Projecting Nebraska football’s Week 1 depth chart before fall camp

Nebraska football starts fall camp in just about two weeks. The 2026 season is less than 50 days away.

While there doesn’t seem to be as much excitement about Nebraska football this year, that should start to change once the season rolls around. It feels like fans are over the hype, which is understandable.

Husker fans want to see a winner. They want to see Matt Rhule have a breakthrough season, and are tired of hearing how close he is to making it happen. Close only counts in horseshoes.

Rhule said earlier this offseason that this was his “best team.” It’s easy to buy that statement when you look at the depth chart from top to bottom. So with camp starting soon, here’s our projected Nebraska football depth chart for Week 1.

QB: Anthony Colandrea, TJ Lateef, Daniel Kaelin

It will be interesting to see if a quarterback battle develops in fall camp, but TJ Lateef will have to take a major step forward from the spring for that to happen. The former Elite 11 quarterback has the skills. He looked like a deer in headlights when he started last season, though.

And in the spring, Lateef didn’t look much different. He didn’t look like the light had gone off. It can happen at any time, but it would be stunning if Colandrea wasn’t the Week 1 starter.

RB: Mekhi Nelson or Jamal Rule, Tikey Hayes, and Isaiah Mozee

There is a ton of buzz about Tikey Hayes winning the starting job. It could certainly happen. The field is wide open now, especially with Mekhi Nelson’s status up in the air.

If Nelson is suspended to start the season, Jamal Rule will be the Week 1 starter, with Hayes and Mozee getting their fair shar of touches. I don’t see Mozee as a starter, but more as a gadget player who can make an impact as a runner/reciever. You have three traditional backs and Mozee, which isn’t a bad place to be at all.

There is a lot to like about the depth, but someone needs to emerge as the top dog.

WR1’s: Jacory Barney, Nyziah Hunter, Kwazi Gilmer; WR2’s: Janiran Bonner, Quinn Clark, Cortez Mills

This wide receiver room is deep and talented. Hunter had 617 receiving yards to lead Nebraska football last season. Barney was second on the team with 484. In all, the Huskers return seven of their top nine leaders in receiving yards last season, with Mills, Clark, Nelson and Mozee being among those.

Clark had three receptions of more than 31 yards last season. Mills had a 62-yard touchdown reception. Those are guys are explosive plays waiting to happen. The top three are all proven. Gilmer has the least production for his career with 880 receiving yards. Barney has over 900. Hunter has over 1,100.

Add in Bonner, a true H-Back type, who can catch, run, and most importantly, block. He might have an NFL future if a team can get creative. Lead blockers with that kind of athleticism have found a niche. He has carved one out in Lincoln, making him one of the more unheradled players on the offense.

All in all, this is an exciting group to pair with Anthony Colandrea, the most exciting quarterback Nebraska football has had under center since at least Adrian Martinez.

TE: Luke Lindenmeyer, Carter Nelson, and Luke Sorensen

Speaking of experienced players, Lindenmeyer started all 13 games for Nebraska last season, catching 29 passes for 312 yards, with two touchdown receptions. An old-school tight end, Lindenmeyer, a former walk-on, is a solid blocker, and exactly the kind of player you want as your starting tight end.

It’s a critical season for Carter Nelson. The former top-100 recruit played in all 13 games last season, scoring a touchdown on a blocked punt. However, he caught just one pass for three yards. In two seasons, he’s got 11 receptions for 89 yards to go along with one touchdown.

Nelson, who should be an ideal move tight end, as well as a matchup nightmare, flashed with a 24-yard touchdown reception in 2024, but hasn’t made much impact since, except on special teams.

Luke Sorensen, a talented freshman, who is more traditonal like Lindenmeyer, is coming on strong.

OL Starters: Elijah Pritchett, Paul Mubenga, Justin Evans, Brendan Black, and Tree Babalade; Backups: Claude Mpouma, Grant Brix, Gunnar Gottula, Sam Sledge, and Tyler Knaak

The Huskers transformed their offensive line this offseason thanks to the work of Geep Wade. The new offensive line coach was a home run. He’s killing it on the trail, but also landed three starters from the portal.

