Nebraska football’s 5 most important positions battles to watch

The 2026 Nebraska football season is approaching fast. We are less than two months from kickoff, and now that recruiting, at least in the 2027 class, is mostly in the books, it’s time to focus on the 2026 season.

With that in mind, here is the first of many articles looking ahead to the 2026 Nebraska football season, starting with the five most important position battles to watch during fall camp.

QB: Anthony Colandrea and TJ Lateef

Matt Rhule mentioned both quarterbacks when he was talking about things that excited him about the QB room. Lateef would have to have a stellar camp to truly put himself in the mix, though.

However, players usually take a big leap before their sophomore season. Lateef didn’t do that this spring, but if it finally clicks this fall, Colandrea could get pushed more than expected.

Yet, it feels like the starting QB job is Colandrea’s to lose. The former Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year wasn’t ranked by one college football expert among the top 10 quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He needs to exceed expectations this season if the Huskers are going to.

RB: Jamal Rule, Isaiah Mozee, and maybe Mekhi Nelson

The arrest of Nelson throws the running back room into flux. There has been chatter about Jamal Rule winning the starting job. Now, his emergence becomes even more important.

Isaiah Mozee was solid in a small sample size last season. He had 270 total yards on 40 touches, with an average of 4.4 yards per rush on 26 attempts.

Mozee has bulked up, too. He was a legit four-star recruit coming out of high school, even though it was at wide receiver. The change was smart for him and the Huskers. Rule feels like more of a bell cow. It feels like Rhule and Mozee could be a solid 1/2 punch, but Nelson and Rule could be one of the better rushing tandems in the Big Ten, if both are still on the roster this season.

With Nelson’s legal issues, that’s up in the air.

TE: Luke Lindenmeyer, Carter Nelson, Eric Ingwerson, and Luke Sorensen

Lindenmeyer caught 29 passes for 312 yards last season to go along with two touchdowns. He was a pleasant surprise, but the Huskers need another body or two to emerge.

Carter Nelson, a former top-100 commitment, hasn’t produced much in the past two seasons. Injuries were part of that in 2025. He did have a touchdown reception in 2024, in addition to playing on special teams.

The TE2 job is far from guaranteed. Freshman Luke Sorensen is coming for it. He’s a solid blocker and a better pass catcher than people give him credit for being. Sorensen could be in line to take over Lindenmeyer’s traditional tight end role in the future. Nelson could still have a role as a move tight end, but he needs to make an impact as a receiver and a blocker this season.

EDGE: Williams Nwaneri, Kade Pietrzak, Anthony Jones, and Cameron Lenhardt

Nebraska football fans might be concerned to hear that the Huskers’ top four pass rushers combined for just eight sacks last season. That’s not good enough. With the switch to the 4-2-5 run by Rob Aurich, the pass should be much improved.

Much of the focus has been on the run defense. It wasn’t good enough by any stretch of the imagination, but Matt Rhule said when he was hired that Nebraska has to affect opposing quarterbacks. It hasn’t happened enough.

There will be plenty of snaps to go around between these four pass rushers, but Nebraska needs at least one or two to emerge as a reliable presence in the opponent’s backfield.

LB: Dexter Foster, Owen Chambliss, Vincent Shavers, Christian Jones, Dawson Merritt, and Will Hawthorne

Nebraska football added three transfer linebackers to a trio of highly-touted recruits. There won’t be as many snaps for this group to play this season, but with Owen Chambliss battling a toe injury, the depth could pay dividends.

Shavers had 61 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and a sack. He took another step toward becoming an All-Big Ten performer. Foster played in 19 games with 11 starts, totaling 95 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, and one pass breakup during his two seasons with Oregon State.

He’s one of the most underrated players on the roster. Either way, this group needs 3-4 to emerge, because playing just two throughout the Big Ten season won’t work.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel.