How Every Nebraska Defender Graded Out Against Rutgers on PFF

Rob Aurich's defense came to play.

Despite being without starters Andrew Marshall, Owen Chambliss, Anthony Jones, and Dwayne McDougle, NU received quality contributions from depth pieces across the board, helping pitch its first shutout of a conference opponent since joining the Big Ten.

In total, 27 defenders saw action in Nebraska's 31-point win. Here are their final snap counts and grades according to Pro Football Focus. (Offensive grades coming soon.)

Player	Class	Snaps	Run Grade	Tackling	Pass Rush	Coverage	Overall
Lenhardt	4th	29	85.2	77.7	67.7	-	79.9
Nwaneri	3rd	27	55.4	-	55.1	60.0	54.4
Stoudmire	6th	23	55.2	26.4	66.1	-	58.2
Ochoa	3rd	22	77.2	78.6	62.0	-	76.2
Pietrzak	2nd	21	64.3	-	56.5	60.0	62.6
Whittington	3rd	21	57.5	71.9	74.0	-	66.6
Van Poppel	4th	17	45.2	-	65.3	-	39.3
Terry	2nd	9	36.4	16.2	68.5	-	39.2
Goldman	4th	9	46.5	16.6	65.6	-	48.7
Berymon	1st	6	59.5	69.7	67.2	-	65.7
Simpson	2nd	4	-	-	-	-	-
Hoffken	3rd	2	-	-	-	-	-
Lefotu	4th	2	-	-	-	-	-
Parrott	5th	1	-	-	-	-	-
McGahee	3rd	1	-	-	-	-	-

Defensive Line

It was a rather vanilla day for the Huskers on defense, partially due to injuries and partially because Aurich seemed to recognize that his unit was capable of going blow for blow with Rutgers in base sets.

The Huskers allowed just 101 rushing yards to the Scarlet Knights on 33 attempts, an average of 3.1 yards per carry. When Rutgers attempted to go through the air, the Blackshirts were even better. While NU recorded just nine quarterback pressures, the defensive line accounted for seven of them and both of Nebraska's sacks.

The unit's performance becomes even more impressive considering two of its best line-of-scrimmage defenders were hurt. UCLA transfer Anthony Jones wore street clothes throughout the game, while Pitt transfer Jahsear Whittington suffered an injury in the first half.

In his homecoming to the East Coast, senior edge Cam Lenhardt recorded the defensive line's highest overall grade. He finished with four tackles, two quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss, while junior edge Jordan Ochoa recorded his second sack of 2026. With Whittington's availability for Ohio State still unknown, it's worth noting that he has now recorded 5½ sacks in 10 games.

Player	Class	Snaps	Run Grade	Tackling	Pass Rush	Coverage	Overall
Shavers	3rd	45	63.9	70.2	69.9	86.0	79.6
Foster	3rd	35	69.4	61.2	60.0	57.0	65.5
Merritt	2nd	18	65.8	42.3	57.9	61.0	64.4

Linebacker

Without Chambliss, NU's linebacker rotation was short. Still, that's largely been the case all year, and the group continued to play well in Week 11.

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Junior linebacker Vincent Shavers led the team in tackles with 10 while also adding two pressures, half a tackle for loss, and a pass deflection. For his effort, he earned the third-highest overall grade among Nebraska defenders who saw the field.

Oregon State transfer Dexter Foster played 35 snaps and added another six tackles to his season total. He and Shavers were targeted a combined six times, allowing just three receptions for 10 total yards.

Though Dawson Merritt didn't grade exceptionally well in any category, his 18 snaps against Rutgers helped give NU's veterans a breather. Expect him to continue earning a bigger role for the remainder of the year, as he'll likely be a player the Huskers depend on more in 2027 and beyond, assuming they're able to retain him over the offseason.

Player	Class	Snaps	Run Grade	Tackling	Pass Rush	Coverage	Overall
Odem	1st	49	74.7	79.8	-	67.2	70.8
Benning	3rd	47	57.5	61.0	60.0	72.5	67.0
Conn	4th	45	76.9	84.0	-	65.4	71.6
Jones	3rd	41	61.5	27.6	-	60.4	61.2
Evans	4th	38	56.7	38.8	-	64.3	62.5
Charles	4th	11	69.2	76.2	-	89.7	90.8
Rhett	4th	8	71.4	77.4	-	61.0	69.8
Shiggs	3rd	4	-	-	-	-	-
Guthrie	3rd	4	-	-	-	-	-

Defensive Back

Former five-star recruit Danny Odem replaced an injured Andrew Marshall and, by all accounts, played well. His 49 snaps were the most of any Husker defender Saturday, and Odem didn't allow a catch in his first collegiate start.

Nebraska's secondary allowed the Scarlet Knights to complete just 4 of 9 passes targeted at them. Those completions resulted in only 32 total yards, while the secondary also came away with two interceptions.

Caleb Benning continues to see his stock rise after finishing with four tackles, one for loss, and an interception he returned for 39 yards. Jeremiah Charles picked off the other pass. Despite playing just 11 snaps, Charles finished with team-high coverage (89.7) and overall grades (90.8).

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