Nebraska Football Spring Position Preview Series: Wide Receivers

Nebraska starts spring practices seven days from now, and they will have nearly every player from the 2026 roster on hand when it begins.

After making 16 transfer portal additions and seeing another 11 high school recruits sign over the offseason, NU's roster has welcomed nearly 30 scholarship players onto next year's team. With every unit seeing change, it's time to go position-by-position to take a look at who's gone, still here, and new to each room. Up next are the wideouts.

Previously Covered: Quarterbacks, Running Backs

In the transfer portal era, there are plenty of examples of good and bad additions Nebraska football has made over the years, but arguably one of, if not the most, impactful has been will-be junior wideout Nyziah Hunter.

His sophomore season saw him build upon the things he showcased before coming to Lincoln, on his way to leading the team in receiving yardage, ranking second in receptions, and tying the team lead for touchdown grabs. Hunter made an impact in every game the Huskers had and will head into 2026 as the presumed WR1.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound pass-catcher made his presence felt in a variety of ways, but what has stood out the most since joining Matt Rhule's roster has been his ability to create yardage after the catch. NU was frustratingly handicapped in their down-field passing attack last fall, and because of that, it relied upon its offensive weaponry to make defenders miss. Hunter did that about as well as anyone on the team, barring Emmett Johnson.

Where he can look to further develop ahead of his junior season is in his ability to beat defenses over the top. Assuming Nebraska can fix the protection issues that limited vertical route concepts, that is an area where Hunter can shine. He's an NFL talent, that's for certain, now it will come down to the Huskers' ability to allow him to display in his fourth collegiate season. Another strong year of production could see him earn a shot at the draft in April of 2027, though he does have two years of eligibility remaining in college.

Arguably one of the biggest wins of the offseason was NU's ability to retain soon-to-be junior wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. After setting a school record for receptions by a freshman in 2024, the Miami native headed into 2025 with reason to believe he would breakout. To start the year, he did.

The first four games of the season saw Barney surpass the 100-yard mark in two of them; however, the remaining nine games of the year resulted in a total of 183 receiving yards altogether. On the year, he finished second on the team with 484 yards through the air, but after totaling 301 of them through the first four contests, it's fair to say that the remainder of the season was underwhelming.

Not necessarily to the fault of his own, Barney was potentially the biggest loser of the Huskers' inability to generate yards down the field. He's wicked fast, a reliable pass-catcher, and shows determination that little to no others on the team have displayed. Still, that doesn't help make plays when there's no time to block or for the routes to develop.

Fixing that will ultimately be priority one for the Big Red this offseason, and as of now, it appears this staff has addressed that. Another season with the inability to allow him to showcase his talents could risk the athletic pass-catcher departing via the transfer portal before this time next year, along with being a disservice to not only the fan base but the player himself. Dana Holgorsen's offenses have seen players with similar skill sets to Barney succeed mightily in the past, and if Nebraska can move the ball through the air next season, the Miami native will likely be a big reason as to why that happens.

The lone addition to the room was former UCLA WR1 Kwazi Gilmer, who will presumably take over Dane Key's role. The will-be junior spent two seasons with the Bruins before joining Nebraska's roster this offseason and will look to make an immediate impact in 2026.

Last fall, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder put up respectable stats despite his former team's lack of success in the win column. As a true sophomore, Gilmer totaled team highs in receiving yards (535), receptions (50), and touchdowns (4) before entering the transfer portal and calling Lincoln home.

Gilmer gives Nebraska a trio of wide receivers who have led the team in receptions in a season at one point in their careers, and another reliable pass-catcher for Anthony Colandrea, or whoever earns the starting job, to target often next fall.

With that being said, the wide receiver room, at least in terms of who will be projected to start, is in good hands. It will ultimately come down to the players around them to afford them the ability to put their talents on display. If able to do that, there's no reason Nebraska's offense can't be the strongest unit on the team, and for the wide receiver room to be the strongest of the Matt Rhule era.

