Huskers Football Near Senior Curse-Proof For 2014 Season

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Now we’re getting into dicey territory. Cooper’s one of the guys you can pencil in as a starting safety as of today. Nebraska’s secondary isn’t nearly as well-stocked as other positions. Losing Cooper effectively takes several looks out of Pelini’s playbook as Nathan Gerry can sub in or play in formations with Cooper and LeRoy Alexander.

What happens if he goes down: Things are less rosy, but not totally grim. We’d likely see Nathan Gerry move back to start alongside LeRoy Alexander. Ideally, JUCO transfer Byerson Cockrell takes to the FBS level quickly which gives the Huskers three healthy, experienced defensive backs again.

Redshirt freshmen D.J. Singleton and Drake Martinez are also options if the Big Red Button (the bad one) needs to be hit.