Projecting Nebraska’s defensive depth chart before spring ball

Getting the defense back on track was a top priority for Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule this offseason.

The Huskers hired a defensive coordinator with a track record of turnarounds. They also landed starting-caliber players on all three levels of the defense from the transfer portal.

Fact is, in terms of snaps played, Nebraska is one of the most experienced defenses in college football. That right there leads me to believe there will be improvement. Add in a new scheme, and a true college defensive coordinator in Rob Aurich, who feels like a rising star, there could be real improvement.

Nebraska football desperately needs stars, on the field, and on the coaching staff. Instead of Nebraska coaches getting hired away to be head coaches or coordinators or whatever, they are getting fired.

That needs to change. Nebraska fans should want Rob Aurich in the conversation for head coaching jobs within a few years. That will mean this was a home-run hire.

As far as what the two-deep will look like, here’s our best educated guess going into spring ball.

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

Among the nine players listed above, there are five former blue-chip prospects (Nwaneri, Lenhardt, Pietrzak, Simpson, and Van Poppel). Dylan Berymon is another. He might be able to contribute this season. Tyson Terry, too, if he can get to 100 percent by fall camp.

McGahee is just one of the players who will benefit greatly from the scheme shift. It fits Van Poppel and Simpson much better, plus the Huskers added two veterans on the D-line in Jones and Stoudmire, plus a guy in Whittington who has three years to play, but had 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and a sack for Pittsburgh last season.

All of these guys will rotate and get snaps. Call me crazy, but I feel like the defensive line will be much better in 2026. Maybe not elite, however, the Huskers won’t get pushed around as they did in 2025.

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

Nebraska has a really solid linebacker group. Chambliss had 110 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, an interception, five pass breakups, and a fumble recovery last season.

He’s just one of those dudes who finds the ball. I’d expect him to be on the field for the most snaps of any linebacker this season, followed closely by Shavers, who finished 2025 with 61 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and a forced fumble.

Jones, Merritt, and Fowler will all be part of the rotation. Hawthorne might be more of a special teams guy this season, although that will be part of the role for Jones and Merritt, too.

This is one of the best position groups on the team.

CB: Andrew Marshall, Donovan Jones, Danny Odem; Backups: Bryson Webber, Victor Evans, Larry Tarver, Amare Sanders, Blye Hill and Jeremiah Charles

Andrew Marshall is CB1. Donovan Jones is also a starting-caliber player, but don’t be shocked if Danny Odem pushes for playing time early. He could be the nickel back, yet should play on the outside. Nebraska can bump a corner down the slot, maybe Marshall, when Odem is in the game.

Odem is an elite cover guy, and Nebraska football should use that right away. I’m intrigued by Bryson Webber, too. The former four-star recruit, who is 6-foot-3 and runs the 100-meter dash in 10.5 seconds, could be hard to keep off the field, too.

A long-term pairing of Webber and Odem as the starters would be insane. They are sub-11 guys in the 100 who are each at least 6-foot. It will be fun to see how Aurich uses his stockpile of corners, which also includes Victor Evans, an eight-game starter for FIU last season.

Safety: Dwayne McDougle and Caleb Benning; Backups: Rex Guthrie, Mario Buford, and Justyn Rhett

McDougle is another highly-productive player that Rob Aurich brought with him. The 13-game starter for the Aztecs had 55 tackles (28 solo). That was in addition to four interceptions, three pass breakups, and a tackle for loss, as well as a fumble returned for a touchdown.

In the two seasons before that, at Idaho, where he played under Aurich, McDougle had 11 pass breakups in two seasons and two interceptions plus 87 total tackles.

Joining him as a starter, in a somewhat bold projection, is Caleb Benning. He started the Las Vegas Bowl and had 13 tackles, with four of them being solos. He’s got a nose for the ball and is my choice to win out in a competitive safety room as the second starter.

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