The start of the Nebraska football season is less than a week away and that means it’s officially time to start planning for Saturday’s game. It’s also time to see who starts for the Huskers against the UTEP miners.
Now that the depth chart is out and the Huskers are getting ready to beat up on UTEP, one things stands out more than anything else. It feels like the coaches are quite confident in who they are starting and who they aren’t.
In fact, a quick glance at the Nebraska football depth chart for Week 1 shows a listing that is almost entirely devoid of the “Or” notation. That’s traditionally been used when there isn’t an obvious starter. This time around, there is only one position group on either the offensive or defensive side of the ball where it’s used at all.
Biggest takeway from #Huskers first official depth chart is how many Ors there aren't. pic.twitter.com/ymc0TrEHsn
— Oliver VanDervoort (@itmeolliev) August 26, 2024
Nebraska football running backs the only big question marks
Wide receivers, offensive linemen, obviously quarterbacks are all set with starters and then their backups. But it’s clear that the Cornhuskers coaches are still searching for separation in the backfield.
The only group that has “Or” on the offensive side of the ball has a lot of it. Rahmir Johnson is listed first and then it’s or Emmett Johnson or Gabe Ervin Jr. or Dante Dowdell.
It’s also worth pointing out that NU coaches haven’t put much stock in the order of the ors in the past. We’re going to have to wait until Sunday to see who gets the first carry and then who gets the most carries.
Defensively, there isn’t a single Or in the group. The one place that might be a bit of a surprise is at corner. While we’ve known that Tommi Hill and Buford were the starters, it’s a bit surprising there aren’t some Ors further down the list among Ceyair Wright, Blye Hill and Amare Sanders.
Special Teams is the outlier
The only unit that uses Or liberally is Ed Foley’s bunch. Kicker is Tristan Alvano or John Hohl. Kick off is John Hohl or Brian Buschini and kick returner for the Nebraska football team is either Rahmir Johnson or Jacory Barney.