good Cincinnati team, now it’s time for them to get young players reps and see who steps up and performs in game action. Most coaches claim, including Holgorsen, that teams see improvement from game one to game two. If that means getting to see Nebraska’s backup running backs on the field, it’ll be a welcome sight.
The Nebraska depth chart for the Akron game is as follows:
OFFENSE
Left Tackle
(77) Gunnar Gottula 6’6” | 305 | (So) or
(69) Turner Corcoran 6’6” | 310 | (Sr) or
(57) Elijah Pritchett 6’6” | 325 | (Jr)
Left Guard
57) Henry Lutovsky 6’6” | 320 | (Sr)
(76) Jason Maciejczak 6’3” | 310 | (So)
Center
(51) Justin Evans 6’3” | 315 | (Jr)
(62) Sam Sledge 6’4” | 300 | (So)
Right Guard
(50) Rocco Spindler 6’5” | 315 | (Sr)
(66) Grant Brix 6’6” | 315 | (Fr),
Right Tackle
(65) Teddy Prochazka 6’10” | 320 | (Sr) or
(75) Tyler Knack 6’6” | 325 | (Jr)
Tight End
44) Luke Lindenmeyer 6’3” | 250 | (Jr)
(10) Heinrich Haarberg 6’5” | 230 | (Sr) or
(29) Carter Nelson 6’5” | 240 | (So)
Wide Receiver-X
(6) Dane Key 6’3” | 210 | (Sr)
(86) Cortez Mills 6’0” | 185 | (Fr)
(80) Jeremiah Jones 6’4” | 225 | (Fr)
Wide Receiver-Z
(13) Nyziah Hunter 6’1” | 205 | (So)
(89) Quinn Clark 6’5” | 210 | (Fr)
Wide Receiver-Slot
(2) Jacory Barney Jr 6’0” | 170 | (So)
(85) Keelan Smith 6’3” | 205 | (Fr)
Quarterback
(15) Dylan Raiola 6’3” | 230 | (So)
(14) TJ Lateef 6’1” | 200 | (Fr)
Running Back
(21) Emmett Johnson 5’11” | 200 | (Jr)
(35) Mekhi Nelson 6’0” | 195 | (Fr)
(84) Isaiah Mozee 6’0” | 210 | (Fr)
DEFENSE
Defensive End
(96) Willimas Nwaneri 6’7” | 265 | (Fr) or
(11) Cameron Lenhardt 6’3” | 270 | (Jr)
(93) Kade Pietrzak 6’5” | 265 | (Fr)
Nose Guard
(16) Elijah Jeudy 6’3” | 300 | (Sr)
(5) Riley Van Poppel 6’5” | 295 | (So)
(53) David Hoffken 6’7” | 285 | (Fr)
Defensive Tackle
(97) Keona Davis 6’5” | 275 | (So)
(90) Jaylen George 6’3” | 285 | (Jr)
(92) Sua Lefotu 6’3” | 300 | (So)
Jack Linebacker
(22) Desan McCullough 6’5” | 235 | (Sr)
(94) Jordan Ochoa 6’4” | 240 | (Fr)
Linebacker
(26) Marques Trent-Watson 5’11” | 225 | (Sr) or
(9) Vincent Shaver Jr 6’1” | 225 | (So)
Linebacker
(0) Javin Wright 6’5” | 230 | (Sr)
(54) Jacob Bower 6’1” | 220 | (So)
(51) Dawson Merritt 6’3” | 225 | (Fr)
Rover
(8) DeShon Singleton 6’3” | 210 | (Sr)
(21) Rex Guthrie 6’0” | 200 | (Fr)
Cornerback
(10) Andrew Marshall 6’0” | 190 | (Jr)
(37) Donavan Jones 6’1” | 200 | (Fr)
Safety
(3) Marques Buford Jr 5’11” | 190 | (Sr)
(28) Caleb Benning 5’11” | 190 | (Fr)
Nickel
(7) Malcolm Hartzog 5’9” | 185 | (Sr)
(13) Jamir Conn 5’11” | 180 | (Jr)
Cornerback
(15) Ceyair Wright 6’0” | 190 | (Sr)
(25) Jeremiah Charles 6’0” | 175 | (So)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Place-Kicker
(91) Kyle Cunanan 5’10” | 180 | (So) or
(90) John Hohl 6’0” | 195 | (So)
(30) Tristan Alvano 6’1” | 210 | (So)
Holder
(37) Kamdyn Koch 6’2” | 200 | (Fr)
(12) Jaylen Gramstad 6’0” | 200 | (Sr)
Punter
(83) Archie Wilson 6’2” | 215 | (Fr)
(37) Kamdyn Koch 6’2” | 200 | (Fr)
Long Snapper
(46) Kevin Gallic 5’11” | 240 | (Sr)
(94) Aidan Fledge 6’2” | 225 | (Sr)
Kick Returner
(84) Isaiah Mozee 6’0” | 210 | (Fr) or
(25) Kenneth Willimas 5’9” | 195 | (So) or
(35) Mekhi Nelson 6’0” | 195 | (Fr)
Punt Returner
(2) Jacory Barney Jr 6’0” | 170 | (So)
(10) Andrew Marshall 6’0” | 190 | (Jr)
Go Big Red!
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