NU also welcomed a duo of wideouts in the 2026 recruiting class, in Nalin Scott (pictured above) and Larry Miles. Scott is listed at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, and gives the Huskers a physical pass-catcher capable of winning 50/50 balls on the outside. While it is unknown if he will have the opportunity to make an impact this upcoming season, he projects to be a player with the capability to see the field early and often at some point in his career.

Miles was a 7-on-7 stud coming from the Miami area. At 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, the soon-to-be true freshman offers a lot of the physical traits that Barney did out of high school. He's elusive, fast, and has a knack for playing bigger than his frame suggests, all things that, despite his lack of length or weight, could make him see the field in some capacity early on. He's also proved to be a more than capable returner on special teams and could be fit to take over Kenneth Williams' former role in the kickoff return game next fall.

Projected Depth Chart

WR-

Nyziah Hunter | Junior
Quinn Clark | Sophomore
Keelan Smith | Sophomore

WR-

Kwazi Gilmer | Junior
Janiran Bonner | Senior or Cortez Mills | Sophomore
Bonner or Mills
Jeremiah Jones | Redshirt Freshman

Slot-

Jacory Barney Jr. | Junior
Janiran Bonner | Senior or Larry Miles | Freshman
Bonner or Miles
Demetrius Bell | Junior

Others in the room to watch: Nalin Scott | Freshman, DJ Singleton | Sophomore, Connor Schutt | Sophomore

Players in the room not expected to start, but expected to make an impact, include Janiran Bonner, Quinn Clark, and Cortez Mills. Bonner heads into his senior season coming off a season-ending injury suffered in Nebraska's first game of 2025. After earning a single digit before the year began, it was clear how highly regarded the former fullback was amongst teammates and coaches, and, assuming he's healthy, he should have a big impact beyond just the stat sheet for the Huskers in 2026.

Clark heads into his third collegiate season with the frame and speed to make plays. He recently won the Huskers' annual dunk contest during halftime of a basketball game earlier in the month, and if nothing else, he proved how athletic he is. 2025 saw him total 5 receptions for 132 yards and the first touchdown of his career. At 6-foot-5, he's NU's biggest pass-catcher in the wide receiver room and is expected to have an even bigger role this upcoming fall.

Last but not least is Mills, who was one of Nebraska's biggest gets in the 2025 recruiting class. It only proved further so when he played in every game for the Big Red last season. On the year, he totaled nine receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown, but his workload could take a noticeable leap in 2026. Mills was one of the most sought-after pass-catchers in his class coming out of high school, and it appears that has remained true after he got to college. Expect to see him on the field often, even though he will not likely start.

Departures in the room

Dane Key | NFL draft

To almost a surprise, Nebraska only lost one of the 15 players listed on the Huskers.com roster who were deemed "wide receivers", and it was Dane Key, whose eligibility was exhausted after 2025. He will try his luck at the NFL draft after totaling 2,322 yards on 165 career receptions.

His impact while in Lincoln was a bit underwhelming for what the Huskers were assumed to be paying him. However, he, as every other NU pass-catcher, suffered from an inadequate offensive line. The five touchdown catches Key was able to make directly helped win games for the Big Red, and though 2025 ultimately left more to be desired, his time at Nebraska was still appreciated, to say the least.

Moment to remember

Daikiel Shorts insane catch pic.twitter.com/pmYht9s7wc
— Jerry West Enthusiast (@Eersfanatic) January 17, 2026

Overall, Dakiel Shorts' wide receiver room has the potential to be one of, if not the most impactful and deep units on the entire team. And though previous years shouldn't affect what many think about the 2026 version of the group, it's going to be hard for a majority of the fan base to be overly optimistic heading into the upcoming fall.

Still, they have three wide receivers who have arguably shown flashes of turning into NFL-caliber pass-catchers at points in their career, and Holgorsen's offense could allow them to inflate their numbers if everything meshes how the staff envisions it will.

Until proved wrong, many will be in wait-and-see mode, and they're not entirely wrong. For now, they are one of the biggest question marks on the roster, while also likely being the most exciting as well. Time will tell, but this unit should take a step forward in 2026.

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