The Nebraska football team is steadily increasing its pace in pulling talent from the transfer portal. At least for now, the Huskers are being very picky about whom they grab and for what position, making sure they add pieces at positions of need.
On Tuesday, NU added two more portal pieces, though neither is considered high-profile. Both have a chance to make a real impact on the Huskers in 2025.
On the defensive front, the Nebraska football team added defensive lineman Jaylen George out of East Tennessee State. At punter, they pulled in former Washington Huskies special teamer Jack McCallister. The two new additions mean that the Cornhuskers now have four transfer portal additions to go along with Keona Davis, who entered the portal but then changed course and decided to stay, and Emmett Johnson, who thought about entering and decided against it.
GBR‼️🌽 pic.twitter.com/Hotkf1Qzsi
— Jack McCallister (@jmccallister38) December 17, 2024
Nebraska football adds two more portal players
George had a solid two seasons with East Tennessee State. In 2023, he started 11 games and totaled 21 tackles, including 2.5 sacks. He was a member of the All-Southern Conference Freshman Team.
This fall, the defensive lineman tallied 33 tackles, including six for a loss. He earned a spot on the All-Southern Conference first team. Going by Pro Football Focus grades, his 78.1 rating would be the best on the Huskers’ defense. While he wasn’t a sack master, he created plenty of chaos in the backfield with 21 quarterback hurries.
McCallister handled all but one punt over the last three seasons for Washington. His average has grown each season, from 40.8 yards a punt in 2022, to 41.7 in 2023, and 44.0 this fall.
This fall, the Nebraska football team will move on from Brian Buschini who has been the team’s punter the last two seasons after transferring in from Montana. The Huskers also have Kamdyn Koch, the son of former punter Sam Koch on the roster as a redshirt freshman. He’ll compete with McCallister for the starting punter job next season.