Meet the Huskers’ Portal Additions

Immediate help for Nebraska football is on the way or already on campus

The loosening of transfer rules and an urgency to win have generated unprecedented roster churn in the six months since the end of Nebraska football's 2021 season.

Here is a look at the new faces joining the Huskers via the NCAA transfer portal. Several arrived in Lincoln in January and took part in spring drills. Some have just one season to leave their mark, while others have up to four. 

Not included here are players coming directly from junior colleges, the more traditional transfer source.

Heights, weights and other bio details are from Nebraska Athletics in most cases. In some cases, they are from the player's previous school.

An asterisk indicates the player has a redshirt season available.

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Hunter Anthony, OL

• Oklahoma State
• 6-6, 320, Jr.
• Tuttle, Okla.

Hunter Anthony joined Nebraska in January with a degree in marketing from Oklahoma State. After redshirting in Stillwater in 2018, Anthony played in 23 games with five starts over the next three seasons. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Anthony helped Oklahoma State to a Big 12 championship and a Fiesta Bowl win in 2021, playing in 11 games. In 2020, Anthony started the season opener at right tackle before an injury sidelined him for eight games. He appeared in nine games as a redshirt freshman in 2019, starting in four games at right guard and in one game at right tackle.

Anthony was a two-time second-team Academic All-Big 12 selection.

© Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Timmy Bleekrode, PK

• Furman
• 5-8, 190, Soph.
• Atlanta, Ga.

Timmy Bleekrode joins Nebraska as a transfer from Furman, an FCS program in South Carolina. Bleekrode spent three years at Furman and will have three years of eligibility at Nebraska.

He was the Paladins’ starting punter and placekicker in 2020 and 2021 after appearing in three games during his redshirt season in 2019. During his Furman career, Bleekrode was 21 of 25 on field goals with a long of 51 yards, and he averaged 42.9 yards on 91 punts.

Bleekrode played his prep ball for Marist School in Atlanta.

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Omar Brown, CB

• Northern Iowa
• 6-1, 200, Jr.*
• Minneapolis, Minn.

Omar Brown played in 29 games in three seasons at Northern Iowa, where he made 140 tackles, broke up 13 passes and picked off eight passes. Brown has two years of eligibility at Nebraska with a redshirt season available.

As a freshman at UNI in 2019, Brown was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and a first-team All-American by Phil Steele. His 77 tackles, six interceptions and three fumble recoveries also earned him FCS Defensive Freshman of the Year laurels.

In his second year, Brown started all seven games in an abbreviated spring schedule, finishing with 30 tackles, five pass breakups and one interception. In 2021, Brown had 33 tackles, three breakups and an interception before suffering a season-ending injury.

Brown played his high school ball for Minneapolis North, where he was rated as the top cornerback recruit in Minnesota.

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Brian Buschini, P

• Montana
• 6-0, 215, Soph.
• Helena, Mont.

Brian Buschini, winner of the 2021 Ray Guy Award as the top punter in the FCS, spent three seasons at Montana and has three years of eligibility remaining.

Buschini ranked third nationally with an average of 46.0 yards per punt in 2021, and he helped Montana lead the FCS in net punting average.

He played in 15 games overall at Montana, averaging 45.8 yards on 75 career punts. He had 30 punts of 50 yards or longer while placing 35 of his 75 punts inside opponents’ 20-yard line. Bruschini also handled kickoffs, recording 35 career touchbacks.

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Devin Drew, DL

• Texas Tech
• 6-2, 280, Sr.
• Kansas City, Mo.

Devin Drew developed into a key contributor along Texas Tech defensive line in 2021 and comes to Nebraska with one season of eligibility.

He appeared in all 13 games with 11 starts from the end position, ranking third among Tech's defensive linemen with 34 tackles, 21 of them solo. He led Tech's defensive linemen with seven quarterback hurries in 2021. During his two years in Lubbock, he totaled 55 tackles (35 solo) over 23 games.

Before arriving at Texas Tech, Drew spent two seasons at Iowa Western Community College.

© Nathan J Fish/Sun-News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, WR

• New Mexico State
• 6-0, 185, Jr.*
• Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda joined Nebraska from New Mexico State, where he played two seasons (2020-21) after beginning his career at Saddleback College in Arizona. Garcia-Castaneda has two seasons of eligibility at Nebraska, and he also has an redshirt season available.

Garcia-Castaneda played in 12 games at New Mexico State, catching 42 passes for 639 yards and four touchdowns.

During his 2019 freshman season at Saddleback, he caught 56 passes for 953 yards and 13 touchdowns. He played his prep ball for Twentynine Palms High School in California, where he scored 31 touchdowns as a senior while playing wide receiver, running back and quarterback.

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Tommi Hill, CB

• Arizona State
• 6-0, 205, Soph.*
• Orlando, Fla.

Tommi Hill joined Nebraska after spending his freshman season at Arizona State in 2021. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining, as well as an available redshirt season.

Hill played in 11 games as a true freshman for Arizona State in 2021, finishing with nine tackles. He also returned four kickoffs for 79 yards.

