Two Nebraska football newcomers are turning heads

One of the best parts of spring ball is figuring out some of the new faces that are going to excel next season. But as far as Nebraska football is concerned, some of the newcomers to the 2025 roster are already turning heads, and the spring hasn’t even started.

Nebraska football players are taking part in offseason workouts and according to a report from Sean Callahan of Husker Online, a pair of new Cornhuskers are already turning heads.

Linebacker Marques Watson-Trent, a transfer from Georgia Southern, is one of those players, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Watson-Trent was the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year last season. 

For some reason, his transfer portal ranking didn’t reflect his production. He’s undersized at 5-foot-11, which is probably why he was playing at Georgia Southern in the first place, but the dude is a tackling machine with over 110 tackles in each of the past three seasons. He’s got 164 career solo tackles in addition to six career sacks, 27 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and six forced fumbles.

When it comes to the defensive depth chart, it can be easy to forget about Watson-Trent, but I have a feeling he’ll be starting for Nebraska football, and he’ll probably end up with 100 tackles too.

Dynamic freshman looks ready to play right away

Another player mentioned by Callahan is wideout Cortez Mills. The 6-foot freshman who ranked 112th overall in the 2025 class, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings, has looked ready to contribute early in his Nebraska football career.

Matt Rhule once compared Mills to Devonta Smith, the former Heisman Trophy winner who plays for the Eagles. Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter should be impactful transfers for Nebraska, too. Jacory Barney will be another weapon, and with Mills turning heads too, Dylan Raiola should have an abundance of weapons to target in 2025.

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