Since the end of the season, one of the most disappointing developments has been Terrance Knighton leaving Nebraska to go with Tony White to Florida State. I thought Knighton was a dynamic young coach and a great recruiter. I really liked how influential he was with his players. The ‘Death Row’ moniker was pure genius, and you could see how bought in his guys were. So much so in fact that six defensive linemen went into the portal almost immediately with Knighton’s announcement of leaving. One of those being James Williams, who shared his personal feelings during the season as to how much Knighton meant to him. It’s a great story, and it was no surprise to see Willimas follow Knighton to Florida State.
I worried how Matt Rhule would fill Knighton’s position and didn’t think it possible to do better. But with the hiring of Kansas City Chief’s defensive line assistant coach Terry Bradden, I think Rhule may have done just that. I’m sure John Butler was a part of this hiring, having worked with Bradden early in his career. Now, I know it’s early and Bradden isn’t on campus yet, it’s a given Bradden has met and talked to current players, incoming recruits, and transfer portal guys. With Knighton’s departure retaining 2025 recruits Kade Pietrzak, Malcolm Simpson, and Tyson Terry was key. Bradden had to be a part of that. It’s also safe to say he played a huge part in influencing Willimas Nwaneri, Jaylen George, and Gabe Moore out of the portal. And I’ll go a step further and say he played a role in keeping Keona Davis, Riley Van Poppel, and Cam Lenhardt locked-in at Nebraska.
Now stick with me here Husker fans. If you are as into football as I am, you follow professional football as well as college football. I’m a Pittsburgh Steeler fan. After the Steelers. I root for what I’ll call our hometown team, the Kansas City Chiefs. After those two, I’m on board with the Buffalo Bills. I’m also one of those guys that can watch almost any game, and no matter who the two teams are, I can find a reason to root for one of them.
As far as college ball, I’m all Nebraska, but I’ve found this season with the twelve-team playoff I’m also a B1G guy. Before this season you would have been hard pressed to get me to root for Ohio State, yet they are the team I’m cheering for in the playoffs. I’m invested in the B1G.
Now, if you are playing football at Nebraska and aspire of playing in the NFL, you follow a team. I’m sure every guy on the Nebraska team has a favorite. And while they will be rooting for their team in the playoffs, I guarantee you they are watching Kansas City because of Terry Bradden. Because he is the new CEO of what was ‘Death Row’. They players are interested because they will be playing for him and will be watching the KC D-line. They’ll want to study techniques and see line stunts from starters like Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. They’ll want to know how KC recorded 55 sacks for -388 yards in 2022, or how they got 57 sacks for -371 yards in 2023. Those numbers are encouraging when you consider Nebraska recorded 32 and 30 sacks in the last two seasons.
Rhule has commented on his double-digit winning teams at Temple and Baylor having 40 sacks. That’s a number the 2025 Blackshirts need to achieve. Bradden under new DC John Butler just might be the guy to make that happen. And let’s hope Bradden comes up with his own catchy name, maybe something like the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ for the Blackshirts three-man front. What does the Bermuda Triangle do? Swallow people up and make them disappear.
Catchy name or not, one thing I know will be happening during the NFL playoffs, the Nebraska players and especially the defensive linemen will be watching Kansas City closely, because Terry Bradden is now their guy. Nebraska has skin in the game.
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