This year, John Butler has full control over Nebraska’s defense. From what has been said, we can expect it to be a hybrid 3-3-5 defense, similar to what Tony White ran during his time here. During the bowl game against Boston College, we saw that John Butler loves to attack the quarterback, and I don’t see that going away anytime soon, especially with who Nebraska went after in this year’s transfer portal class.
Jamir Conn. Cornerback. Southern Illinois. 2 years of eligibility. 6’0” 180 pounds. Former 2-Star Recruit.
Conn played for two seasons at the FCS level for Southern Illinois before he transferred to Nebraska. While at Southern Illinois, Conn played in 23 games, including 11 starts. His career stats are 68 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
While Conn will need some time to develop in order to complete at the Big Ten level, I still think you’ll see him out of the field a decent amount during his first year at Nebraska. During his time at the FCS level, Jamir made a jump from his freshman to sophomore years and played with a lot of range for someone his size. With his talent and the coaching staff at Nebraska, I think Conn can develop into a solid piece in the secondary and become a full-time starter for his senior year.
Andrew Marshall. Cornerback. Idaho. 2 years of eligibility. 6’0” 185 pounds. Former 3-star recruit and ranked as a top 200 athlete in his class.
Andrew Marshall is another player coming up from the FCS level. Marshall spent two years at Idaho before coming to Nebraska. As an Idaho Vandal, he played in 26 games including 14 starts. During his time at Idaho he recorded 72 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, 8 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. That’s not all his stats though, as Marshall is an elite punt and kickoff returner. He has returned one punt and one kickoff for a touchdown while also averaging a mind-blowing 41.4 yards per kickoff return.
I believe Andrew Marshall is going to be a day one starter on defense and special teams. While he played at the FCS level, when Idaho played against Oregon, Marshall held his own against what many believe to be future NFL wide receivers. Marshall is a twitchy cover corner with very great vision, smooth hips, and great athleticism. While Andrew Marshall mostly played outside, he has shown he can move down into the slot and defend that well. I think Nebraska fans will be hearing Andrew Marshalls name a lot this season.
Justyn Rhett. Cornerback/Safety. Georgia. 3 years of eligibility. 6’1” 200 pounds. Former 4-Star recruit and ranked as a top 70 player and the No. 7 overall cornerback in his class.
There is a lot of question marks when it comes to Justyn Rhett. While he was an elite recruit coming out of high school, he only has about 30 career snaps under his belt. Maybe the secondary room was just so loaded at Georgia he got moved down the depth chart, or maybe he just needs more time to develop? Both are fair questions to ask and both could very well be true. The one thing I do know is that out of all the recruits in the portal, new DB’s coach Addison Williams, went after Rhett first and that says plenty about how good of a player Rhett can be.
Gabe Moore. Defensive Line. Mississippi State. 4 years of eligibility. 6’4” 250 pounds. Former 3-Star recruit.
Gabe Moore is another member of this transfer portal class where Nebraska is betting on his potential over what his production has been. In his two years at Mississippi State, Moore never saw the field. In 2023 he redshirted and in 2024 he would miss the season due to injury.
There is a lot of unknowns and questions with Gabe Moore. The first major question to ask is if Moore is healthy and gotten over the injuries that sidelined him in 2024? Whatever the injury was, the coaching staff and training staff must think he is healed enough to give him a spot on the roster of 105. The next question is what is his weight? Before transferring to Nebraska, he is listed at 290 pounds but according to the Nebraska’s online roster he weighs 250 pounds. Either weight is too small to play over the center in the Big Ten and is a position Nebraska lacks depth at. If he does truly weigh 250, you can expect him to play at defensive end. With 4 years of eligibility remaining, I would guess he will spend the next one to two years developing before he sees any major amount of play time.
Jaylen George. Defensive Line. East Tennessee State. 2 years of eligibility. 6’2’ 260 pounds. Not ranked by any major recruiting source coming out of high school.
Jaylen George spent the last three years playing for East Tennessee State. In 2022, he redshirted but in during his last two seasons he recorded 54 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
In the FCS, George had a lot of production, which obviously caught the eye of Nebraska’s staff. George is a low risk-high reward kind of guy who I think has a high ceiling. While he is undersized to play in a three man front in the Big Ten, he will more than likely play as a five-technique. With three or four guys all fighting for the starting job, it will be a fun battle to watch.
Dasan McCullough. Edge/Athlete. Oklahoma. 1 year of eligibility. 6’5” 235 pounds. Former 4-Star recruit and top 50 player in his class.
Dasan McCullough has made stops at Indiana and Oklahoma before transferring to Nebraska. He has played in 22 games, starting 12 of them, and recorded 79 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, and six pass breakups. During his freshman year at Indiana, he looked like he was going to be the next Micah Parsons. He earned himself All-Big Ten and All-American honors. After his freshman season, McCullough transferred to Oklahoma. At Oklahoma, Dasan would battle with some injuries but still be an important piece to the Sooners defense.
For Husker fans, imagine a more athletic and versatile Randy Gregory. Thats the type of player Dasan McCullough is. The young man is so athletic, people don’t know what position to list him under. I’ve seen him at defensive end, linebacker, and safety. Coach Rhule says they plan to use him to pass rush and attack the QB, but I would not be shocked to see him play all over the field. If Dasan McCullough can stay healthy, he will be an All-American and find himself with All-Big Ten honors once again. I am very excited to see how John Butler uses him in his new hybrid 3-3-5 defense.
Williams Nwaneri. Edge. Missouri. 4 years of eligibility. 6’7” 255 pounds. The highest rated recruit to ever play at Nebraska. Former top 10 player in his class. No.1 edge rusher in his class.
Williams Nwaneri redshirted his one season at Missouri but saw some playing time in four games where he recorded two tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack. While it might be hard to get excited over what he has done at the college level, you have to remember they don’t just give 5-star ranking to anyone. His ceiling is insanely high, and he already has the size and talents to reach it. If Nwaneri stays at Nebraska for the rest of his career, he could very easily find his name up on the north side of Memorial Stadium with the rest of Husker legends.
Marques Watson-Trent. Linebacker. Georgia Southern. 1 year of eligibility. 5’11 225 pounds. Former 2-star recruit. No. 199 ranked linebacker in his class.
Watson-Trent is a production machine. In his 5 seasons (missed one season due to injury) at Georgia Southern, he played in 49 games including 37 starts. He also recorded 365 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions, six forced fumbles, and one interception returned for a touchdown. In 2022, 2023, and 2024 he was named to an All-Sun Belt Conference team.
There is a lot of big names in this year’s transfer portal class and because of that Watson-Trent has kind of been pushed to the side. Once the season starts however, I think his name is going to be in a lot of conversations. Sure, Georgia Southern isn’t exactly a world-beater but they aren’t a push over. Scott Frost knows this when he lost to them 45-42 in Memorial Stadium, a game in which Watson-Trent had 10 tackles. Regardless of conference or prestige of the opponent, Marques Watson-Trent has caused a lot of problems for offensives over the years, and I don’t see that stopping any time soon.