Nebraska football starter announces return, plus new O-line transfer portal targets

It was all but a foregone conclusion that DeShon Singleton, a starter last season for the Nebraska football defense, was going to return next season, but on Friday night, the Blackshirt confirmed his return to Husker Online.

For the Huskers, it’s huge news. Singleton applied for a waiver since he played in just five games during the 2023 season. But he wasn’t granted an extra redshirt. At that point, Singleton seemed headed for the NFL.

But the ruling related to JUCO athletes changed at all. That opened the door for Singleton, a 13-game starter for Nebraska football in 2024, to return. Last season, he recorded a career-high 71 tackles — ranking second on the team in tackles with 1.0 tackle for loss, a career-high three pass breakups, one interception, and one fumble recovery. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound defensive back will have a key role once again. Marques Buford also returns and I’d like to think that Malcolm Hartzog plays full-time at safety, especially after all the cornerback additions via the transfer portal.

The return of Singleton essentially gives the Huskers four starters returning in the secondary. When you look at the depth of the linebackers, plus some exciting pieces on the defensive line, the Blackshirts should be stout once again in 2025 under the direction of defensive coordinator John Butler and Singleton will prove to be a key puzzle piece.

Transfer portal O-line updates for Nebraska football

New Mexico State offensive tackle Shiyazh Pete still hasn’t committed to Kentucky but things feel like they are trending in that direction. To that end, Nebraska football has been in contact with two other transfer portal offensive linemen according to Sean Callahan of Husker Online.

One is Daniel King, who is one of the top O-linemen in the portal right now. King has started games at guard and tackle in his career and was Second-Team All-Sun-Belt last season. He’s played over 2,600 and has allowed nine sacks in over 1,400 pass-blocking attempts. He was also graded as the fourth-best run blocker in the Sun Belt last season.

Landing King will be tough. He’s already visiting other schools. But another name to know is former Michigan offensive tackle Jeffrey Persi. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and has three career starts for the Wolverines at left tackle.

Persi competed for the right tackle job last season and was beat out. But when he’s played in the past, he has acquitted himself well and he’d be a solid swing tackle at the very worst — maybe even a starter at best. Persi would at least provide some quality competition for Gunnar Gottula, and some much-needed insurance if there happened to be an injury.

After Gottula and the newly-signed Elijah Pritchett, Nebraska football has little offensive tackle depth, so adding a dude like Persi would make a ton of sense.

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