After an Emotional Memorial Stadium Debut, Dexter Foster Preps Amid Uncertainty Over the Status of Owen Chambliss

The transfer linebacker delivered five tackles and three QB hurries in his first game as a Husker. Now he, Vincent Shavers Jr. and Dawson Merritt will likely need to carry the room again.

Dexter Foster | Nebraska Athletics

Week 2 arrives for Nebraska f0otball with some uncertainty at linebacker. The status of Owen Chambliss remains up in the air, meaning Dexter Foster and the rest of the linebacker room could be leaned on again against Bowling Green after stepping up in his absence during the opener against Ohio.

Dexter Foster didn't expect to feel much of anything before his Nebraska debut. By the time he was sitting in the locker room before the tunnel walk, that changed.

"In the locker room before the tunnel walk, just sitting there thinking about, it's time, the game is here," Foster said after practice Tuesday. "Get ready, go out there and show what you can do."

Ohio's Nick Poulos throws a pass past the reach of Nebraska defensive end Cam Lenhardt. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Foster's Debut Carried More Than Just a Stat Line

Foster started at linebacker in Nebraska's season opener against Ohio and finished with five tackles and three quarterback hurries. His final tackle of the day was also the 100th of his college career, a milestone that landed in the same game as his first appearance in a Husker uniform.

For Foster, a Portland, Oregon, native who transferred in after two seasons at Oregon State, the moment carried extra weight.

"Definitely had a lot of emotions going out onto the field," Foster said. "Just thinking about where I came from. Not too many people from my hometown get the opportunity to play at the next level. So it was definitely a good one to remember."

Foster said he went into the game confident in himself and his teammates.

"I didn't really expect it," Foster said. "So like when it hit me, it was like kind of a shock to me, but I knew what I needed to do when I got out there."

Owen Chambliss | Nebraska Athletics

Chambliss's Absence Puts Nebraska's Linebacker Room to the Test

Nebraska will again be without Owen Chambliss, the presumptive starter at linebacker, for a second straight week. Chambliss is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Matt Rhule said on Monday that his availability for Week 2 remains uncertain.

"Not sure if he'll be back or not," Rhule said. "I hope so, but I'm not sure. He's an excellent player."

In his absence, Foster is one of a group tasked with filling the void left by a player he described as one of the leaders of the room, alongside Shavers and Merritt.

"Owen is a great player. He's a great leader, great dude overall," Foster said. "He was basically just telling us to go out there and do what we've been doing, like we know our assignment, we know the cause, we know what we need to do. He's basically just encouraging us, motivating us to go out there and just play ball, just be ourselves."

Shavers, a junior, started 12 games a season ago and finished second on the team in tackles for loss, while Merritt, a sophomore, tied his career high with four tackles in the opener against Ohio. Between the three of them, Nebraska has enough returning production at linebacker to withstand Chambliss missing time, but it still leaves room to lean on each other in his absence.

Settling in After an Early Explosive Play

Nebraska's defense gave up an explosive play on Ohio's first drive. Foster talked about what the defense is doing to move on from that.

"Throughout the week we talked about resetting," Foster said. "The first drive they had an explosive play, and you know, it's going to happen, it's just basically how you react after it. Big play, it hurt, but we knew what we needed to get done. We knew we needed to be able to flush it and just work on the next play."

Looking ahead to Week 2, Foster pointed to execution as the next step for the defense.

"I probably just say just going out there and executing our job, you know, just little things like being in the right gaps, being in the right fits," Foster said. "Being able to predict what the offenses may run, just taking that next step in that aspect."

Nebraska's Blackout vs USC | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Foster Is Ready for His First Night Game at Memorial Stadium

Saturday's game will be Foster's first night game at Memorial Stadium, and he's already heard what to expect from teammates who played there last season.

"They said before the USC game, I'm pretty sure it was during the night time, they said it gets rocking, it gets loud, it's going to be live," Foster said. "So I'm just excited. I'm ready to go out there for game two, basically just take the next step from week one to week two."

Having a full game now behind him, expect Foster to continue to grow in his role and become more comfortable in the defense.

"I'll probably say, you know, not making it bigger than what it is, just going out there, trusting myself, trusting the guys next to me to get their job done," Foster said. "I wasn't really thinking much of it. I was just trusting myself to go out there and just go play."

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