Black has 32 career starts for Iowa State. Babalade and Mubenga have combined for 26 starts in the SEC, while Pritchett and Evans both have over 20 career starts under their belt.

Even Gottula and Knaack are experienced players. I’d be fine with either in the starting linup. Grant Brix needs to push for playing time, while Mpouma will need this season of development to take over as the left tackle in 2027.

This will be the best offensive line of the Matt Rhule era.

DL Starters: Cameron Lenhardt (EDGE), Williams Nwaneri (EDGE), Riley Van Poppel (DT), Owen Stoudmire (DT); DL Backups: Jashear Whittington (DT), Anthony Davis (EDGE), Kade Pietrzak (EDGE), Malcolm Simpson (DT), Dylan Berymon (DT), and Willis McGahee IV (EDGE)

We have gone with 10 defensive lineman, because all of those guys should play this season. Keep an eye on Tyson Terry and Gabe Moore at defensive tackle, too. I’m also keeping an eye on David Hoffken and Jordan Ochoca.

The depth is impressive. Many of these guys fit better in the 4-2-5, too. Lenhardt, Van Poppel, basically every single defensive lineman for Nebraska suits an even front better than an odd front.

Nebraska did use a four-man front often last season, but sometimes, it was like three defensive lineman with a JACK. This group will be much improved, thanks also to the coaching of Corey Brown, Roy Manning, and Dave Tollefson.

Whittington will also be dynamic as an interior pass rusher. He may not “start” run run downs, but he will play over 50 percent of the snaps, essentially making him a starter. Expect a lot of rotation at EDGE and DT.

LB Starters: Owen Chambliss and Vincent Shavers: LB Backups: Dexter Foster, Dawson Merrit, Christian Jones and Will Hawthorne

Over the past two seasons with San Diego State, Chambliss played in 25 games with 20 starts, totaling 142 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks with five pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery. There has been talk of a toe injury, in which case Foster and Dawson Merritt are waiting in the wings.

Vincent Shavers is poised for a breakout season. He was solid a year ago. He didn’t quite make the leap we expected, but with Chambliss next to him, and an improved defensive line in front of him, Shavers is going to go off.

Foster will play a lot as a third linebacker. Don’t be surprised to see Jones, too. In the Big Ten, you need 4-5 quality linebackers, and the Huskers have that.

Secondary Starters: Andrew Marshall (CB), Jeremiah Charles (CB), Donovan Jones (NB), Jamir Conn (S), and Dwayne McDougle (S); Backups: Danny Odem (CB), Bryson Webber (CB), Rex Guthrie (S), Caleb Benning (S), and Victor Evans (CB).

The starting five seems set outside of the second cornerback spot. Jeremiah Charles played in all 13 games last season, mostly on special teams. He will compete for that job, but guys like Bryson Webber and Danny Odem are names to watch.

Odem was a five-star prospect, according to 247 Sports. He’s arguably the best man-to-man cornerback in the 2026 class. Webber is also a 6-foot-3 cornerback from Texas, who runs the 100-meter dash in 10.5. I wouldn’t be surprised if either emerged this season. I expect Odem to be the starter by midseason, maybe even earlier.

Marshall and Jones will be on the field for nearly every snap. McDougle, too. Conn could rotate some with Guthrie and Benning. Mario Buford is another name to have on the radar.

Benning is my sleeper pick for the secondary. He will have a big season on special teams, but the game against Utah showed that he’s more than capable of being on the field with the starting defense.

Specialists: Kyle Cunanan (K), Archie Wilson (P), Jacory Barney (PR), Isaiah Mozee (KR), Jack Willis (LS)

The Huskers have most of their specialists back from last season, outside of Kenneth Williams. Barney could handle the kickoff returns, in additions to the punts, but Mozee, who has three attempts last season, seems like a better candidate.

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