5 most important players for Nebraska football in 2024

Fall camp for Nebraska football is just 20 days away. The start of the regular season is just more than 50 days away, so yes, the season will be here before we know it.

Nebraska football fans are excited about every season, but the excitement about 2024 is palpable. Much of that has to do with Dylan Raiola, but not all.

Matt Rhule is back for his second season as head coach and has a record of big second-year improvements. The Nebraska defense should also be elite and the wide receiver group could be one of the best the Huskers have ever had.

The schedule isn’t easy, but it’s manageable. A bowl game should happen and 8-10 wins don’t seem impossible. National pundits suggest Nebraska could be 7-0 going into Ohio State.

I’m not ready to go that far just yet, but looking ahead to 2024, here is a ranking of the five most important players for Nebraska football — players who will have a big role in whether the season is a success or a failure.

5. Tommi Hill

Tommi Hill was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten last season. He had four intercpetions and 13 pass breakups. During Big Ten play, he was an elite man-to-man cover guy.

Hill started seven games at corner for Nebraska after playing both ways early in the season. Now, he’s gotten a full offseason at cornerback and will get a full season of starting.

With the depth concerns at cornerback, Nebraska needs its No. 1 cornerback to be elite. There are some big-time wideouts on the schedule and if Hill doesn’t play well, or gets hurt, the Huskers could be hurting at the cornerback position.

If this defense is going to reach its full potential, Hill needs to reach his.

4. Teddy Prochazka

The 6-foot-10, 325-pound offensive line started six games for Nebraska football last season and played well down the stretch.

For the first time since before the 2021 season, Teddy Prochazka will have gotten the benefit of an entire offseason to prepare for the 2024 season. Prochazka has played at a high level when he’s been on the field and the top-100 recruit can be an elite pass protector.

That’s going to be essential when you have a quarterback like Dylan Raiola. Teams will try to pressure him and we all remember how Adrian Martinez was thrown into the fire with an offensive line that couldn’t protect him.

It had a negative impact on Adrian’s career and that’s the last thing you want to worry about with Raiola. Thus, Teddy needs to stay healthy because he’s the best option to protect Raiola’s blindside.

3. Ty Robinson

One reason Nebraska football fans are so optimistic about this upcoming season is the defensive line. Most great college football teams tend to have great defensive lines.

When Nebraska was elite and competing for championships, it had great offensive and defensive lines. The offensive line will be better than expected this season, but I have a feeling the D-line will exceed expectations too, as hard as that might be.

Ty Robinson was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten last season with 29 tackles, four tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hurries. Robinson didn’t get any sacks last season but he was a force in the trenches.

Just like Nash Hutcmacher, Robinson returned to Nebraska when he could have gone pro. The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder will play an essential role. As good as he was last season, now that he’s back as a graduate senior, Robinson should be even more dominant which is a scary through for the rest of the Big Ten.

2. Nash Hutmacher

The former three-star recruit, Hutmacher (6-4, 330) had a breakout season for the Huskers in 2023 earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten after 40 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.

Hutmacher is the nose tackle for the Huskers but he’s also an elite interior pass rusher. The dude knows how to move the pocket and if there is one Nebraska football player who deserved to be ranked among the top 100 in EA Sports “College Football 25” it’s Hutmacher.

The mammoth defensive tackle dropped about 50 pounds to wrestle for the Huskers and had a solid season. That’s only going to help him be even more dominant this football season.

The combo of Hutmacher and Robinson is one of the biggest assets this team has going into 2024, but that’s only true if both guys are able to be as healthy and productive as they were a season ago.

Hell, they should be better than last season and if that proves to be true, Nebraska’s defense will be nasty. The run defense will be as good as any in college football and that’s a good starting point.

1. Dylan Raiola

Quarterback is the most important position on the field, even in college football. Dylan Raiola is a former five-star recruit and many believe he’ll be the next in a line of great quarterbacks that includes guys like Turner Gill, Tommie Frazier, Scott Frost, Eric Crouch, Taylor Martinez, and hopefully, Raiola.

That’s what Nebraska football needs if it’s going to make the College Football Playoff or to compete for a Big Ten championship. But this season, Raiola just needs to take care of the football.

There’s going to be bumps along the way. But the Huskers should have a solid running game and having an elite defense helps. Raiola doesn’t need to be a superstar — he just needs to avoid turnover at all costs.

The big plays will come — he’s too talented for them not to, especially with all the weapons at wide receiver and tight end. But if Raiola can avoid turnovers and keep the interceptions in single digits or close, this team will be a problem.

Nebraska football fans are over the moon excited about Raiola and if he delivers on that hype, the sky is the limit for this program over the next few seasons.

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