SOTC Update: Nebraska Cornhuskers

The rebuild is underway in Lincoln. The talent level on this roster is stronger and now is the time to take it to the next level. This is the State of the Chart update for Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Feb 26, 2025

State of the Chart™ Recap Edition

Live All-In Ranking: 41st
Offense: 71st
Defense: 30th
2024 Results: 7-6 (3-6 in Big Ten)

All of the information that follows is just the beginning and everything will be updated in our first edition of the State of the Chart™ digital magazine. Slated for a launch in July of 2025, learn more about this and shoot us your email to be kept up-to-speed on launch dates and receive sneak previews…

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|||||| STATE OF THE CHART™ SUMMARY

The turn around in Lincoln is underway with improvements in each of Matt Rhule’s first two seasons here. The offensive struggles held this team back from being even better than an eventual seven-win team. Rhule acknowledged and addressed this by demoting offensive coordinator Scott Satterfield mid-season and brought in Dana Holgorsen, first as a consultant and then as offensive coordinator and play caller. The progression of star quarterback Dylan Raiola is the most important aspect of this rebuild and now he should be the best position to succeed under Holgorsen’s tutelage. Tony White’s defense was up to the task in keeping the Huskers in games and helping them win more than they lost. They did it with a smothering run defense and limiting too many big plays — though the secondary was exposed from time-to-time. It was a three-game conference losing streak sandwiched between bye weeks that really prompted some changes. The special teams unit did not help matters much and Rhule addressed that with the firing of his special teams coordinator. So, technically, this staff turns over at all three coordinator positions with Holgorsen accepting the full-time offensive job. White left for Florida State and he was replaced with an internal hire. Mike Ekeler is coming in from Tennessee to take over the middling special teams. 2025 will be extra challenging to keep this momentum going with a pretty severe talent churn happening with the portal. White is taking a few key defensive players with him. Luckily, the schedule isn’t considered to be too brutal and with a little luck they can keep the win totals ticking upward in 2025.

|||||| HEAD COACH AND COACHING STAFF

Matt Rhule has thing thing going in the right direction. Five wins in ‘23, then seven wins in ‘24. Can he get it to nine in ‘25? That would be another nice step up, but it won’t be easy. He’ll have to do it with a turned over coaching staff and a roster that took a talent hit, but has his key cog in quarterback Dylan Railoa to build around. This wouldn’t be the first time Rhule has done it. 2025 will show us a lot.

Coaching Staff Notes/Changes:

As mentioned, there is big turnover in this staff, starting with defensive coordinator Tony White leaving for Florida State. Rhule promotes from within as John Butler is elevated to the role of defensive coordinator and play caller on defense. Butler spent last season as the secondary coach and pass game coordinator on defense. Butler has extensive NFL experience and was the defensive coordinator at Penn State back in 2013.
Rhule made a change in-season by demoting offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield to tight ends coach and handed play-calling duties to veteran Dana Holgorsen for the final four games of the 2024 season. They had one outburst against Wisconsin (44 points), but the other three games were much of the same. It’s safe to say that given a full off-season to prepare that Holgorsen can put his stamp on the offense and make improvements — they will be sorely needed.
Rhule fired special teams coordinator Ed Foley and replaced him with Mike Ekeler, who comes in from Tennessee where he led the Vols special teams for the last three seasons and is widely respected.
Other new coaches on the staff include:
- Addison Williams - Defensive Backs (UCF Defensive Cooardinator)
- Daikel Shorts Jr. - Wide Receivers (Kentucky Wide Receivers)
- Phil Simpson - EDGE (Florida State - Quality Control)
- Phil Snow - Associate Head Coach (NFL Sr. Analyst)
- Terry Bradden - Defensive Line (NFL Assistant Defensive Line)

Note: This is a “dynamic” article; meaning we will update any information that comes in this “off-season” and post a note when impactful moves are made or news breaks.

|||||| 2024 SCHEDULE / RESULTS ANALYSIS

This was the 36th most difficult schedule in the country according to our final SOS+ rankings. It started in great form with a blowout win over UTEP and a convincing win over Colorado, where the defense completely dominated. The loss to Illinois was tough to swallow before beating a bad Purdue team and surviving Rutgers, heading into the bye week seven at 5-1. Sandwiched between the byes were three losses, one of the blowout variety to Indiana, followed by a close loss to Ohio State in Columbus and then a home loss to UCLA. They were largely non-competitive in those losses — despite two closer final scores. They made the move to Holgorsen at OC for the USC game and while things improved and they were able to beat Wisconsin and Boston College in the bowl game, this season had a lot of promise but fizzled at the end.

