Spring Ball is Just Around the Corner — Here Are My Three Biggest Questions as a Husker Fan
Spring ball kicks off this Saturday, and it feels like we’ve been through a full season’s worth of drama already. A new quarterback arrives, only to be gone 24 hours later. Another one signs the next day. We lose our best position coach. Special teams gets split between two guys with zero coordinator experience. And Coach Rhule goes nearly radio-silent for close to 50 days.
This hasn’t been the usual “Off-Season National Championship” hype we’re used to. Instead, it’s left Husker fans — myself included — with plenty of real questions heading into spring camp. Here are my three biggest ones.
- Does the offense finally have an identity?
This has been the million-dollar question since Rhule arrived. First it was Jeff Sims and the expectation of a run-heavy, RPO-filled, read-option attack. We saw how that played out. Then Dylan Raiola showed up, and the talk shifted to a more pro-style system… which also didn’t click the way we hoped.
Now the big sub-question: Is Dana Holgorsen actually running his offense, or is he still calling plays in a version of Marcus Satterfield’s scheme?
We brought Holgorsen in specifically to spark a change and inject some tempo and explosiveness. Take away Emmett Johnson’s production last year, and the offense basically disappeared — and it sure didn’t look like classic Holgorsen football. Something has to give. Nebraska needs to pick an identity, install it cleanly this spring, and stick with it. No more halfway measures.
- Did Nebraska address the defensive line enough?
Last year’s defensive line might go down as one of the weakest in modern Husker history — and that’s not shade, it’s just reality. They got bullied in the run game, generated almost no pressure, and even struggled against Houston Christian. Zero first- or second-string linemen over 300 pounds in a three-man front? That was a recipe for disaster. Even when they shifted to more four-man looks, it didn’t move the needle much.
So you’d think Rhule and the new staff would load up on proven, 300-plus-pound bodies who can eat double teams. Instead, the portal additions were undersized but high-upside guys: Owen Stoudmire (6-1, 290) from Boston College and Jahsear Whittington (6-0, 270) from Pitt.
The good news? We’ve got young talent with legitimate ceilings — Tyson Terry, Malcolm Simpson, Kade Pietrzak, and others. The new defensive staff (especially under Rob Aurich and the new DL coach) now has to turn those high-ceiling kids into difference-makers… in basically one offseason. That’s a tall order, but it’s exactly what spring ball is for.
- How will special teams perform?
Losing Mike Ekeler hurt more than just losing a coach. Players loved him, he recruited at a high level, his schemes were sharp, and he had that rare ability to make guys run through a wall. Somehow he walked out the door straight to USC — still a major red flag for a lot of fans and a legitimate question about program momentum.
Everyone assumed Josh Martin would step up as the new special teams coordinator. He knew the system inside-out and had actual coordinator experience. Then he left to become a high school head coach. Now the job is split between two assistants who have special-teams experience but have never actually coordinated a unit. A lot of Husker fans are confused, frustrated, and waiting to see if this was a brilliant move or a mistake. Personally, I’m not hung up on whether it’s one guy or ten — I just want results. The talent is there: the starting punter, kicker, and holder all return, and we grabbed the best long snapper in the portal. If the new coaches can get the coverage and return units cleaned up, we should be fine. But spring ball will tell us a lot.
Bottom line: This off-season has been weird, messy, and full of interesting moves. But spring practice is when the real work starts. These three areas — offensive identity, defensive line development, and special teams stability — will go a long way in determining whether 2026 feels like progress… or more of the same.