Another Huskers Position Group in Middle of Big Ten Pack

Nebraska's wide receivers are ranked ninth in the conference by Badgers Wire.

Kentucky transfer Dane Key is expected to be one of Nebraska's leading receivers in 2025. | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Despite an air of enthusiasm and optimism around the Nebraska football team going into 2025, some preseason rankings don’t reflect those feelings.

The most noteworthy might be the USA Today Coaches Poll, where Nebraska received 19 points and wound up 39th in the rankings. Six Big Ten teams are in the top 25 and two others are ranked above the Huskers in “others receiving votes.”

Badgerswire.com, in a continuing series of Big Ten rankings, slotted the Nebraska wide receiving corps as the ninth best in the conference.

In previous Badgerswire ratings, the Nebraska defense ranked ninth and the offense ranked 10th. All of these ratings are middle-of-the-pack numbers for a team that finished 7-6 last year.

Realistically, did you expect anything different?

An exception is quarterback Dylan Raiola, the Huskers’ established star and a former five-star recruit, who was ranked as the Big Ten’s third-best quarterback. That is good news for the Huskers, since it’s all but impossible to have a highly successful team without a good quarterback.

Nebraska receivers, from left, Keelan Smith, Nyziah Hunter and Quinn Clark. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Badgerswire.com’s Ben Kenney wrote about the Huskers’ wide receivers:

Starters: Dane Key (47 receptions, 715 yards, 2 TD at Kentucky), Nyziah Hunter (40 receptions, 578 yards, 5 TD at Cal), Jacory Barney (55 receptions, 447 yards).

“Nebraska lost its top two wideouts in Jahmal Banks (44 catches, 587 yards, 3 TD) and Isaiah Neyor (34 catches, 455 yards, 5 TD) after the 2024 season. It then added two established starters in Key and Hunter from Kentucky and Cal, respectively. This group’s spot at No. 9 showcases the conference’s impressive depth of talent at the position.”

Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen’s view

Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen has expressed optimism about his wide receivers in recent interviews, especially the depth in the group. The wide receivers might be under more pressure to perform with tight end Mac Markway out for the season with a torn ACL.

Holgorsen’s obsession with the Huskers executing routine plays has been well documented during preseason camp.

“We’re just focused on routine plays, taking what the defense gives you. If you do that consistently, those routine plays turn into big plays with good players," Holgorsen said recently.

“If it’s a checkdown for five yards, that’s better than an incompletion. That’s better than a sack,” he said. 

“I think we have good players that can turn routine plays into big plays, and that will help your yards per play and that will help your explosive plays as well.”

Big Ten wide receiver rankings

1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Indiana
4. Penn State
5. Oregon
6. Washington
7. Michigan State
8. Wisconsin
9. Nebraska
10. Rutgers
11. UCLA
12. Minnesota
13. Iowa
14. Michigan
15. Illinois
16. Maryland
17. Northwestern
18. Purdue

Nebraska will play teams with three higher-ranked wide receiver groups — USC, Penn State, Michigan State. The Big Ten’s best overall player might be a wide receiver — Ohio State sophomore Jeremiah Smith.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is expected to be one of the top players in college football in 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Big Ten — especially Ohio State — has become a conference for great wide receivers. In the last two NFL drafts, Ohio State wide receivers were chosen in the first round — Marvin Harrison to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 in 2024, and Emeka Egbuka to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19 in 2025.

---

---

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.