Husker DL coach Terrance Knighton leaving program

On Monday, two days before the early signing period, Nebraska lost its defensive coordinator, Tony White, to Florida State. Today, the first day of the early signing period, it lost its defensive line coach, too.

As first reported by Rivals’ own Greg Smith, defensive line coach Terrance Knighton is leaving Nebraska to follow White to Florida State. Knighton has coached under Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule since 2021 when Rhule hired him to be the Carolina Panthers’ assistant defensive line coach.

Knighton spent the past two seasons at Nebraska and led a veteran unit that was strong against the run. The Huskers had a top-15 rush defense nationally the past two seasons.

In Knighton’s first season at Nebraska, 2023, the Husker defense allowed just 92.92 rushing yards per game (3rd in Big Ten, 9th nationally) and limited ball carriers to just 2.97 yards per carry (2nd/6th). In 2024, Nebraska allowed 105.75 rushing yards per game (6th/14th) and 3.49 rushing yards per carry (23rd).

Led by Knighton, Nebraska’s 2024 recruiting class included four-star Keona Davis, who flipped from Washington to Nebraska following Kalen DeBoer’s move to Alabama.

Davis, a good-looking true freshman at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, played in 11 games with 90 snaps in his first season of college ball. He recoeded nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

The Huskers’ 2025 class includes three defensive line recruits, including four-star Tyson Terry of Omaha (Neb.) North and three-stars Kade Pietrzak of West Fargo (N.D.) Sheyenne and Malcolm Simpson of Hitchcock (Texas).