The Blackshirt tradition has continued midway through the 2024 season for Nebraska football, as two more players earned the coveted practice uniforms during the Huskers’ bye week.
That’s correct – two players earned the Blackshirt moniker after the victory over Rutgers. Cornerback Ceyair Wright and punter Brian Buschini were honored with Blackshirts as announced by coach Matt Rhule during his Monday press conference.
“We put Ceyair (Wright) in black because he’s a starting corner right now, and the defensive guys came to me and asked for (Brian) Buschini to be in black, so we put Buschini in black,” Rhule said.
Wright, the USC transfer who joined the program in the offseason, has been a key part of the Husker defense since the injury to starting cornerback Tommi Hill. Hill left during the Illinois loss, and Wright has been a shutdown defensive back since his arrival starting in back-to-back games at Purdue and Rutgers.
Wright has nabbed 16 total tackles this season with a sack, forced fumble, interception, and four passes defended this season. His stat numbers are on track to surpass his three year total with the Trojans’ by season’s end. The now-Blackshirt was a key piece of the victory against the Scarlet Knights, grabbing his lone interception of the season and defending two passes in the contest.
The junior cornerback has started to gain national recognition for his play, earning the highest-rating in the conference by Pro Football Focus following his week six contest. Wright was also named to PFF’s All-Big Ten team for week six after the 14-7 win against Rutgers.
Buschini, last week’s Big Ten Specials Team Player of the Week, was awarded a Blackshirt through the team, Rhule confirmed Monday. His over 50-yard punt average against Rutgers routinely set up the defense for success, including a 69-yard punt in the fourth quarter to pin the Scarlet Knights deep in their territory on their final drive of the game.
“I had talked to Jason Peter a couple weeks ago and asked how that worked,” Rhule said. “I just wanted to stick with tradition, but when Marques Buford texted me at home and said, ‘coach, we need Buschini in black,’ I thought that was a tremendous message, whether it was the tackles at Purdue on the game-saving tackles during the field goals. The punts he made last week, to get hit like that, some guys get hurt and they come out to finish the game, he accelerated. I did it because it was from the players, they feel like he is part of that unit so let’s roll.”
Rhule added that he was not opposed to giving Buschini a Blackshirt during the postseason or once the season concluded, and said that former coaches Mike Riley and Bill Callahan had awarded them to a punter during their tenures.
Buschini proved his toughness to the team during the Rutgers’ game as well, having two punts blocked but recovering to aid the Huskers late in their win. Rhule took ownership in his press conference that the special teams’ mishaps are his own fault.
“I really take a lot of responsibility for some of the things special teams wise just early in the year, trying to get some young kids in, and not enough of the guys that I know can make plays on the special teams,” Rhule said. “Whereas Ed (Foley) is one of those guys, just kind of reevaluating that and seeing who can go out there and make plays for us and getting some other players on the team. We had never been in this situation before, we’ve never had blocks in the past. So here we are, we have five blocked kicks this year, that’s heartbreaking.”
Buschini also aided the offensive attack in the second half against the Scarlet Knights, tossing a 30-yard completion to receiver Jayln Lloyd to convert a third down inside of Nebraska territory. He accounted for over half of the offensive yardage gained by the Huskers’ in the third and fourth quarters. Rhule said it is not out of the question to see the former Montana Grizzlie punter provide another spark.
“Had I thrown the fake punt on the first play (against Rutgers), that game would’ve been different, we knew it was there. So maybe it was a lesson for me to be a little bit more aggressive early on. We’ll need to steal a possession against Indiana, they’re just too dynamic on offense. Sometimes you run down and knock a ball out, their punt returner is excellent,” Rhule said.
The Huskers await their top 25 battle against No. 16 Indiana on Saturday, as Big Noon Kickoff previews the contest with television coverage on FOX. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CDT.
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