No. 3 Ranked Nebraska Special Teams Gets a Makeover for 2026

Question: Why would any head coach need to replace a coordinator who had taken his group from 86th in the nation to number 3 in his first year?

The answer is Matt Rhule. The coordinator? Special teams coach Mike Ekeler.

Yup.

Ekeler, if you’ll recall, was a former Husker linebacker coach at Nebraska (‘08-’10) under Bo Pelini. Ekeler, who is a David City, Nebraska native is an animated coach who has a reputation for getting results. His teams always come prepared to play.

In 2024, Ekeler was the University of Tennessee special teams coach. He also doubled as the Volunteer outside linebacker coach.

And that same year, Tennessee finished the season ranked number 9 nationally in special teams.

Nebraska, on the other hand, finished 2024 ranked 86th in the nation in special teams.

So Matt Rhule needed to make a coaching change. Luckily for the Huskers, Ekeler agreed to come to Nebraska, It was a bit of a homecoming for Mike, considering his prior ties to Nebraska.

I don’t know what promises (if any) Matt Rhule made to Ekeler when he hired Mike from Tennessee. If one of the conditions was to eventually give Mike a chance to double as the Husker OLB coach, that might have led to Ekeler moving on.

I don’t believe that’s the case. Rhule already had an OLB coach in Phil Simpson.

Rhule had also hired Rob Aurich from San Diego State to be NU’s new defensive coordinator this year. Aurich brought with him a new defense. He scrapped Nebraska’s 3-3-5 system, opting to install a 4-2-5 scheme that had served him well last year with the Aztecs.

With the new defense, Rhule and Aurich needed to hire an edge rusher coach. No problem.

Aurich brought one of his SDSU assistants with him to Nebraska. His name is Roy Manning. He’s now the edge rusher coach for NU.

It seems that despite what Mike Ekeler did for the Husker special teams last year, Rhule had to move on without him this fall.

But luckily for Ekeler, USC’s Lincoln Riley needed a special teams coach who could double as an outside linebacker coach. Voila! Mike Ekeler became a Trojan.

What likely made his move more appealing was SoCal”s money. USC’s pockets are substantially deeper than Nebraska. Ekeler gets to coach the positions he wants and can look forward to a fatter paycheck each month. Is this a great country, or what?

Let’s switch our attention to this fall’s special teams.

Coaches

Coordinator: Brett Maher
He is a native Nebraskan who was a Husker placekicker from 2008-2012. Played in the NFL for Dallas Cowboys and the LA Rams. Last year he served on Mike Ekeler’s special teams staff at Nebraska. This is his first season as the coordinator.

Co-Special Teams Coordinator: Nick Humphrey
He was a special teams analyst under Mike Ekeler at Nebraska last season. And the year before that, Nick served in the same capacity for Ekeler at Tennessee.

Placekickers

Kyle Cunanan (JR) 5-10, 180 Phoenix, AZ
2025 stats: Field Goals (16 of 19) Kickoff av: 59.5 yards
Total points (FGs and Xtra points (93)

John Hohl (JR) 6-0, 195 Lincoln, NE
Stats: Kickoff average 61.54 yds.

Long Snapper

Jack Wills (SO) 6-2, 220 Hudsonville, MI (Transfer from Michigan State)

Punters

Archie Wilson (SO) 6-2, 215 Frankston South, Victoria, Australia
Stats: 37 punts for a 39.93 average. One kickoff for 51 yards

Kamdyn Koch (SO) 6-2, 215 Westminster, MD
Played in all 13 games last year as the holder.

Returners

Jacory Barney, Jr (JR) 6-0, 170 Florida City, FL
Stats: Punt returns: 270 yards (12.27 av) Kickoff returns: 275 (21.15 ave.)

Demitrius Bell (JR), 6-0, 195 Nashville, TN Injuries kept him off the field the past two seasons.

Isaiah Mozee (SO) 6-0, 210 Kansas City, MO PR: 43 yds (21.5 av) KOR: 70 yds (23.23 av)

Players lost

Kenneth Williams Transferred to Michigan State Kickoff yardage: 395 (32.92 av) TDs: 1

My Take

It would be hard to believe that Nebraska’s special teams will be as good as they were last season. The departure of Mike Ekeler to USC and the transfer of Kenneth Williams to Michigan State in the off-season are losses for sure. Check out the video of Williams’ KO return for a TD vs Northwestern last year.

Let’s hope Maher and Humphrey can work their magic this fall.

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