Nebraska unveils plans for changes to Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium is going to look a little different when Nebraska plays its first home game in 2022. At least, that’s what Trev Alberts said this week.

Alberts told Husker Sports Radio that some seats in the Memorial Stadium end zones will be widened. They’re currently 18 inches wide, but they’ll move to 20 inches over the offseason.

“Seat comfort is very obvious and important,” Alberts said, via the Lincoln Journal Star. “In the end zones, the average width is 18 inches. We’ll immediately expand those to at least 20 inches or more. What we’re going to have to do is, we’ve got a lot of rows with 27 seats. We might reduce them to 24.”

This means capacity is going to decrease, though. Alberts said that’s to be expected.

Nebraska Athletics sent out a survey about the stadium and modernizing it. Fans can share what areas they want to see improved, and Alberts said nearly 20,000 people have already filled it out.

“I can’t believe that all of them are just filling it out for the donation points that they get,” Alberts said. “I think the reality is that they’re genuinely interested in giving us constructive feedback. The feedback has been really, really good. We’re going to need some time now to sort through all the data. 

“It is so much data. So much more than you’d imagine. But some general themes emerge early.”

The new seats are expected to be in place by the time Nebraska kicks off its 2022 home opener against North Dakota on Sept. 3.

Nebraska lands 2019 FCS Defensive Freshman of the Year Omar Brown

Nebraska has landed a huge commitment from defensive back Omar Brown, the 2019 FCS Defensive Freshman of the Year. Brown, previously at Northern Iowa, is already on campus at Nebraska, according to Allen Trieu of 247Sports.

As a freshman at Northern Iowa in 2019, Brown totaled 77 tackles with six interceptions. In addition to being the FCS Freshman of the Year, Brown was named a third-team AP All-American and Phil Steele All-American first-teamer.

Even with the FCS season being moved to the spring of 2021 instead of fall of 2020, Brown played a big role in Northern Iowa’s defense. He started all seven games, totaling 30 tackles with five pass breakups. Brown was an honorable mention All-MVFC selection.

In 2021, Brown played in seven games, totaling 33 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. In the seventh game, he suffered a season-ending injury. He was again an honorable mention for the MVFC All-Conference team.