Nebraska Football Spring Preview 2022: Secondary

The Nebraska Secondary is losing three veteran starters this year. There is only one senior and a lot of inexperience. It will be exciting to see which guys step up and take hold of the opportunity in front of them.

This is year five at Nebraska for defensive backs coach, Travis Fisher. It is his tenth year coaching overall. He is a great recruiter and has led a successful secondary group in his time at Nebraska.

Seniors- 1

Juniors- 5

Sophomores- 8 (5 of them safeties)

Redshirt Freshmen- 7

Freshmen- 4

Cam Taylor-Britt– Drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals

Deontai Williams-Undrafted Free Agent signed with the Seahawks

Marquel Dismuke- Out of eligibility

Nadab Joseph- Left the team in January

Tommi Hill- Tommi Hill spent his freshman year at Arizona State. He played in 11 games and had 9 tackles.

Jalil Martin- Jalil Martin comes to Nebraska from Kentwood Academy in Chicago. Last season he was named a 6A All-State selection. He had 26 tackles, one interception, and six passes defended.

Omar Brown- Brown spent three seasons at Northern Iowa before joining the Huskers this season. He played in 29 games and had 140 tackles, 13 pass break ups, and eight interceptions. As a freshman he was named third team All-American by the Associated Press and first team All-American by Phil Steele. He was also the FCS Freshman of the Year.

Malcolm Hartzog-Hartzog was a standout player in offense, defense, and special teams for Jefferson Davis County High School. His senior year he had more the 10 passes defended from the cornerback position. He was class 3A Mr. Football.

Javier Morton-Javier Morton spent his first season at Garden City Community College in Kansas. He played in nine games and totaled 20 tackles, one sack, two pass breakups, and fumble recovery.

Cooper Hausman- Cooper Hausman played both quarterback and safety at Noris High School. He recorded 12 tackles and two interceptions last season.

Blake Miller-Miller played for Lourdes Central High School in Nebraska City. He was considered one of the top eight-man players in Nebraska. He also played quarterback and defensive back in high school. He made 100 tackles as a senior. He was a second team All-Nebraska selection at defensive back.

DeShon Singleton- Singleton comes from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Last season he had 21 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions, and two pass breakups. He was considered the No. 4 junior college safety.

Jaeden Gould- Gould was recognized as the top player in New Jersey for the 2021 season. He was named the New Jersey High School Player of the Year by Max Preps. He has 27 tackles, four interceptions, and two pass breakups. He was one of the top 25 cornerbacks in the country and the No. 2 recruit from New Jersey.

Quinton Newsome- Newsome started every game as cornerback opposite Cam Taylor-Britt last season. He recorded 57 tackles, two tackles for a loss, one sack, and four pass breakups.

Myles Farmer- Last season, Farmer played in every game and started the last four games at safety. He had 30 tackles with .5 tackles for a loss, one interception and one fumble recovery.

Isaac Gifford- Gifford played in every game last season, including playing nickel back in the final two games of the season. He recorded seven tackles and had one pass breakup.

Braxton Clark- Clark played in every game in 2021. He recorded five tackles and two pass breakups.

Other players who saw a lot of time on special teams, but did not have a lot of actions as defensive backs were: Noa Pola-Gates, Marques Buford Jr., and Phalen Sanford.

Nebraska loses three multi-year starters in the secondary from 2021. Newsome will resume his role as corner and Farmer will most likely take over one of the safety positions. The other positions are still up in the air though. Braxton Clark has been on the team since 2018 and seems ready to take on a bigger role than he’s had in the past. I expect to see a lot of Isaac Gifford and maybe Marques Buford as well. There will most likely be some growing pains as the leadership that has been around for the past three seasons in this position is now missing. However, there are some good young players in the secondary and it will be exciting to see who will emerge as a starter this fall.