The Nebraska football team’s season is just about here. The Huskers officially started planning for UTEP last weekend and on Monday, they released the depth chart showing who was playing where and when.
There is at least one player on the Miners’ depth chart that has head coach Matt Rhule thinking about him more than most. NU knows that it needs to plan how to stop the CUSA team’s top pass rusher.
In fact, Nebraska football knows that if it doesn’t stop Maurice Westmoreland, the Huskers could have a very bad day, even in Lincoln. Rhule called out the fact that Westmoreland and the rest of his teammates see the game against NU as an opportunity to make some noise and not just through memes.
Nebraska football preparing for pass rusher extraordinaire
"These guys, they're coming to win. It's a great, great, great first test for us to handle someone that's going to throw everything at you," Rhule said during a recent press conference.. "A big part of that is Westmoreland and his ability to change the game."
He’s not wrong about the UTEP defender who came out of nowhere in 2023. After posting just 17 tackles and little else in 2022, he exploded on the scene last season.
Not only did he record 37 tackles, but he had 10.5 tfl, 7.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and even had 3 passes defended. He’ll be a handful for an offensive line that has some new faces starting up front.
He’ll also be a nice test for Nebraska football quarterback Dylan Raiola who is getting his first collegiate start. Raiola wore a green jersey during the spring and while he’s taken a bit more contact this fall, it hasn’t been full go. It will certainly be interesting to watch how the Huskers deal with UTEP’s pass rush in Week 1.