Detailing Nebraska’s strengths in its defense in 2024

Nebraska is a program that has historically prided itself on defense, and the Cornhuskers will look to continue that identity as they rebuild under Matt Rhule. They ranked as the nation’s No. 13 scoring defense and No. 11 in total defense last year in Rhule’s inaugural season.

Many of the players who were a part of achieving those marks return in 2024, including defensive linemen Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson. The pair combined for 12 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks this past season while Robinson also provided six passes defended.

They will anchor Nebraska up front heading into Rhule’s second year at the helm, and edge rusher Jimari Butler (5.5 sacks) will also be a leader for the defense. Sean Callahan of Husker Online joined On3‘s Andy Staples to break down what to expect and the biggest questions for that unit.

“Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson are NFL-level D-linemen,” he said. “Jimari Butler’s an experienced guy. Cam Lenhardt was one of the better freshmen pass rushers until he got injured last year in the Big Ten. MJ Sherman will take a step forward. I think the question is: Do they have edge players who can beat Big Ten tackles with a four-man pass rush?

“You’ve gotta be able to win with four to get it done in the Big Ten. You can’t always blitz. Tony White is really good at creating four-man looks where you don’t know where the fourth guy’s coming from. We’ll see how creative they can get and how much of a jump those guys can make.”

White took over as the defensive coordinator for the Huskers in 2023 after spending three years at Syracuse. They saw immediate improvement under his direction after ranking 77th and 100th in scoring and total defense in 2022, respectively.

Now White will be tasked with keeping up that level of production as the Big Ten is only set to get tougher this season. Nebraska has already added several new faces in attempt to do so.

First there is linebacker Stefon Thompson, who will reunite with White after playing for him at Syracuse. He had 79 tackles and and six sacks as a redshirt freshman in 2021 and will aim to recreate that in Lincoln playing in a system he is plenty familiar with.

Callahan also had high praise for true freshman and three-star prospect Vincent Shavers.

“Stefon Thompson will probably be a guy that can play a little,” he said. “Then there’s a freshman linebacker, Vincent Shavers out of Miami. The Hurricanes actually filled up and dropped him in December. Nebraska picked him up and he’s been really impressive for a true freshman here and it was just a guy they kind of fell into.”

The Cornhuskers should also be solid in the secondary with several starters set to return. That includes Tommi Hill and Isaac Gifford, who combined for five interceptions and 17 passes defended in 2023.

All this is to say the defense is shaping up to once again look like one of the best in the country. They’ll get their first chance to prove so when Nebraska opens up the season on Aug. 31 against UTEP.