Blackshirts Facing Major Changes as We Assess the State of Nebraska’s Defense Heading into the 2025 Season

An early evaluation of the Husker defense as we look ahead to the coming season.

Dec 28, 2024; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston College Eagles quarterback Grayson James (14) is sacked by Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive lineman Vincent Shavers (1) during the first half at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Matt Rhule is known as a defensive guy. He’s always prioritized defense, and that was certainly borne out in his first two years as the head man in Lincoln. In 2024, the Huskers ranked 18th in total defense, 17th in scoring defense, and 9th in rushing defense. The numbers were even better in 2023, although we should probably point out that the Big Red faced some absolutely abysmal offenses that year, so that certainly helped. But it’s hard to deny how much better the defense got the minute Matt Rhule and Tony White showed up in Lincoln. 

Sure, there have been a handful of things that Husker fans could pick at–the passing defense hasn’t been as strong as other areas; they’ve had a hard time getting off the field on 3rd down; they could have gotten to the quarterback a bit more–but by and large, Nebraska has seen a marked improvement on the defense under Rhule and White. Rhule seems confident that its strong performance will continue, but with major changes underway on that side of the ball, he faces one of his biggest challenges yet in trying to ensure the Blackshirts don’t fall off in year 3.

This week we’ve taken a look at the big picture challenges Rhule faces as college football becomes more complex than ever, as well as the state of Nebraska’s offense at the outset of a pivotal offseason. Today we’ll look at where things stand with the Husker defense heading into the 2025 season. It’s never too early to start focusing on next season. As we say on the Common Fan Podcast, all Husker football, all the time. 

Major Coaching Staff Turnover. Tony White wasn’t well known when Rhule hired him to be Nebraska’s defensive coordinator two years ago, but he made his mark in short order. More than a month after the news of White’s departure first broke, it’s still painful to think about him leaving for the same job at Florida State. Of all places! Our nemesis from the ‘90s. Not only that, but he took defensive line coach Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton with him. Knighton had become a fan favorite, especially after James Williams opened up about losing family and how Knighton had become like his father. The images of Williams’ head buried in Pot Roast’s shoulder at the end of the Rutgers game brought a tear to the eyes of many in Husker Nation. I only bring this up because, a generation or two ago, guys like White and Knighton likely would have stayed at Nebraska for most of their careers. With the nature of college football today, every program has money, every program is trying to win, and the coaching carousel seemingly gets more intense every offseason. Nebraska is not immune to these realities. 

Rhule elevated defensive backs coach John Butler to defensive coordinator prior to the bowl game. Before Nebraska, Butler most recently served as the defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills, and he has coordinator experience from his time at Penn State. This offseason, the Huskers have also hired former UCF defensive coordinator Addison Williams to replace Butler as defensive backs coach; Terry Bradden from the Kansas City Chiefs to replace Knighton as the defensive line coach; and Phil Simpson as outside linebackers coach. As of this writing, linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek is the only member of the defensive coaching staff whose role is largely unchanged from a season ago. On paper, the reshuffled staff looks like a strong bunch. Williams had a lot of success defending the pass at UCF; Bradden comes from the NFL’s best team; and Simpson is considered an up-and-comer in the business and a strong recruiter in particular. But that’s a lot of change on one side of the ball, and you have to wonder what the impact will be. 

One other major bit of intrigue: Rhule has hired Phil Snow, his defensive coordinator at Temple, Baylor, and the Carolina Panthers, as Associate Head Coach. With Butler coordinating the defense, I’m curious about what exactly Snow’s role will be, but I generally think it’s a good thing for Rhule to bring in someone he trusts and has coached with for so long. It can be lonely at the top; having someone who can be both a sounding board and give you their unvarnished opinion is usually a good thing. 

Massive Personnel Changes. Ty Robinson. Nash Hutmacher. John Bullock. Javin Wright. Isaac Gifford. Deshon Singleton. MJ Sherman. So many major contributors on defense are now out of eligibility. Most of these guys have been Huskers for their entire careers, going back to the Frost era. They’ve been through a lot. It was so great to see them go out with a bowl win, but their departures leave some big holes on the roster. 

On top of the departing seniors, as of this writing Nebraska has lost 13 defensive players to the transfer portal. Of that group, Jimari Butler, Mikai Gbayor, Kai Wallin, Princewill Umanmielen, and James Williams were all expected to be significant contributors this fall. Woof. That’s a lot of dudes who have played a lot of football for the Big Red. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, given the departure of White and Knighton and the fact that just about every team in college football is dealing with fallout from the transfer portal. But it sure makes it challenging to manage a roster. 

Thankfully, the portal not only taketh away but it also giveth. To date, the Huskers have added eight defensive players from the portal, including: linebacker Marques Watson-Trent, the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year in 2024; edge rusher Williams Nwaneri, a big time 5-star prospect out of high school who spent one year at Missouri and still has four years of eligibility left; Jaylen George, a first team all conference defensive lineman from East Tennessee State; and hybrid linebacker-defensive back Dasan McCullough, who was a freshman All American at Indiana in 2022 and spent the last two seasons as a solid contributor for Oklahoma. 

You never know until you see it on the field, but the assumption with most of the transfer portal additions is that they will be in line to compete for starting jobs, and at the very least be in a position to contribute right away. Don’t be surprised if the Huskers’ work in the portal is not finished. 

How Much Can We Take from the Bowl Game? Can I be honest about something? I thought the defensive performance in the bowl game was fine. It was good even. But not great. Yes, the Blackshirts held Boston College to 15 points, and one of the touchdowns was hardly the defense’s fault, after a blocked punt set the Eagles up with first and goal at the 2 yard line. And Nebraska completely shut down BC’s run game, giving up a total of 47 yards on the ground. But the Huskers allowed Eagles quarterback Grayson James to throw for 301 yards, completing over 63% of his passes. What’s more, Boston College moved the ball into Nebraska territory seven times. Thankfully, it was clear they had zero trust in their kicking game, and they failed to convert on 4th down four times. Credit to the Huskers for forcing that many turnovers on downs, but what if BC had a competent kicking game?

I’m probably borrowing trouble here. I certainly enjoyed the bowl win as much as anyone, and I’m still basking in the glow of Nebraska’s first winning season since 2016. What’s more, I’m not sure how much we can take away from a bowl game with a coordinator who was brand new to the job, and a good chunk of the contributors from the 2024 season having moved on. I’ll give Butler the benefit of the doubt, and will be excited to see what the unit looks like after a full offseason of work. But I do believe this is one more factor that adds a level of uncertainty going into 2025. 

Overall Assessment. Personally, I’m optimistic Rhule and Butler will figure out how to keep this a top 25 unit in the year to come. But at this point, there are many unknowns, and it’s hard to call the situation on defense anything other than a question mark heading into next season. 

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