Matt Rhule Talks Biggest Storylines After Nebraska Wraps Up Fall Camp With Scrimmage

After roughly 110 plays Saturday morning, the coach is starting to see his depth chart take shape.

Matt Rhule walks on the field during last year's game at Maryland. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nebraska's second and final scrimmage of fall camp offered plenty of answers about the Huskers depth.

NU ran roughly 110 plays Saturday morning, giving Matt Rhule and his staff another chance to evaluate the roster heading into 2026. While some players continued to separate themselves, others left the coaching staff needing more time.

Nebraska running back Isaiah Mozee returns a punt last season against Akron. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Most notable was the running back room, which is tasked with replacing first-team All-America ball carrier Emmett Johnson from 2025. Rhule noted the position group as a whole is doing the right things, but the staff still hasn't identified a starter.

“I think the backs have all practiced hard and played hard,” he said. “We have another week for them to all continue to accelerate their games. The live work today, seeing guys get tackled, we didn’t put any balls on the ground, which is good.” 

“I’ll have to go back and watch the protections,” he continued. “We’re not an offense that you can have a ball-carrying specialist. You also have to be able to protect. So, anxious to see the scrimmage tape and see who’s where.” 

Nebraska's quarterback room completing drills during spring practice. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

With the fall semester starting Monday and the "camp" portion of practices now a wrap, Rhule used the opportunity to officially name UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea the Huskers' QB1. While that was no surprise, he also noted there's still a battle going on for the backup role.

“Danny and TJ would both be in the mix for No. 2,” Rhule said. “So, we’ll watch this tape and kind of see where they’re at.” 

Danny Kaelin and TJ Lateef both gained experience at the Power Four level in 2025. Lateef started Nebraska's final four games, while Kaelin saw action in seven games with Virginia before rejoining the Big Red.

Nebraska offensive tackle Gunnar Gottula | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

On the offensive line, fourth-year junior Gunnar Gottula has had a tremendous fall camp. While South Carolina transfer Tree Babalade has been held out of practice this week, the Lincoln Southeast High School product has continued to impress.

Rhule went as far as saying Gottula will start somewhere on the offensive line in game one.

 “Tree didn’t go today,” Rhule said. “Hopefully we’ll have him back this week, but I think we all feel like, no matter what, at any position, Gunnar is one of the best five for us.” 

Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich | Nebraska Athletics

The Huskers added six new assistant coaches over the offseason, four of them on the defensive side of the ball. Rhule applauded the work they've already done.

Ultimately, he stated, it will come down to how their players perform in-game. Even so, he seems to feel confident in his retooled staff.

“The worst thing is you hear a coach say, ‘Hey, we practiced really well’, and then you get beat badly" Rhule said. "At the end of the day, this is a performance-based business. So, they work really hard, they’re extremely detailed… So far, so good, but a lot remains to be seen.”

Roy Manning is in his first season coaching the Huskers' edge defenders. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

An assistant who's done a nice job so far is edges coach Roy Manning, who followed Rob Aurich to Lincoln from San Diego State. Rhule suggested Manning's position group is the defense's deepest unit.

“I think we can get to our third group and feel like we have tough, rugged kids,” he said. “We started out day one with (Jordan) Ochoa and (Mac) Markway with that third group, and I feel like those guys have shown me that they’re good enough to play.” 

Ochoa drew praise in fall camp a season ago, yet didn't get the runway many expected he would, while Markway is making the move from tight end. Both seem to be in the mix for playing time in 2026, while more proven commodities like UCLA transfer Anthony Jones, Williams Nwaneri, Cam Lenhardt, and Kade Pietrzak seem to be slightly above them.

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— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) August 22, 2026

Nebraska's lack of depth defensively was notable in 2025. This fall, Rhule seems confident his roster and staff have addressed that. He said the Huskers could have roughly another half-dozen players in addition to their starting unit ready to make an impact come Sept. 5.

“I think we’re probably in the 15-18 range, that you would feel like you can rotate to be a starter and get to that winning level,” Rhule said. “That might be a little less; it might be a little more… I’ve been pleased with the depth… I feel like we have guys that can play probably in the 17, 18, 19 range, I think.” 

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