5 lingering questions for Nebraska football to answer this spring

As crazy as it sounds, Nebraska football is less than 10 days away from the start of spring practices, which are slated to begin on February 21.

The spring game, back after a one-year hiatus, will be played on March 28. That should give fans some insight into the new defense, the quarterback battle, and some of the other new faces that will define the 2026 season.

There are plenty of questions surrounding Matt Rhule’s program heading into the fourth season. Dylan Raiola is now a backup quarterback for Oregon. The Huskers have a new DC, new DL/OL coaches, and a new special teams coordinator.

Two of the three coordinators are new for the second straight year, although it’s hard to call Dana Holgorsen a holdover from the 2024 staff, even though he was, as a late addition.

Nebraska added 16 players from the transfer portal and a few blue-chip prospects from the 2026 class, who could have an early impact. Looking ahead to spring ball, here are five lingering questions.

Who wins the QB job?

Many are assuming that Anthony Colandrea will be the starting quarterback next season, rightfully so, in my estimation. He still has to win the job, though.

TJ Lateef knows the system better. Daniel Kaelin probably does too, based on his 2024 season with Nebraska, so there could be a slight leg up.

Colandrea is also experienced. He’s with his third different program. The senior is also coming off his best season, being named Mountain West Player of the Year. He should be an upgrade, but he also has two former Elite-11 quarterbacks nipping at his heels.

Is there enough running back depth?

The fact that Nebraska football didn’t add a running back from the transfer portal is one of the things that surprised me the most about the offseason roster movement.

It just felt like another body was needed. Matt Rhule and Pat Stewart disagreed. Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee combined for 216 yards (rushing/receiving) in the bowl game on just 23 touches, so there was a positive sign.

Connor Booth could work his way into the mix. Kwinten Ives is another, if he can stay healthy. The coaching staff liked the running back room last season, when others didn’t.

Rhule was right about Emmett Johnson. Maybe he will be right about Nelson and Mozee, too.

Is the offensive line actually better?

Just shuffling in new names doesn’t guarantee improvement. Tree Babalade has 15-career starts under his belt. Paul Mubenga has 11.

Babalade started the last five games of the season at right tackle and was rated among the top-20 offensive tackles available in the portal at 6-foot-5, 330 pounds. Brendan Black was the only four-star addition in the transfer class for Nebraska, while Mubenga is another who has his best football ahead of him.

If Geep Wade is worth his salt as a coach, this O-line will be much improved. Tyler Knaak is already a starting-caliber player in my book, so if Mubenga can beat him out, he deserves to start. Gunnar Gottula, Grant Brix, and Preston Taumua are others who could be in the mix.

All the pieces are there, and with a new coach, there’s a good chance Nebraska shows some tangible improvement along the offensive line.

D-line growth

Nebraska added some solid pieces from the portal. Anthony Jones, Jashear Whittingon, and Owen Stoudmire all played considerable amounts for their teams last season, outside of Stoudmire, who was limited due to injury and redshirted after 3 games.

Those players will all help. But if Nebraska’s defensive line is going to have noticeable improvement, it needs the players on the roster to take big leaps in production.

Corey Brown, the new D-line coach, has a strong track record of development. We’ll see what he can get out of Williams Nwaneri, Kade Pietrzak, Malcolm Simpson, Cameron Lednhart, and Riley Van Poppel. EDGE coach Roy Manning will play a role, too. Willis McGahee IV is another name to know.

If Manning and Brown can get the most out of that group, the Blackshirts should be much better in 2026.

How will Nebraska football adapt to new defense?

The success of the 2026 season might depend on Rob Aurich. Nebraska football has to get back to playing defense the way it did in 2023 and 2024, when it was in the top 25 in scoring.

Nebraska fell off a cliff at the end of last season. Aurich is expected to turn it around. He turned around defenses quickly at South Dakota, Idaho, and San Diego State.

There are some good pieces on this defense, especially at linebacker and in the secondary. If the D-line can come together, this defense could be much better than expected.

It will be interesting to see what the Blackshirts look like by the end of the spring.

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