Nebraska Football’s Theme for 2026: Execution, Grit and Brotherhood

Junior defensive tackle Riley Van Poppel talks about where he thinks the Huskers are going and how they will get there.

Nebraska defensive tackle Riley Van Poppel | Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska junior defensive tackle Riley Van Poppel welcomes the new look of the Huskers’ defense from scheme to coaches.

He said that — and much more — at a news conference this week. 

Nebraska’s defense needed a shakeup after a brutal 2025, especially the final three games. It’s the red zone where the Huskers’ defense repeatedly failed the most important test on that side of the football. Opponents scored on 37-of-38 trips inside the red zone. The breakdown was even more dramatic — 30 of the scores were touchdowns.

In Big Ten games, Nebraska was 0-for-28 in stopping opponents in the red zone.

Fired between the end of the regular season and the bowl game was defensive coordinator John Butler, who talked a tough game to the media but the results didn’t match the rhetoric. Head coach Matt Rhule hired Rob Aurich away from San Diego State as defense coordinator. Joining them were assistant coaches Rob Manning (edge) and Corey Brown (defensive line). Aurich coached the Aztecs to a top national ranking, only allowing 15.4 points per game, sixth-best among FBS teams.

Under this new setup, expect Van Poppel to be right in the middle of the action.

‘Three big words’ to live by

Van Poppel, who had 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 13 games last season, said the 2026 Huskers have “three big words” to characterize who they are and who they want to be.

“It’s execution, grit, and brotherhood,” Van Poppel said. “And so we try to nail those three down.

“I think brotherhood is our best. I think we always want to work on the execution part. That’s something that my dad [former Major League Baseball pitcher Todd Van Poppel] taught me is work on the execution part.

“That’s something that my dad taught me is you’re never going to be perfect. It’s practice makes permanent. So however you practice is how you’re permanent going to play. So there’s always room for improvement on the execution … 

“I would say just honestly as a team, our competitiveness and our ability to just go work … We still have things that we want to get done.”

Van Poppel on his new coaches

Huskers defensive end Cam Lenhardt called Aurich a “mad scientist” this week and Van Poppel is all in with that assessment. Van Poppel also called Aurich’s defense “chaotic” in a complimentary way.

“Yeah, 100 percent I agree with that,” Van Poppel said. “And then especially he came in the other day and he had shaved and he had just a mustache on and I got a good photo of him.

“So I would agree he is a mad scientist after seeing that. I think just how he attacks the game of football, his coaching style, how he talks to us, but then how he can draw things up, how he can approach an offense, and get all his different ideas out onto the field in such a different way that I’ve never seen.

Nebraska defensive tackle Riley Van Poppel lines up against Cincinnati last season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“Makes it fun to play forward cuz, not only [does] it keeps the offense on our toes, but at the same time, it keeps you on your toes because you’re able to do so many different things from the same look, from different looks.

“And to an outside eye, it might seem really confusing, but I think once you sit down, you learn the installs, and you see what he’s like, you start to pick up on his kind of vibe and his feel, it makes complete sense, and you start to get a sense of what he wants to do, and it’s fun to play for.

“He’s confident … He knows what he has on the field. He knows what he can do as a defensive coordinator and scheme wise. And then he also has a lot of confidence in his players.

“I think that’s the best thing is when you have a coach behind you who really has confidence in his players. It allows the 11 guys who are on the field to go out there and have ultimate confidence in themselves. And I know personally for me that’s something I’ve been missing.

“I think it was great to experience that this past spring and really see my game evolve and just having coaches and guys behind me who just had that confidence and allowing me to take that on the field myself.”

Nebraska defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel forces a fumble from Houston Christian's Jake Weir last season that led to a scoop-and-score from Williams Nwaneri. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Van Poppel’s position coaches

Van Poppel works closely with defensive line coach Brown and edge coach Manning. 

“Yeah, they work great together,” Van Poppel said. “They’re two peas in a pod is how I would say it. You know, they come at things a little bit different. I think coach Brown is, I wouldn’t say mellow, but he’s a little bit more calm, collected, like he gets fiery when he wants to, but I think coach Manning is more just out there from the jump.

“Like if you get to know coach Brown and [the] longer you’re around him and when he gets into it, yeah, he knows how to flip that switch.

“I think from like the minute you meet coach Manning, it’s like that. And so that’s what I like about them. It’s kind of two different personalities, but their knowledge of the game from both guys is just unbelievable.

“[From Manning], I think that’s really important to having a coach [who] is someone who can literally look at you in the eye and be like, I have been sitting in this exact seat you’ve been sitting in.

“I know what it’s like. I know what you’re going through. And so, you kind of relate to your coach on a personal level and whenever he can tell you that.”

Huskers’ goals

Van Poppel believes in this team, is glad Rhule said at Big Ten Media Days “we didn’t come to Nebraska to go 7-6.” Van Poppel knows how difficult the Huskers’ schedule looks, and the quality of the teams they will face.

No matter.

“So, you know, everyone wants to talk about our schedule and I say, it’s the Big Ten,” Van Poppel said. “You’re not going to have an easy schedule. You’re going to go out there and you’re going to play good competition. That’s why you come here. That’s why you come to Nebraska.

“We don’t have a bunch of individuals in this team. We have a bunch of guys who have one goal, and that’s national championship.”

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