Nebraska’s Blackshirts revival hinges on one rebuilt position group

The Big Ten Media Days have started in Chicago, which is the unofficial beginning of gridiron season (finally). Husker coaches report August 2, the players report August 5, and Fan Day is August 8 in Lincoln, Nebraska. There are many unknowns about this year's team. Can the Huskers learn from their mistakes last year? And at the end of 2026, which side of the ball will be the most improved?

I've always been a fan of defense. After all, "defense wins championships," right? Give me a slobber-knocker of a linebacker through the A gap over a flash and dash wide receiver any day. However, we were discussing the 2026 season and the question was posed, "If you get one improvement over last year, would you rather have a prolific offense or a shutdown defense?" The answers were about 50/50 in our group of 6 people. I initially stuck with my Blackshirts, but as the conversation/debate wore on, I had to admit I was leaning toward the offense. More about that later...

The Husker red zone defense was atrocious last year. Surprisingly, the quarterback run was very successful against the Blackshirts. 30 times in fact. Giving up 4.8 yards a carry will also put a hurt on a team. 16 of 19 field goals were successful against the Cornhuskers, but I'm not that twisted about that stat. The good news is that most of these things can be fixed. These facts are most likely a good reason why the linebacker room has changed in the offseason so dramatically. The most likely top three linebackers this year seem to have been carved out by the same cookie-cutter. They are all 6' 3" and around 230.

Transfer portal player Owen Chambliss is a junior and comes from San Diego State. You can think of him as the ambassador for Rob Aurich's defense. He is the best person to bring along the other guys having been familiar with the lingo and the style of play. Chambliss led the Aztec defense with 110 tackles. He needs to bring this warrior mentality to the Blackshirts. Another portal transfer is from Oregon State. It's Dexter Foster (6' 3" & 235 lbs). In the 7 games he started last year, he recorded 52 tackles with 3 of them for losses. He's most likely next best in ability after Chambliss.

Nebraska football needs Owen Chambliss and rebuilt linebacker room to deliver

A returning Blackshirt who will need to factor in strongly is Junior Vincent Shavers Jr. He started all games last year and could be the "anchor" leg of the linebacker room. He recorded 61 total tackles and 29 solo tackles last year. I'll be looking forward to more game-changing plays from him this year. More plays like his forced fumble at the end of the first half in the Cincinnati game. The returning Husker linebacker name you may not recognize is sophomore Dawson Merritt, who battled injury at the end of the season (out for November and the bowl game) but showed a lot of promise and good football IQ. That IQ part could maybe be attributed to the fact that his father is a defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.

This group of rinse-and-repeat sizes and shapes for the linebacker core will need Nebraska linebacker Coach Rob Dvorak to earn his money this season. It's his 4th year with the team, but he has been with HC Rhule since the Carolina Panthers days. His resume has him building up a walk-on to B1G Ten honors in '23 and '24, but it's time for him to get the best out of the starters. If he can't do it with this group, maybe it's time for Rhule to go LB Coach shopping.

The light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible for Nebraska Football. However, unless something substantial changes in the Linebacker room, it may be just another train barreling down like a running back through a Swiss cheese defense. Only time will tell. We all know it's a brutal schedule for Big Red, and teams like Oregon and Indiana will be looking to run up scores to land preferable playoff spots. No better time than 2026 for the Blackshirts to flex. Next month I'll share with you what caused me to lean toward the Husker offense. Until then, GO BIG RED!

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