Nebraska Football Spring takeaways: QB battle, offensive line, and 5 key insights

Spring football for Nebraska wrapped up nearly a month ago, but there are still plenty of things to think about moving forward.

All in all, it was a successful spring for Nebraska football. They integrated Anthony Colandrea into the offense, and the transition to new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich seemed to go well.

The Blackshirts have one of the most experienced defensive units in college football. The offensive line also feels like one of the most underrated units in the Big Ten. There could be three draft picks on the offensive line alone next year, which I get sounds overly optimistic after the Huskers had just one player selected last weekend.

Looking back at spring ball, here are five key insights.

The Nebraska football QB battle gets clarity

Nebraska football does have a quarterback battle, but it’s about who will be No. 2. Colandrea will be the starting quarterback next season. If the five-in-five idea passes, he could be the starter going into the 2027 season, too.

That would be ideal with Trae Taylor coming. Daniel Kaelin and TJ Lateef are neck-in-neck for the No. 2 job. They probably were hoping that they would have a shot to be the starting quarterback next season, but that could have changed based on the five-year rule.

We’ll see, but after the spring, there isn’t much drama about who will be the Nebraska football starting quarterback.

The running back room will be a surprise

Emmett Johnson isn’t coming back next season. However, that didn’t stop EJ Barthel from saying that this is the best running back room he’s had at Nebraska.

Mehki Nelson was ranked in a similar range to Johnson. He’s got more home-run speed. He also came to Nebraska early after reclassifying, so it’s not hard to imagine him being a four-star recruit. Isaiah Mozee and Jamal Rule are expected to be big contributors, too. Don’t forget about Kwinten Ives either.

Even though Johnson led the Big Ten in rushing yards, Nebraska was ranked outside the top 10 in the Big Ten in rushing yards. The No. 1 won’t be as good as Johnson, but 1-4 should be better this year.

The O-line has been upgraded

With Elijah Pritchett, Justin Evans, and Brendan Black, it’s not crazy to think the Huskers can have three offensive linemen drafted next year.

Evans has been a solid three-year starter. Pritchett is probably the best NFL prospect on the roster, and Black could be a late-round pick or a rookie free agent.

That still feels like a major upgrade for Nebraska football. Under the direction of Geep Wade, the offensive line will improve, and if it’s good enough to send three players to the league as draft picks or free agents, it will be a strength next season instead of the weakness it has been since Matt Rhule became the head coach.

Secondary will be stout

The Huskers are loaded in the secondary. Dwayne McDougle should be one of the starters at safety. Jamir Conn might be the other, although there are other candidates.

With Andrew Marshall, Donovan Jones, Danny Odem, Bryson Webber, and others, Nebraska football should be fully equipped to play a lot of man coverage this season. The pass defense was good last year, too.

However, the run defense was leaky, so teams just stayed away from some of Nebraska’s best players, who happened to play in the secondary. The first task of Aurich is to fix the run defense. It remains to be seen if he did that, but the secondary has everything it needs to be one of the best in the Big Ten.

The biggest question remaining

There are plenty of question marks facing this Nebraska football team, and most other college football teams for that matter.

But the one that lingers the most for me is, who will the stars be on this team? Nebraska hasn’t had nearly enough stars, by stars, I mean all-conference, All-American-type players.

Emmett Johnson was one last season. Nebraska needs more. The problem is that there aren’t any that stand out. Pritchett, Evans, and Black are three who could. After that, it’s hard to pinpoint anyone on the offense.

Colandrea was the Mountain West Player of the Year, but it’s a big leap to be an all-conference QB in the 18-team Big Ten with two top-five draft picks in Dante Moore and Julian Sayin.

Vincent Shavers certainly has potential. Marshall is on that level, and Owen Chambliss is another name that could easily be in that mix.

The truth is, until Nebraska starts to consistently develop all-conference players who tend to get drafted, it will continue to be stuck in the mud.

Some impact players have to emerge. Matt Rhule has made progress, but winning 8-9 games is the next step, which will require some all-conference development — something we just haven’t seen enough of yet.