Predicting 5 key position battles for Nebraska football in fall camp

Competition is always a good thing and Nebraska football will have plenty of that this fall. The Huskers return plenty of starters — on both sides of the ball — there are key spots up for grabs too.

It starts at quarterback. Dylan Raiola is battling three others to win the job. But you also have position battles at running back, offensive guard, linebacker, cornerback, and safety.

You could even throw wide receiver into the mix too (I won’t because there are enough balls to go around), because the Huskers are as deep there as they have been in a long time.

We recently offered our depth chart projection for Nebraska football in 2024, yet here are some thoughts and predictions for key position battles in fall camp.

QB: Dylan Raiola

This is pretty easy. Raiola will be the starting quarterback for every game this season as long as he’s healthy. Heinrich Haarberg can do some things as a runner and I hope that the Huskers utilize him, because he will run through a defender’s facemask and do it happily.

But Raiola is far and away the best quarterback on this roster. Hell, he might be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten this season and by his sophomore campaign, he might be the best QB in the conference.

That’s how big the upside is. Nebraska football has never had a quarterback like this and Rhule shouldn’t mess around when it comes to naming him the starting quarterback.

RB: Dante Dowdell

The running back position should be more a timeshare this season but in terms of the game one starter for Nebraska football, my money is on Dante Dowdell.

Dowdell flashed his talent in the spring and after summer workouts and fall camp to get acclimated, I believe he’ll emerge as the Huskers best running back this season.

That doesn’t mean Emmett Johnson, Gabe Ervin, and Rahmir Johnson won’t have roles. They will. All of them will be needed but Dowdell was a top-10 recruit at his position for a reason.

Offensive guard: Justin Evan-Jenkins and Micah Mazzccua

If you look just at recruiting rankings or even just the measurables on the roster, you might not pick Justin Evan-Jenkins, who made five starts last season as a redshirt freshman.

Once Ben Scott leaves after this season, he’ll slide over and be a two-year starter at center. But for this season, he’s going to be tough to unseat at guard.

Turner Corcoran is 100 percent according to Matt Rhule. He’ll be in the mix to start along with transfer Micah Mazzccua who started 12 games for Florida last season.

Mazzccua took some time to adjust but like Dowdell, that shouldn’t be an issue in fall camp. He moves bodies and while I think Corcoran is good enough to start, he will start the season as the top backup at guard and tackle.

Linebacker: John Bullock and Javin Wright

Princewill Umanmielen will be the starting JACK linebacker for Nebraska football this season so that leaves the two inside spots vacated by Nick Henrich and Luke Reimer.

John Bullock, a former walk-on, started 10 games last season for Nebraska football and earned a single-digit number. I expect that to happen again and he should start every game this season if healthy.

Bullock was voted as the toughest player on the team and last season, he just made plays. Joining him will be Javin Wright, who had a breakout season of sorts last year.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder started just one game last season but had 51 tackles, two interceptions, two pass breakups, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Just imagine the impact he’ll make being on the field more.

Vincent Shavers and Stefon Thompson will also be in the mix. You need 3-4 inside linebackers to make it through the season, but my money is on Bullock and Wright playing the majority of the snaps.

Cornerback: Ceyair Wright

The No. 2 cornerback job is up for grabs. Ceyair Wright, the USC transfer who started games (15 total) for the Trojans in each of the past two seasons, is an obvious choce.

However, Wright didn’t finish last season with USC. He also has to adjust to Nebraska football. There is only a month before the first game but the talent is evident. Wright was a top-100 recruit for a reason and maybe Nebraska can do what it did with Tommi Hill.

Jeremiah Charles is another name to know. Marques Buford too and if things really don’t work out, we’ll see Malcolm Hartzog playing more on the outside, but in an ideal world, Wright would make a smooth transition to Nebraska football and be ready to start opposite Hill against UTEP.

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