Friday Flakes: Projecting Day One Starters for Nebraska Football and ESPN’s Lack of Self Confidence

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Oct 5, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Jaylen Lloyd (19) and defensive back Jeremiah Charles (25) down a punt against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con The Offense

Unless you are just now checking into the Nebraska football season, since we are approximately one week away from the first game of the 2026 season, you likely already know that a lot of my projections for starters for Dana Holgorsen’s offense have been made clear with the exception of one position: Running Back.

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It was announced last week that Anthony Colandrea was going to be the starter. This was barely news. I am excited to watch him against Ohio on September 5th. What I would like to see is that he makes a few plays to show us what he can do with his legs. Then otherwise I would love to see him play from the pocket. I expect that by mid-season Big Ten defense will do what they can and keep him in the pocket kind of like what they did with Adrian Martinez.

The starting running back against Ohio likely won’t mean much as it probably will depend on the play call from the offensive coordinator. I picked Isaiah Mozee because the whispers out of camp have been that he has really improved but that he might have fight of Jamal Rule at some point this season. Mekhi Nelson could easily trot out there on the first place as well.

With the tight ends, it is simply Luke Lindenmeyer and then everybody else. The coaches have not been happy with the room as a whole (even insinuating they might have to go with some four wide receiver sets) but have been happy with Lindenmeyer.

The Offensive Line was appeared to be set until Tree Babalade got injured. He was already competing with Gunnar Gottula for the starting spot but apparently Gottula has taken the rein while Babalade has been injured which is great news.

Quarterback – Anthony Colandrea

Running Back – Isaiah Mozee

Wide Receivers – Nyziah Hunter, Jacory Barney, Kwazi Gilmer

Tight End – Luke Lindenmeyer

Offensive Tackle – Elijah Pritchett

Guard – Paul Mubenga

Center – Justin Evans

Guard – Brendan Black

Right Tackle – Gunnar Gottula

The Defense

I feel that Cameron Lenhardt will likely start but as far as the other defensive end position it could be a list of 3-4 names including Williams Nwaneri, Kade Pietrzak, Jordan Ochoa and Willis McGahee IV. Head Coach Matt Rhule said that the defensive end group is the deepest position group on the defense.

Riley Van Poppel is a penciled in starter. I am hoping he has a breakout year. The defense really needs it. The other DT is likely between Jahsear Whittington and Owen Stoudmire. Would love to have a four man rotation there at some point. Maybe throw a couple bones to true freshman Dylan Berymon (6’2”, 350 pounds).

The linebacker position is a three way tie between Owen Chambliss, Vincent Shavers and Dexter Foster. If healthy then Chambliss is the number one man at that position.

Andrew Marshall has the first cornerback spot nailed down. Sounds out of camp indicate that Victor Evans (transfer from Florida International) could be special as well. Jeremiah Charles and Five Star true freshman Danny Odem have been mentioned by the coaches as well as having a good fall camp.

In this 4-2-5 defense there are five defensive backs. Two of those are cornerbacks which leaves three defensive back spots to be filled. I think we can assume that Dwayne McDougle will fill one of those spots to begin with since he followed defensive coordinator Rob Aurich here from San Diego State. I am not as confident about the two remaining DB spots but we have heard about both Jamir Conn and Donovan Jones quite a bit. So lets just go with that.

Defensive Ends – Cameron Lenhardt, Anthony Jones Jr.

Defensive Tackles – Riley Van Poppel, Jahsear Whittington

Linebackers – Owen Chambliss, Vincent Shavers

Cornerbacks – Andrew Marshall, Victor Evans

Safeties/Nickelback – Donovan Jones, Jamir Conn, Dwayne McDougle

ESPN’s Lack of Self-Confidence

Lets keep this short. ESPN is apparently not longer going to have the ticker at the bottom of the screen. They said they are doing that so the format is “cleaner.”

We all know what this is. ESPN is afraid that you will leave their boring SEC/ACC game to go watch a Big Ten game that is more interesting and more competitive.

SPORTS! SPORTS! JORTS! SPORTS! SPORTS!

3 Takes: Nebraska Volleyball takes crown at Spikes Under the Lights exhibition
No. 1 Nebraska Volleyball is the champion of the first-ever Spikes Under the Lights event in AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The exhibition featured the first-ever women’s volleyball matches in an NFL Stadium. The Scarlet and Cream took home $350,000 in NIL.

The Huskers outlasted No. 17 Florida in two very close sets in the semifinals (21-19, 21-18. To keep the matches short, the first two sets of each match went to 21 points, and the third set, if needed, went to 15 points.

Owen Herrick, Arthur Jones and Baron Marshall all have Nebraska high on their lists
As the college football season fast approaches, Nebraska is making waves on the recruiting trail in the 2028 cycle. Rivals talked with many of Matt Rhule and the Huskers top targets on Thursday. You can read that here. 

Huskers win inaugural Spikes Under the Lights
Nebraska volleyball steamrolled through the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights event in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday night, dominating No. 11 SMU 21-12, 21-11 in the made-for-TV event’s finals and netting $350,000 in NIL. 

Teraya Sigler led the way for Nebraska with seven kills in the win over the Mustangs, with Harper Murray adding six kills in the match. In the final, Nebraska hit .339, while holding SMU to .068 hitting and just 10 kills. SMU had hit .323 in its semifinal win over Penn State earlier in the night to advance to face the Huskers. 

The Big Ten has won 3 straight CFB national titles. Can any of these 18 teams make it 4?
After years of BCS and Playoff angst, the Big Ten stands atop college football with three consecutive national championships from Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana. Oregon hopes it’s next as it pursues its first national title.

After Indiana, who could be college football’s next first-time national champion
Indiana’s 2025 national title was jarring in about 100 different ways. That the losingest major program in the sport could win it all meant that in this new era of college football, possibilities are endless for a program that can hire well and invest properly.

Sure, it helps quite a bit if you’re in one of the nation’s two richest conferences. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a spectacularly huge alumni base just waiting to be inspired enough to spend lots of money, as Indiana’s evidently was. For all of the extreme losses in the Hoosiers’ history, there was a sleeping giant element here that not too many other programs can match.

Fantasy Football: From Jaxson Dart to Parker Washington, we present the 2026 All-Breakout Team
There are several different avenues to winning a fantasy championship, but one of the most tried and true is identifying and drafting breakout players. Very few teams that drafted Drake Maye and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at their preseason prices last year fell short of the goal. Finding a superstar in the middle rounds, or an every-week starter at the end of drafts, is an advantage worth pursuing year in and year out.

So who are the “Diamonds in the Rough” for the upcoming season? May I present the 2026 All-Breakout Team.

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

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