What We Learned from Spring Football 2026

In a program haunted by its own expectations, dialing back the noise might be the first real sign of progress.

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule huddles with the offense during the 2026 Red-White Spring Game. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Another spring football season has come and gone, this time quieter and earlier than usual.

But despite a decided lack of hype and posturing out of Memorial Stadium, we still learned a few things about our Huskers and where they stand going into the 2026 campaign. Here’s what we can mull over during the interminably long offseason. 

The offensive line looks the part

Offensive line Tree Babalade and Preston Taumua | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

As expected, the 2026 edition of the Pipeline rolled out with the three new transfers in their starting lineup – Brendan Black and Paul Mubenga at guard with Tree Babalade at right tackle. Together with returning left tackle Elijah Pritchett and center Justin Evans, they form a starting group that looks like a true Big Ten offensive line. In other words: they’re big.

Not only that – they’re experienced. With the transfers factored in, the Huskers have the second-most career snaps among their offensive line (8,670) in the Big Ten, just behind UCLA (8,733).

In the Spring Game, they acquitted themselves well, or at least as well as a line can in a glorified scrimmage, paving the way for a collective 374 rush yards between both squads at 5.8 yards per carry.

Count me among those who believe Geep Wade’s unit becomes the first line to really look like it belongs in the Big Ten and doesn’t merely try to survive it.  

There is no QB competition

Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea looks for a receiver in the Red-White Spring Game. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Spring ball didn’t stage a quarterback battle as many expected. Anthony Colandrea was the guy from the get-go – the coaches made that known early. Then the UNLV transfer stepped up and threw two touchdown passes in the Spring Game, best among a trio that also includes sophomore TJ Lateef and prodigal son, Daniel Kaelin.

Colandrea did throw the game’s lone pick, however, an ill-advised cross-body throw that deflected into the arms of Donovan Jones. The social contract with a gunslinger like Colandrea is that inevitably, there will be risky play that results in turnovers. Here’s betting that Lateef or Kaelin see serious action at some point in the season.

The Huskers are scheduled to go off-schedule

Dec 23, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; UNLV Rebels quarterback Anthony Colandrea (10) attempts a pass as he is chased by Ohio Bobcats linebacker Charlie Christopher (30) during the second half at the Ford Center at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Matt Rhule and company made no bones about their desire for a dual-threat quarterback to supercharge an offense that often looked stagnant and unimaginative last year, never more so than in a 24-6 loss to Minnesota in which the Huskers were laid waste to the tune of nine sacks.

Dana Holgorsen mentioned the words “off-schedule” no less than eight times in his first spring presser, alluding to Colandrea’s penchant for extending and ad-libbing plays. If the last two seasons proved anything, it’s that Nebraska’s offense couldn’t function on schedule – so now it won’t try to.

The 2027 recruiting class will be one for the ages

2027 four-star quarterback Trae Taylor with Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule before the 2024 Rutgers game. | @Qb6Trae on X

Lost among the consternation over Nebraska’s historically small recruiting class in 2026 is that coaches were already turning their attention to a 2027 crop that should yield game-changing talent for Big Red.

The Huskers sit in the pole position for 4-star tackle Timi Aliu and 4-star safety Corey Hadley Jr. Top 100 corner Juju Johnson is trending their way. They’re firmly in the mix with Top 100 receivers Quentin Burrell and Khalil Taylor, along with Mount Carmel safety Tavares Harrington. Their offensive line targets are a who’s who of the nation’s best – Kyler Kuhn, Albert Simien, Jordan Agbanoma, Kennedy Brown, and the aforementioned Aliu.

Current commitments outside of Amir Brown – who has Alabama and Notre Dame asking him to reconsider – are rock solid.

Sure, not all will sign with Nebraska, but many will. Barring any disaster on the field in 2026, expect Nebraska to herald their best class in decades come December.

The Huskers hit on their incoming guys

Nebraska running back Jamal Rule waits to take the carry in the Red-White Spring Game. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Rhule and General Manager Pat Stewart are demonstrating their eye for talent.

Jamal Rule, the talk of the Spring Game, may be the best back on the team already. He could join Gabe Ervin as the only true freshman to ever start the opener when Ohio comes to town in September. Fellow 2026 signee Claude Mpouma is already a fixture on the two-deep at tackle. Larry Miles will play soon.

The transfers have shined early, too. Dwayne McDougle is slated to start at safety, as is fellow Aztec alum Owen Chambliss, at linebacker. Dexter Foster sat out the Spring Game but was praised heavily by those who saw practice. And Jashear Whittington was the most intriguing player on the D-Line, notching a sack to end the first half of the Spring Game.

That’s just the defense. On offense, UCLA transfer Kwazi Gilmer has slid into Dane Key’s vacant post at receiver seamlessly. All three offensive line transfers are penciled into the first-string. And Kaelin is a known quantity in Lincoln.

Rhule and Stewart have succeeded in finding guys who can play and outshine the incumbents. But the question is whether they found guys who can help them win in the Big Ten. On that front, I’m still skeptical.

Expectations have rarely been lower

Few Husker fans remain during the final few minutes of the 2025 Iowa-Nebraska game in Memorial Stadium. | Cory Edmondson, KFGE

The mood of the fanbase is indisputably dour, the byproduct of several years of expectation under Frost and Rhule that’s yet to yield even a 9-win season, which was once the baseline in Lincoln. The low expectation for the season ahead was reflected by FanDuel setting the over/under for 5.5 wins in 2026 in early March.

The appearance of anything resembling hype has been met with hostility by the fanbase, most recently seen in the reaction to Dwayne McDougle’s expectation of being the best defense in the Big Ten.

The hype has been dialed down

Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen meets with the media during preseason camp. | Kaleb Henry

The House Rhules podcast has gone dark. Husker social media produced scant content. Rhule went without speaking to the media for a tellingly long spell. When he and his coaches finally resurfaced, spring talks with the media were decidedly serious, matter-of-fact affairs, devoid of any hyperbole or grand declarations. They hear the fans – win more, talk less.

Here’s betting Rhule doesn’t call any unit “hell on wheels” at Big Ten Media Days.