||||||| POSITION GROUP CHECK-INS

OFFENSE: The offense really struggled to get much going under Marcus Satterfield. After week ten, Rhule made the change to hand play-calling duties to Dana Holgorsen. They had that outburst for 44 points against Wisconsin, but the changes didn’t really net huge benefits right away. This group finished at 23.5 points per game (103rd in FBS). They ran a slower, balanced attack that needed some refresh. Holgorsen is known for scheming to create mis-matches and opening wide receivers. That will be needed if this is going to get turned around. They struggled to run the ball and that hamstrings even the best of passing attacks. Quarterback Dylan Raiola was thrown right into the fire as a true freshman and there is a big learning curve there. He made some really intriguing throws and made his fair share of mistakes. Now, with a year under his belt, this needs to take a big step forward. They will also need to be more explosive as a unit. They managed just 23 plays over 30 yards and none over 60 yards, all season. That was one of the worst marks in the country. They also failed to finish drives, scoring touchdowns on just 55% of their trips to the red zone. Giving Holgorsen a full off-season to get this in order is going to reap some benefits and it will be a big part of taking that next step as a program.

||| QB

Dylan Raiola, as expected, took the starting job as a true freshman. The top rated prospect, also as expected, went through some Big Ten growing pains. He made some good throws and made some costly mistakes. He remains the future here and should benefit from QB guru Dana Holgorsen taking over the offense full-time in 2025. Heinrich Haarberg will return as the primary backup.

||| RB

Dante Dowdell led this room as a true sophomore, who came over from Oregon. He found it slightly tough sledding, despite punching it in the end zone 12 times. He transfers out to Kentucky. Emmett Johnson was next in line and he had a better yards per carry than Dowdell and returns as the likely primary back. They lose depth with the next three — Rahmir Johnson, Gabe Ervin Jr. and Maurice Mazzccua Jr. — either graduating or transferring out. They are not done here and will get another back to join Johnson and play a role.

||| WR

This group needed to be better. They were not completely void of talent, led by Jacory Barney Jr., who was a true freshman and ended up as their leader in catches, though he was used more as an underneath option. Veteran transfers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor were next in line but were not able to become true, consistent threats. Jaylen Lloyd was the deep threat, but managed just 13 catches. Most of this room is leaving for different reasons, but Barney returns and they bring in three exciting transfers, including two from Kentucky (coming over with their wide receivers coach), Dane Key and Hardley Gilmore IV. Cal transfer Nyziah Hunter caught 40 passes for the Bears and should also play a key role in ‘25.

||| TE

Thomas Fidone was solid, both as a reliable receiver and in pass protection. He will move on to the NFL a year early. Backup Nate Boerkircher transferred out to Texas A&M. Luke Lindenmeyer was next in line and showed well in limited snaps (244). He likely joins up with late LSU transfer Mac Markway, a four-star recruit back in ‘23 to take the top spots here.

||| OL

We show a good amount of talent with this group, especially on the right side with RG Henry Lutovsky and RT Bryce Benhart. Benhart runs out of eligibility and center Ben Scott also graduates. They are hitting the portal to get a boost with Rocco Spindler coming in from Notre Dame, where he started at right guard. There will be some moving around to get him in the mix. They take on former Alabama 4-star recruit Elijah Pritchett in hopes they can unlock his potential. They will need to be better in the trenches to take that next step.

DEFENSE: Tony White’s group (again) kept things together and was the driving force behind the ‘winning’ season. They utilized a talent rich defensive unit and held opponents to just 19.5 points per game (17th in FBS). They did so primarily by shutting down the run. They allowed just 101.2 yards per game on the ground (8th) and 3.37 per rush attempt (17th). That overachieved the talent level, which is another notch on the belt of White, who left the program this off-season to become the new defensive coordinator at Florida State. They weren’t overly havoc wreaking with solid, but not spectacular sack (30, 47th) and tackles for loss (81; 40th) numbers. The secondary was exposed from time to time — at least more so than the run defense. They did allow 31 plays of over 30 yards in the passing game, compared to just eight such plays when opponents kept it on the ground. White’s departure has other impacts, including his convincing some of this units better players — LB Stefon Thompson and DL James Williams — to follow him to Tallahassee. The promotion of John Butler doesn’t seem like a splash hire and he will have to really earn his keep under some tougher circumstances in 2025.