Out of Edgewater High School in Orlando, Hill was ranked as one of the top 200 overall recruits in the nation and the No. 12 cornerback by ESPN. He won a state championship as a senior with Edgewater when he had four interceptions and eight pass breakups.

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Ochaun Mathis, DL

• TCU
• 6-5, 260, Jr.
• Manor, Texas

Ochaun Mathis joined Nebraska as a one of the nation’s top transfers after spending four years at TCU. Mathis will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Mathis played in 38 games in four seasons at TCU, including starting each of the Horned Frogs’ 34 games over the 2019, '20 and '21 seasons. He was a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2020 and '21. Mathis recorded 135 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks and four pass breakups during his TCU career.

Out of high school, Mathis was a three-star prospect ranked among the top 100 players in Texas.

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Trey Palmer, WR

• LSU
• 6-1, 190, Jr.*
• Kentwood, La.

Trey Palmer joined Nebraska after playing three seasons at LSU from 2019-21. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining, as well as an avilable redshirt season.

Palmer played in 28 games at LSU, totaling 41 receptions for 458 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to averaging more than 11 yards per reception, Palmer was an electric return man, returning both a punt and kickoff for a touchdown. He had 23 punt returns for 188 yards and 15 kickoff returns for 394 yards.

Palmer was a five-star recruit coming out of Kentwood High School, where piled up more than 1,000 receiving yards as a senior. Regarded as the No. 20 prospect in the nation by Rivals, Palmer was also a track standout, winning the 100-meter state title as a senior and capturing four 200-meter state championships.

Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat/USA TODAY NETWORK

Chubba Purdy, QB

• Florida State
• 6-2, 210, RFr.
• Queen Creek, Ariz.

Chubba Purdy came to Nebraska after spending two seasons at Florida State. He has four years of eligibility remaining.

Purdy played in three games with one start as a true freshman in 2020. He completed 27 of 53 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 19 times for 57 yards. He redshirted during the 2021 season.

Purdy was a four-star prospect for Perry High School in Arizona, where he was the nation’s No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the 247Sports Composite rankings. He accounted for 9,000 yards of total offense and 111 touchdowns in two seasons as Perry’s starter.

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Casey Thompson, QB

• Texas
• 6-1, 200, Jr.
• Oklahoma City, Okla.

Casey Thompson joined Nebraska as a graduate transfer from Texas. He spent four years in the Longhorn program from and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Thompson played in 19 games at Texas, including 10 starts. He completed nearly 64 percent of his passes (185 of 290) for 2,422 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing 73 times for 210 yards and five scores. Thompson had three career games with five or more touchdowns – all in 2021 – the most in Texas history.

Thompson went to Texas as one of the nation’s top 225 recruits and top 15 quarterbacks per ESPN. Casey's father, Charles Thompson, played quarterback for Oklahoma in 1987 and 1988.

© Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Marcus Washington, WR

• Texas
• 6-2, 191, Jr.
• St. Louis, Mo.

Marcus Washington played in 31 games with eight starts during his three seasons at Texas. He has two seasons of remaining eligibility at Nebraska.

Seven of those starts came in 2021, when he caught 18 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He totaled seven catches for 89 yards in 2019 and '20.

Washington is a member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (fall 2021).

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kaine Williams, S

• Alabama
• 6-2, 203, RFr.
• Marrero, La.

Kaine Williams comes to Nebraska from Alabama, where he earned snaps as a true freshman on special teams in the Tide's 2021 season finale against Georgia. He has four seasons of eligibility remaining.

Williams was a consensus four-star safety prospect out of high school in 2021 in Louisiana and ranked among the top 175 players nationally at any position. He intercepted 13 passes and forced seven fumbles during his four seasons at John Ehret High.

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Kevin Williams Jr., OL

• Northern Colorado
• 6-5, 330, Sr.
• Omaha, Neb.

Omaha native Kevin Williams Jr. joined Nebraska as a graduate transfer, having earned his degree in sociology from Northern Colorado. He spent four years at the FCS school and has one season of eligibility remaining.

After redshirting in 2017, Williams played in all 11 games with eight starts in 2018. He then started nine games at left guard as a sophomore in 2019. UNC did not play in the 2020 season due to the pandemic, but Williams returned to start the first two games of the 2021 season at left tackle before missing the rest of the year.

In high school, Williams was an all-metro selection at Omaha North.

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Stephon Wynn Jr., DL

• Alabama
• 6-4, 307, Jr.
• Anderson, S.C.

Stephon Wynn contributed in a rotational role along Alabama's defensive front in 2021, playing in seven games and recording five tackles and one quarterback hurry. He had eight tackles in 10 games during the 2019 and '20 seasons.

Wynn has two seasons of eligibility at Nebraska.

In high school, Wynn transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season, coming from T.L. Hanna High in Anderson, S.C. One of the nation's top defensive end prospects, he was a unanimous four-star prospect and rated as a top 100 player nationally at any position.

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• Related: Class of 2022 high school & juco signees

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