The Big Red Preview gave us a pretty decent look at what we can expect to see this year on all sides of the ball. While the offense made big splash plays and got lots of “Oooohs and Ahhhs” from the fans in attendance, there were some highlights and signs of promise when it came to the defense and the special teams. So with that, let’s break down what stood out on defense.
When it comes to the defensive line, there are still a lot of questions that won’t get answered until the season kicks off. Nebraska has talent on the D-line, but we will need to see if they can handle the workload. Riley Van Poppel, Cam Lenhardt, and Elijah Jeudy all looked good in the limited action I saw of them. Some of the younger guys, like Dylan Parrot, are coming along nicely. When it comes to the edge rushers like Williams Nwaneri, there were some really promising plays, and they looked smooth throughout their group drills.
The linebackers were the highlight of the defense during the Big Red Preview, and I’d bet it will stay that way during the season. The linebackers looked great top to bottom, veteran to rookie. This is a special group of guys we have. The only thing that I can point to and say this needs improvement is that some of our smaller and younger backers struggled in pass coverage. Besides that, they looked great. I’m going to go ahead and call it; Vincent Shavers Jr will have a breakout year this season. He looked incredible in drills and has one of the smoothest pass-rushing abilities I’ve seen. If Shavers were a painter, the pass rush would be his brush. Other guys who looked great included Dasan McCullough, Jacob Bowers, and Christian Jones. After watching multiple practices now, I have zero worries about the linebackers. We have the guys to get the job done regardless of down, formation, run, or pass.
Lastly, for the defense is our secondary. The first thing that immediately stood out is that Ceyair Wright and Andrew Marshall are our top two corners. From there, guys like Byle Hill, Amare Sanders, and Jeremiah Charles will be fighting for playing time at corner. We have a lot of young talent also, with players like Caleb Benning, Mario Buford, and Donavon Jones who will be pressing for playing time later in the year. The future is bright in the secondary room.
Special Teams has been a nightmare for Husker fans for years, but I can confidently say that this year, things looked to be fixed. While we didn’t get to see any punt or kickoff returns, what we did see was on another level. All three of the placekickers kicked at 100%, not missing a single kick. New transfer kicker, Kyle Cunanan, might be the best bet on who gets the starting job. He was kicking the ball with such force that I could hear the impact from my seat. During his kicks, he got great elevation on the ball, and a few of his kicks looked like they would be good from 55 yards plus. Practice is practice, however, and I’ll need to see it translate to real games before I can crown him as the second coming of Alex Henry.
Punting has been average at best for Nebraska for a while now, but Archie Wilson is the real deal. I’ve never been more excited for a punter than I am for Archie. He just brings so much to the table that Nebraska can use punting as a weapon now. Wilson just kept landing punt after punt inside the 10-yard line like it was nothing. The crazy thing is he did it using his left and right foot. On one of his punts, he rolled left, kicked with his left foot, and launched the ball to the right side of the field, pinning it inside the ten. I’m buying the hype behind Archie Wilson, so much so that I feel he can earn a Blackshirt this year and will be in the discussion for the Ray Guy Award before his four years in Lincoln come to a close. Overall, I think Nebraska can make the leap from horrible to great this year on special teams, and that will be the difference in at least one game.