With the 2026 season just days away, it’s time to identify the Nebraska football players who have flown under the radar and could become stars this season.
Every season, every team has a few guys who aren’t anywhere near household names, and by midseason, fans realize the team would be in big trouble without them. We’re about to share three players we believe could fit that bill this fall.
Anthony Colandrea and Kwazi Gilmer won’t be on this list. Neither will Jacory Barney. Those guys have already “broken out” for Nebraska and are expected to have great seasons for NU this year. This list is about the players who enter with few expectations, the ones half the fan base might not even remember are on the team.
Nebraska football’s best candidates for a breakout 2026 season
Jamir Conn
When the safety arrived in Lincoln last season after two years at FCS school Southern Illinois, big things were hoped for, but he was never on the field enough to really make himself a menace in the defensive backfield. He did, however, turn himself into a special teams ace. Conn played in all 13 games in 2025 and recorded 10 tackles, a half tackle for loss, one pass breakup and two blocked punts. He ranked second in the nation with two blocked kicks.
This year, he’s one of the starting safeties alongside either Dwayne McDougle or Rex Guthrie. Unlike quite a few names in the defensive backfield, Conn doesn’t have an “or” next to his name on the Nebraska depth chart. He’s had a great lead-up to the season, and now he could have a fantastic 2026 breakout season.
Quinn Clark
Quinn Clark has always had the build that made Nebraska fans drool. However, his production has never matched the expectations for a receiver that should be a weapon, especially down in the red zone. So far, the son of legendary Husker running back Ken Clark has tallied just 5 career catches for 132 yards.
Earlier this week, Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said Clark has “come miles” from where the receiver was when Holgorsen first arrived in Lincoln. Holgorsen also said that while Clark is officially a backup, there are packages where he’ll be the top target. That sounds like a recipe for a breakout 2026 campaign.
Cam Lenhardt
This is the fourth year that rush end Cam Lenhardt has entered the season looking like he could bust out in a big way. So far, the fourth-year senior hasn’t been able to really come close to the pass rush production of his freshman season. In 2023, he had 16 tackles and 3 sacks. He followed that up with a single sack in each of the last two seasons.
Could 2026 finally be where the defensive end shows up and shows out as part of a 4-2-5 scheme that will allow him to draw less attention on the edge than the 3-3-5 schemes he played in every year of his career previously? That’s certainly the hope. Lenhardt is listed as a starter for Nebraska opposite 5th-year Anthony Jones Jr. Here’s hoping they meet at quarterback often in 2026.
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