Matt Rhule offers update for key Nebraska football position battle

Nebraska football has a few ongoing position battles this fall. One that fans have focused on is the cornerback position, or it should be a focus.

Andrew Marshall and Donovan Jones are set to be starters. Jones is viewed more as a nickel, which is essentially a combination of safety, cornerback, and linebacker. At times, he will be a run defender, at times, he will be one-on-one in pass coverage. He can play outside and if there are two just cornerbacks, he might.

The Huskers might just keep Jones on the inside. Whether it’s essentially the third cornerback or not, there is a cornerback battle at the second boundary cornerback spot.

Matt Rhule met with the media on Saturday after the latest Nebraska football practice. Rhule talked about his team and said it was the biggest team that he’s had with the Huskers. He also talked about the cornerback competition and brought up two names specifically, Victor Evans and Jeremiah Charles.

Danny Odem is in the mix, too. Charles has played in 26 games for Nebraska the past two seasons. He’s run the 40-meter dash in 4.31. Victor Evans, who is competing with Charles for the job. He played 29 games for Florida International with eight starts

Matt Rhule updates Nebraska football cornerback competition

“He’s a fast, fast human. He’s got Florida speed, right?” Husker coach Matt Rhule said Saturday. “So he’s out there competing and I think he’ll be a factor for us. He’ll compete to be a player in the secondary, he’ll compete to be a player that helps us in special teams.”

Evans is one of transfers that fans aren’t talking about enough. Yet, Charles was the starter during the spring game. Rhule also said that he spends a lot of time with the No. 1 group.

Odem is the dark horse. It might be a stretch that he will be ready to start the first game of the season, but after getting his feet wet in non-conference play, he could be ready to ascend to a starting role.

The truth is that with some of these offenses (Oregon, Indiana, and Ohio State), it doesn’t hurt to have four cornerbacks. Rhule confirmed that Jones will be playing nickel. He will be on the field for almost every snap.

Who will join him? Based on what Rhule is saying, Charles seems like the best bet, but Odem is a player to keep an eye on, because once the light goes on, he will be hard to keep off the field.

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