Defensive Line, Red Zone Revival Crucial for Nebraska

The biggest prove-it for Nebraska football this fall is its defensive line, and the d-line’s biggest prove-it will be Riley Van Poppel.

Both Van Poppel and coach Matt Rhule are entering their fourth year in the program. A four-star recruit who had offers from Michigan and Florida State, Van Poppel will be playing for his third different defensive coordinator and d-line coach in as many seasons. How will this combination come together?

A 6-foot-5, 295-pound junior tackle from Argyle, Texas, Van Poppel is positioned to become the leading difference-maker for the defense in a season where Rhule needs to show significant progress. Nobody’s expecting a Curt Cignetti-style bolt-of-lightning leap, but it’s altogether reasonable to expect Kirk Ferentz-level crockpot progress in Lincoln. However, bubbling along at 7-6 is not going to cut it this fall, even with a difficult conference schedule, because Rhule is yet to cook up his first victory over a rated team. If the Huskers can’t strike down someone like Washington or Indiana at home, or Illinois or Iowa on the road, it’ll be hard to consider 2026 an improvement. NU will not be favored against more than seven other teams, and possibly only six; chalk won’t cut it in Lincoln this year.

Riley Van Poppel warms up ahead of the Huskers' 2025 game against USC. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Ferentz was 11-24 after his first three seasons at Iowa, but went 11-2 in his fourth, defeating eighth-ranked Michigan and 12th-ranked Penn State while taking the Hawkeyes to the Orange Bowl. He was 22-26 after four years in Iowa City. Rhule, who enters this season 19-19 in Lincoln, whiffed on a couple of opportunities to break out last fall during a relatively easy conference slate. He has shown minuscule gameday improvement and has no signature win thus far. Prove-it time is an understatement. Without a retooled and sharp-toothed defensive line, at best, Nebraska will continue to hover in the second division of the Big Ten.

Improving a defense that was pitiful in the red zone and weak last season against the run will be vital. That’s where Van Poppel and his new overseers, Rob Aurich and Corey Brown, come in.

Nowhere did Nebraska’s red zone weakness prove more pivotal last season than the 21-17 loss to Southern Cal, where the Huskers held Jayden Maiava to 9-of-23 passing for 135 yards and intercepted a pass, rushed for 188 yards and controlled the ball for almost 33 minutes, but still lost because the Blackshirts allowed 202 rushing yards and couldn’t keep the Trojans from getting touchdowns once they got inside the 20.

Bryce Underwood running out of the end zone. — Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood eludes Nebraska defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak last season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

How much different would an 8-5 record have looked than 7-6, especially with a win over a rated opponent for the first time in nine seasons? But it didn’t happen.

How bad was NU’s red zone defense last year? The Huskers allowed points in 37 of their opponents’ 38 red zone trips, and 30 of those were touchdowns. The only true stop was Van Poppel’s blocked field goal against Akron just before halftime in a 68-0 rout. Not once did NU force a turnover in the red zone. And things were slightly worse in conference games, where opponents scored on 28 of 28 red zone trips, including 22 touchdowns.

Was NU’s 2025 red zone defense primarily Van Poppel’s fault? Certainly not, but after teammates voted him a single-digit number in fall camp, he didn’t exactly follow in the footsteps of Ty Robinson — but then again, Robinson himself didn’t set the world on fire as a sophomore, either. If Van Poppel starts reminding folks of Robinson, that would be a godsend for the Blackshirts, because a run-stuffer who can generate a push up the middle in the pass rush would create a lot of opportunity for what appears to be a talented set of linebackers and defensive backs. What’s more, it would validate that Rhule and his new defensive staff have the program moving in the right direction. Rhule promised to build a “development program,” and developing a Texas-born, run-stuffing beast in the middle of the defensive line would do a lot to shut up the folks who say the Huskers have lost their touch in the Lone Star State since coming to the Big Ten.

The Huskers are overdue for a game-changer on the defensive line. Robinson, a third-team all-Big Ten selection as a senior, and Nash Hutmacher (third team) are NU’s only all-conference d-lineman since Ben Stille (2020) and Ross Dzuris (2016), who were both second-teamers. Meanwhile, Iowa has had 10 in the last decade.

Edge rusher Williams Nwaneri has more raw ability and at this stage, appears to be a better NFL prospect. Steady senior Cam Lenhardt, transfer Anthony Jones Jr., redshirt sophomore Willis McGahee IV and true sophomore Kade Pietrzak also could be disruptive off the edge, but Van Poppel, at defensive tackle, should be Nebraska’s most important defensive lineman this fall.

Pitt transfer Jahsear Whittington and Boston College transfer Owen Stoudmire are both a bit undersized, but hopefully will turn out to be mobile and aggressive. Sua Lefotu is a 6-3, 300-pound junior who has never been a mainstay. Dylan Berymon, a 330-pound true freshman, shows promise, but Van Poppel should be the centerpiece. If things go right, he’ll be on the field for significantly more snaps than any other defensive lineman.

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