Projecting Nebraska's Week 1 Starting Lineup Before Fall Camp Begins

Fall camp is just around the corner for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and that means the college football season is almost here. There will be many players on the roster who will use fall camp as a chance to fight for playing time and possibly get the nod to become a starter.

It is a great opportunity to make an impact in a pivotal season in head coach Matt Rhule's rebuild in Lincoln. With that in mind, let's take a shot at what the starting lineup will be when Nebraska runs onto the field to take on the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday, September 5th.

Offense

Quarterback

Projected Starter: Anthony Colandrea (Sr.)

The former Virginia Cavaliers and UNLV Rebels starting quarterback, Anthony Colandrea, seems to be the frontrunner to be the starting quarterback for week one. Colandrea had a standout 2025 season in Las Vegas, winning the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He completed 275 of 417 passes for 3,459 yards and 23 touchdowns. The senior also rushed for 649 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Colandrea will have to beat out sophomore TJ Lateef, who started the final four games after Dylan Raiola went down with a season-ending injury, and sophomore Daniel Kaelin. It should be an interesting battle, but Colandrea seems to be the favorite going in.

Running Back

Projected Starter: Isaiah Mozee (So.)

Naming a starter for the running back room is a tough job, especially having to replace Emmett Johnson, who was drafted to the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round in this year's NFL Draft. The group might have to be a "running back by committee" approach with all of the talent in the room.

With the unknown future of sophomore Mekhi Nelson, sophomore Isaiah Mozee might be the starter in 2026. Fall camp will be a good opportunity to see who will jump into the spotlight. A darkhorse to watch to be a starter is true freshman Jamal Rule, who impressed the coaching staff during spring practice or newly added Tikey Hayes, who transfers over from Penn State and originally from Iowa Western Community College.

Wide Receiver

Projected Starters: Nyziah Hunter (Sr.), Jacory Barney Jr. (Jr.) and Kwazi Gilmer (Sr.)

The wide receiver room might be the most impressive going into the 2026 season. The top two receiving leaders, Nyziah Hunter and Jacory Barney Jr., return for the 2026 season, plus add UCLA's top receiver, Kwazi Gilmer.

Hunter led the Huskers in 2025 with 43 catches for 617 yards, while Barney had 45 catches for 456 yards and five touchdowns. While with the Bruins, Gilmer caught 50 passes for 535 yards and four touchdowns. All three should be top playmakers for the Nebraska offense that will have the opportunity to make the next step.

Tight End

Projected Starter: Luke Lindenmeyer (Sr.)

Senior Luke Lindenmeyer could be in for a big role for the Nebraska offense after becoming the main starter last season. However, the tight end room could be a fun position to watch, especially with who could possibly fight Lindenmeyer for the starting spot.

A couple of players to watch are freshman Luke Sorensen, junior Carter Nelson and even tight end hybrid Janiran Bonner. Lindenmeyer, who caught 29 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns, seems to be the starter at this moment.

Offensive Line

Projected Tackles: Elijah Pritchett (Sr.), Tree Babalade (Jr.)

Projected Guards: Brendan Black (Sr.), Paul Mubenga (Jr.)

Projected Center: Justin Evans (Sr.)

The offensive line might be the best unit on this side of the ball for the Huskers. Senior tackle Elijah Pritchett and senior center Justin Evans are back for another season, with both looking to be All-B1G candidates by the end of the season. Nebraska also brought in two transfer portal players in former South Carolina junior tackle Tree Babalade and LSU junior Paul Mubenga, who are expected to start.

The offensive line did a very good job blocking for the run game last season and looks to continue that, while improving pass blocking.

Defense

Defensive Line

Projected Edge Rushers: Williams Nwaneri (So.), Cameron Lenhardt (Sr.)

Projected Defensive Tackles: Riley Van Poppel (Jr.), Jahsear Whittington (So.)

To start off the new look 4-2-5 defense brought in by new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, the defensive line will be a huge factor in Nebraska's success in 2026. Starting with the edge rushers, sophomore Williams Nwaneri and senior Cameron Lenhardt return for another season. The Huskers struggled to pressure the quarterback in 2025, but they look to improve those numbers, especially with the potential development under the new coaching staff.

Defensive tackle will be led by junior Riley Van Poppel, who returns for another season as well. The interior defensive line seemingly spent the entire 2025 season trying to replace the production of Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher, who left for the NFL after the 2024 season. Van Poppel, along with most likely Pittsburgh transfer Jahsear Whittington, will look to improve the production from the interior.

Linebackers

Projected Starters: Owen Chambliss (Sr.), Vincent Shavers Jr. (Jr.), Dexter Foster (Jr.)

The linebackers are among the best groups on the defense heading into the 2026 season. The Huskers return starting linebacker Vincent Shavers, while bringing in plug-and-play guys in Owen Chambliss from San Diego State and Dexter Foster from Oregon State.

Shavers had a good 2025 season with 61 total tackles, with 7.5 for a loss and is expected to have a large role on the defense. 2025 was a breakout season for Chambliss, logging 110 total tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Foster started all seven games he played, finishing with 52 tackles with three for a loss.

Defensive Backs

Projected Cornerbacks: Andrew Marshall (Sr.), Victor Evans III (Sr.)

Projected Safeties: Dwayne McDougle (Sr.), Jamir Conn (Sr.)

Projected Nickel: Donovan Jones (So.)

The defensive backs are a pretty solid group, along with the linebackers. There are a lot of players who will fight for playing time behind top cornerback Andrew Marshall. The fight for the second starting spot at cornerback will be an interesting battle during fall camp. As a junior at Florida International, Victor Evans III played well, logging 42 total tackles, one for a loss, plus an interception and four pass breakups.

A couple of other names to watch at cornerback are junior Jeremiah Charles, who played with the first-team defense during the spring game, five-star true freshman Danny Odem and sophomore Amare Sanders.

Safeties will be led by San Diego State transfer Dwayne McDougle III, who played a huge role in the No. 7-ranked pass defense last season for the Aztecs. McDougle finished the 2025 season with 55 total tackles, four interceptions and three pass breakups. After him, it could be a big mix of players to fight for playing time at safety and even nickel.

Sophomore Donovan Jones started 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2025, finishing with 59 total tackles and a team-leading five pass breakups. Jones' performance warrants major playing time in 2026, but he will have to beat out names like Rex Guthrie, who could be fighting for a starting spot at nickel and/or at the two back safety positions.

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