Will Matt Rhule’s Remake of the Husker Defense Pay Off This Fall?

He’s hoping the changes make the Huskers a better team

Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich meets with the media during 2026 spring practices. | Kaleb Henry

When your team finishes the season with three blow out losses (37-10 to Penn State, 40-10 to Iowa and 44-22 to Utah), you know as a head coach, changes must be made.  And to his credit, Matt Rhule did just that.

He fired his defensive coordinator (John Butler), his D-line coach (Terry Bradden) and abandoned the 3-3-5 defensive scheme.  In their place, Rhule hired Rob Aurich as his DC, Corey Brown as his D-line coach and has endorsed Aurich’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme.

Matt Rhule also added a defensive edge coach in Roy Manning.  Some might think he (Rhule) made the changes for cosmetic reasons.

Or maybe, it was out of desperation.

I’m inclined to believe his motives are based strictly on his passion to keep improving the quality of the Husker football program.

So let’s take a look at the Husker D-line and edge rushing rooms going into fall camp.

Defensive Line and Edges

Defensive Coordinator:  Rob Aurich (San Diego State DC 2024-25) First year at Nebraska
D-line Coach:  Corey Brown (Miami of Ohio)  First year at Nebraska
Edge Rushers Coach: Roy Manning (San Diego State)  First year at Nebraska

Here’s a list of some of the defenders vying for playing time this fall.

Defensive Linemen

Riley Van Poppel (JR) 6-5, 295 Argyle, Tx
Owen Stoudmire (SR) 6-1, 290 Creston, OH Transfer from Boston College
Jahsear Whittington (SO) 6-0, 270 Philadelphia, PA Transfer from University of Pittsburgh
Sua Lefotu (JR), 6-0, 300  Bellflower, CA
Dylan Parrott (SR) 6-5, 320 Eldridge, IA
Gabe Moore (JR) 6-5, 290  Louisville, MS  Transfer from Mississippi State
Mason Goldman (JR), 6-5, 290 Gretna, NE

Edge Rushers

Cam Lenhardt (SR) 6-3, 270 Staten Island, NY
Williams Nwaneri (SO) Lee’s Summit, MO  Transfer from the University of Missouri
Anthony Jones (SR) 6-5, 265 Las Vegas, NV
Kade Pietrzak (SO) 6-5 265 West Fargo, ND
Dawson Merritt (SO) 6-3, 225 Stilwell, KS
Willis McGahee IV (JR) 6-1. 240 Miami, FL

Two players not coming back this season

Jason Maciejczak D-lineman Transferred to Wyoming
Jaylen George D-lineman Transferred to Tulsa

My Take

The 2026 season will be Matt Rhule’s fourth as the leader of the Husker football program.  His reputation for turning around his two other college football programs (Temple and Baylor) in his third year didn’t happen last year.  But Nebraska did manage to enjoy its second winning season in a row, something that hadn’t been done since the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

But so far in the Matt Rhule Era at Nebraska, the Huskers have yet to beat a Top Ten team or even a ranked team. And Rhule’s overall record at NU is 19-19.

Last year seemed to be one that could possibly be a breakout season for NU,  The schedule was challenging with games with Michigan, USC and Iowa.  But those were all Husker home games.  Surely (I know-don’t call me Shirley) NU was going to win at least one of them, right?

Sadly, no.

Three blowout losses to end the year left a bitter taste in the mouths of Husker fans.  Although NU finished the season ranked #3 in pass defense, it was 98th in rush defense.

So what was Matt Rhule to do?

Overhaul the Husker defense.  And that’s exactly what he did,  The question remains.  Can all the changes take effect by the Husker opener with Ohio on September fifth?

Stay tuned. The 2026 season will tell us all we need to know.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.