DL Keona Davis announces return to Nebraska football

For the second time in a few days, Nebraska football has had a potential starter pull their name out of the transfer portal.

This time, it’s defensive lineman Keona Davis.

Over the weekend, it was running back Emmett Johnson. He announced on Sunday, after some convincing from Dana Holgorsen that he was going to return to Nebraska football for the 2025 season after announcing his intention to transfer.

Keona Davis, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound freshman defensive lineman, who played in 11 games last season for Nebraska, announced he was entering the transfer portal too.

Davis wasn’t the only defensive lineman. The Huskers have lost James Williams, Princewill Umanmielen, and Jimari Butler following the departures of Tony White and Terrance Knighton.

Losing Davis felt like the one the coaching staff really didn’t want to lose. It’s hard getting on the field as a freshman and Davis held his own. He only had nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, but he could easily be in the starting lineup next season.

Riley Van Poppel is expected to fill the role of Ty Robinson. Davis has the ideal build to replace Butler. He’s also flashed a ton of potential.

So Nebraska football fans can rejoice at the news that Davis has decided to return to the Huskers, posting on X, “I’m back.”

I’m back ☠️ #GBR

— Keona Davis (@KeonaDavis34) December 11, 2024

We have heard rumblings about the staff trying to keep Davis. Hiring a new defensive line coach from the NFL and getting a defensive coordinator in place probably didn’t hurt either.

Either way, the Huskers have one less need to fill in the portal because they got a starting-caliber defensive lineman back on Wednesday.

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