{"id":85959,"date":"2026-03-27T15:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=85959"},"modified":"2026-03-27T16:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T20:01:00","slug":"players-to-watch-nebraskas-spring-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2026\/03\/27\/players-to-watch-nebraskas-spring-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Players To Watch: Nebraska&#8217;s Spring Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nebraska will play its annual Red-White spring game on March 28th after not having the event last season due to potential transfer concerns.\u00a0 Now that the game is back, what should we watch out for with the Cornhuskers?<\/p>\n<h2>The Quarterbacks<\/h2>\n<p>The Huskers have plenty of options at the quarterback position this season. Nebraska has two players who have started multiple games for the Big Red. After Dylan Raiola&#8217;s injury, sophomore <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/tj-lateef-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TJ Lateef<\/a> stepped into the limelight for a four-game stint. And former quarterback Daniel Kaelin returns to the program after starting one game at Virginia. These are all great options.\u00a0 However, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/anthony-colandrea-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Colandrea&#8217;s<\/a> production at UNLV has set him apart from the rest of the roster. Last season as a Rebel, he threw for almost 4,000 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also provides a mobile element to the Cornhuskers&#8217; offense. This has made dealing with him a headache for Rob Aurich&#8217;s defense. Secondary coach Addison Williams has also had similar remarks for the Florida native. But for offensive line coach Geep Wade, his mobility relieves stress and allows all of the offensive linemen &#8220;to get better.&#8221; Can Colandrea deliver on these remarks on Saturday?<\/p>\n<h3>New Look Offensive Line<\/h3>\n<p>Nebraska&#8217;s new look offensive line made its debut in the Las Vegas Bowl against Utah to mixed results. The Huskers were able to create running lanes for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/mekhi-nelson-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mekhi Nelson<\/a> in the first half of play. This led him to have a career-high 88 rushing yards against the Utes. Isaiah Mozee also had 32 rushing yards in Allegiant Stadium. However, these two backs should find a way to elevate their game in 2026. The Huskers return <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/justin-evans-jenkins-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Evans<\/a> at center and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/elijah-pritchett-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elijah Pritchett<\/a> at left tackle. Plus, Wade helped land players like Brendan Black, Tree Babalade, and Paul Mubenga from the transfer portal. According to HuskerOnline, this has made him confident that &#8220;he can move guys around to get the best five players at all times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBL6cDZj3G\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 2466px; aspect-ratio: 2466\/1638;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h3>The Defensive Line<\/h3>\n<p>Corey Brown will make his debut as the leader of the Blackshirts&#8217; defensive line on Saturday. On paper, the unit should be effective at making plays on Saturday. The Huskers return both <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/williams-nwaneri-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Williams Nwaneri<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/kade-pietrzak-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kade Pietrzak<\/a> in 2026. They should be able to continue their production from a year ago. But don&#8217;t be surprised if the newcomers to the unit take over. Nebraska snagged Boston College&#8217;s\u00a0 Owen Stoudmire from the transfer portal. And former Pitt Panther Jahsear Whittington joins the program as a sophomore with tremendous upside.\u00a0 Last season, as a freshman, Whittington notched 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. We aren&#8217;t sure if he&#8217;ll start, but he should make an appearance during the game.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0Receiving Corps<\/h3>\n<p>Daikiel Shorts and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen both have a lot of weapons that they can now utilize. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/nyziah-hunter-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nyziah Hunter<\/a> returns for his junior season in Lincoln, and Jacory Barney is becoming a leader in the locker room. And to top it off, Nebraska added former UCLA wideout <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/kwazi-gilmer-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kwazi Gilmer<\/a> into the mix. The 190-pounder is aiming to be a star in the Cornhuskers&#8217; offense after leading the Bruins receivers in receiving yards and touchdowns last season. Can he showcase that ability during Nebraska&#8217;s spring game?<\/p>\n<h3>A New Secondary<\/h3>\n<p>Addison Williams&#8217; room doesn&#8217;t have many veterans left inside of it. However, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/andrew-marshall-4.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Marshall<\/a> should make a big impact in Nebraska&#8217;s spring game. The California native was a key piece of the Huskers&#8217; secondary last season. As a member of the Blackshirts last season, Marshall recorded 45 tackles, one interception, and four pass breakups. This type of production has not only allowed him to emerge as a leader of the program in 2026, but also to mentor other defensive backs on the roster as well. Another veteran that we should watch out for is <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/dwayne-mcdougle-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dwayne McDougle<\/a>. The former San Diego State Aztec knows Aurich&#8217;s scheme, which makes him available to debut tomorrow. He also brings production to the Blackshirts. Last season, he had 28 tackles and one forced fumble at his position.<\/p>\n<h3>Tight Ends<\/h3>\n<p>The tight end room hasn&#8217;t been talked about in detail by most of Nebraska&#8217;s coaching staff. However, we should have an idea of who will start. Senior <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/luke-lindenmeyer-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Lindenmeyer<\/a> will highlight the position group under Marcus Satterfield. The 250-pounder earned an honorable mention in the Big Ten after having a total of 300 receiving yards and two touchdowns. But after that, the pecking order remains unclear. Henrich Haarberg is on his way to the NFL, and Carter Nelson wasn&#8217;t utilized very much last season. Is the coaching staff looking to start the Ainsworth native, or has another player emerged at the position?<\/p>\n<p>Main Image: <span>Dylan Widger-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nebraska will play its annual Red-White spring game on March 28th after not having the event last season due to potential transfer concerns.\u00a0 Now that the game is back, what should we watch out for with the Cornhuskers? The Quarterbacks The Huskers have plenty of options at the quarterback position this season. Nebraska has two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4440,"featured_media":86138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,35608],"tags":[351],"class_list":["post-85959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-bigten","category-nebraska-cornhuskers","tag-matt-rhule"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4440"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85959"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86141,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85959\/revisions\/86141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}