One of Nebraska football’s newest traditions has arrived for the upcoming season.
Under second-year Husker coach Matt Rhule, single-digit jersey assignments were voted upon by the team to define the “toughest” players on the roster.
“I got really tired of having a guy in my program who had spent three years at like No. 47, was getting ready to play and wanted to wear No. 1 or No. 3, and he’d earned it, and we would give it to a recruit,” Rhule said last fall. “So what we decided was that 1-9, or now 0-9, would go to the nine, or now ten, toughest guys on the team.”
Rhule went on to state that the “toughest” is defined by accountability, competition, and by “what it means to be a Cornhusker.”
This year’s single-digit allotments featured only one offensive player – Wake Forest transfer Jahmal Banks – while nine defensive players will don one numeral for their practice and game uniforms.
Several players repeated as single-digit recipients from 2023, including defensive linemen Nash Hutmacher (No. 0) and Ty Robinson (No. 9), linebacker John Bullock (No. 5), and defensive backs Isaac Gifford (No. 2) and DeShon Singleton (No. 8). Each returning recipient maintained his jersey number from last season.
New honorees of the peer-led vote include linebacker Jimari Butler (No. 1), and defensive backs Marques Buford (No. 3), Tommi Hill (No. 6), and Malcolm Hartzog (No. 7).
Nebraska has yet to award the Blackshirts during fall camp. The Huskers open the season Aug. 31 against UTEP.
The Ten.#GBR x #WhatsNExt! pic.twitter.com/6zILKMn6bc
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) August 20, 2024
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