Nebraska Cornhuskers news: Garrett Nelson goes pro, Maliek Collins plays Santa, more

The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team lost a big-time defender on Tuesday afternoon. Garrett Nelson, who quite a few Huskers fans thought had decided to stick around for another season, decided the NFL was calling after all. Nelson announced his decision on Twitter and immediately started an outpouring of comments from fans and media alike who had enjoyed watching the veteran defender play in Lincoln.

Garrett Nelson’s announcement comes on the heels of one of his teammates making the same call. It wasn’t all that long ago that tight end Chancellor Brewington decided he would try his luck with the NFL Draft. The difference here is that the tight end might be more of a blacksheep player to get drafted. It would certainly appear that Nelson has a very good chance of getting selected, even if it might not be all that early.

While Garrett Nelson could have come back for another season for Nebraska football, it certainly makes some sense that he’s giving the pros a go. Individually, he had his best season as a Husker.

He finished the year with 65 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Both career highs. Both those numbers we slight improvements from his 2021 campaign where he saw previous career bests. We wish Garrett Nelson well and hope to see him representing Nebraska football on the field in the NFL in 2023.

Other Cornhuskers News

• Former Husker Maliek Collins might not love getting attention for his charitable works, but that’s exactly what he’s getting after he played Santa with a family this week. The defensive tackle reached out to a mother and her teenage son (who is a massive Houston Texans fan) and paid for an all-expenses paid trip to Houston to see the Texans play.
• Malachi Coleman is one of the best signings of the Huskers this year and he’s showing it once again in the form of some postseason and post-high school career honors. Coleman has been added to the 2023 Polynesian Bowl roster.

College Football News

• While the Nebraska Cornhuskers have their big transfer quarterback target in Jeff Sims, one has to wonder what might have been if they waited a bit longer. That’s because Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman announced he was entering the portal on Tuesday. Hartman threw for 38 TDs, 12 INTs and for more than 3,700 yards this year. That’s on the heels of his 2021 season, where he had over 4,000 yards and 39 TDs. Word is he’s headed to Notre Dame.
• Ed Reed is a Hall-of-Fame defensive back from his time in the NFL and he’s also a legend from his time at the University of Miami. Now he’s going to try his hand as a coach. Reed has taken the head coaching job as Bethune Cookman. The school has struggled lately with just a 31 percent winning percentage in the last few years.