||| DL

This was a solid group led by Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher and Jimari Butler. Robinson accounted for most of the pass rush (six sacks) and is heading to the NFL. Hutmacher has run out of eligibility and Butler is transferring out to LSU. They also lose pass rush specialist James Williams to Florida State as he follows DC Tony White. They hit the portal to grab 2024 top recruit Williams Nwaneri, who didn’t see much time for Mizzou. A lot of work to do here to get this back up to the level it was in 2024.

||| LB

Another talented group that is ransacked by graduations and the portal. The top three here were the primary contributors — including John Bullock, MJ Sherman and Mikai Gbayor. All three move on and the big portal get here is Marques Watson-Trent from Georgia Southern, who should plug-and-play as a starter. Dasan McCullough also comes in from Oklahoma and should also be in the mix. Their portal focus here should keep this top unit on the level it was in ‘24.

||| DB

This group left some to be desired, but it is also the group that sticks around the most and needs a growth year in ‘25. Nickel Isaac Gifford moves on and is replaceable. They get back their strong safety DeShon Singleton, CB Marques Buford Jr., Ceyair Wright and Malcolm Hartzog Jr., to lead this group. They hit up the FCS level to add some depth, with upside, from the portal. We should see that continuity and growth from this group shine through as DC John Butler has a particular focus on this unit.

SPECIAL TEAMS: This was not a great showing and the casualty was former special teams coordinator Ed Foley. They were ranked 111th in punt return average at just 4.1 yards per return and the coverage unit allowed 12.3 per opponent return (114th). Place kickers John Hohl (10/15) and Tristan Alvano (3/4) were just okay and punter Brian Buschini was just okay. They address this unit with the hiring of highly-respected coach Mike Ekeler from Tennessee. They bring in a new punter coming in via the portal in Washington’s Jack McCallister to replace the graduating Buschini. Top punt returner Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda is moving on, so they’ll need to find a replacement and it’s likely Jacory Barney Jr. who got his feet wet in the return game last season.

Reader feedback is requested and encouraged! Who knows these teams better than their passionate fan bases? We don’t pretend to know it all and would love your feedback. We will update/edit based (and credit) for anything that is brought to our attention. Let’s do this together…

|||||| TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

This looks bad. And, really it is. Losing some key defensive players heading to Tallahassee, following defensive coordinator Tony White is certainly not ideal. Both the offense and defense were equally impacted by the total portal talent churn. They did bring in some much needed talent at wide receiver. LB Marques Watson-Trent was a big get at linebacker to ease the loss(es) there. All-in-all, though, this looks like a pretty lopsided churn on the side of players leaving the program.

Below is a screen shot of the full, live Transfer Portal Tracker over at CFBDepth.com. Click the image or the button below to view it in its entirety…

Live Nebraska Portal Tracker >

|||||| 2025 RECRUITING CLASS

This is coming in about what we expect to see. Rhule and company are good recruiters and are getting talent in here at a top-25 level. They also focus on some scouting and development to make these perform even higher and like to have a pipeline, rather than utilizing the portal (as you can see above). They are bringing in quite a few 4-star level players here and hope to develop them into more as the next wave comes through in this rebuild — this is an important class to hit on.

Here is a snapshot of the 2025 Recruiting Class+ with a link to the live page with updates throughout the cycle:

2025 Nebraska Recruiting Class+ >

|||||| 2025 SCHEDULE LOOK AHEAD

The good news is that they avoid both Ohio State and Oregon on this slate. They get Michigan at home and road trips to Maryland and Minnesota aren’t too exhausting. They better have some wins racked up before they hit the final two-game stretch at Penn State and hosting Iowa. The opener against Cincinnati on a neutral field will be absolutely crucial to a successful season. That said, the first ten games ‘should’ be within single-digit spread lines and if they get some bounces and take the close ones, could find themselves in a good position.

There is a lot of movement and decisions to be made throughout the off-season, including more portal moves, winter workouts and spring ball. Get all caught up with the full-on State of the Chart Magazine coming in July. If you missed the ad before, get more information and give us your e-mail to stay in the loop on everything SOTC!

State of the Chart Magazine >

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