While the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team stumbled a bit this past season after originally looking like they might finally make some noise in the Big Ten, the rest of the athletic department has had one heck of a year. That was reflected in the Huskers finishing the Top 20 of the Governor’s Cup standings and was underlined on Monday when Axelina Johansson was one of three track and field athletes across the country who were named finalists for the 2026 Bowerman Award. The Bowerman is the highest track and field honor given annually to the most outstanding college male and female athletes.
Johansson has already taken home plenty of accolades this year as she was crowned the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Shot Put Champion, breaking the indoor collegiate record (19.72m, 64-8 ½) and outdoor championship meet record (19.97m, 65-6 ¼). The senior also owns both the indoor and outdoor school records.
Johansson was a seven-time First-Team All-American, the 2026 Honda Award for Track and Field winner, the USTFCCCA Women’s National Field Athlete of the Year, a 2026 World Championships Bronze Medalist, and a six-time NCAA medalist. She is now also the first Nebraska Cornhuskers athlete to be a finalist for The Bowerman since the award was first created in 2009.
Anthony Colandrea could have the “it” factor for Nebraska
College football analyst JD Pickell thinks that Anthony Colandrea could be very special for Nebraska in 2026, though not necessarily because of what he can do with the right play calls from Dana Holgorsen. Pickell thinks the new Husker quarterback’s impact will really be felt when the play breaks down, and he has to make something happen. Pickell added that he thinks Raiola not doing that the last two years is something NU has been missing.
You have to find ways to take some ground. And to me, that ground you would take is when the play breaks down, they call the right blitz, and you have the wrong protection,” Pickell said on a recent podcast. “Can Anthony Colandrea create something out of nothing? And it sounds kind of cliché, but I just, I think it's the truth. And it's quite frankly, something that Dylan Raiola wasn't doing for you.”
More Nebraska Cornhuskers news
- With the new five-for-five rule change coming into being, Nebraska volleyball star Bergen Reilly was asked whether she foresees herself taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility. So far, though, she said she hasn’t decided and isn’t going to rush it, even if she knows Husker fans want her to.
- When the Nebraska Cornhuskers rolled out their new uniforms earlier this month, the backlash was unreal. However, now that EA Sports College Football 27 is almost here, the university gave a sneak peek at what the uniforms will look like in the game. As it turns out, that sneak peek also allowed many Husker fans to realize it wasn’t really that bad. In fact, some people actually think it looks pretty good now.
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