Nebraska Husker Football 2024 Spring Preview: Defensive Line Hutmacher Robinson Butler Lenhardt Jeudy Van Poppel

The Blackshirts were the strength of the 2023 Huskers and the defensive line was arguably the strength of the Blackshirts. The vast majority of the snaps and production from a high-performing group in 2023 returns for 2024. Have they reached their potential or is there more Coach Knighton can get out of them?

Roster Changes/Losses

• Ru’Quan Buckley (junior) moved from the defensive line to offensive line for 2024.
• Blaise Gunnerson retired from football. Gunnerson played in 11 games with four starts in 2023. He made nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and one blocked punt.
• Jacob Herbek played in six games in 2023 but chose to forgo his final year of eligibility.
• Redshirt freshman Mason Goldman switched from offensive line to defensive line in 2023.
• David Borchers was listed as an offensive lineman and redshirted in 2023 before switching to defensive line for 2024. He was a top 20 player in Iowa coming out of high school. He had scholarship offers at smaller schools, but ultimately decided to walk-on with Nebraska.
• Redshirt freshman Connor Conneally (yes, THAT Conneally family) switched from offensive line to defensive line in 2023.

Returning Contributors

Seniors – the All-Conference guys

• Nash “Polar Bear” Hutmacher was an All Big Ten (honorable mention) selection in 2023. The big man in the middle not only was a stalwart run stopper, but made life difficult for backs that ventured into his reach with eight TFLs and 4.5 sacks. He is back for his fifth season of college football.
• Ty Robinson – Thanks to redshirting and a COVID year, Robinson is back for his sixth season at Nebraska and (presumably) the fifth season where he will be a multi-game starter. He was an All Big Ten (honorable mention) selection in 2023 and voted by the team to wear one of the single digit jersey numbers (#9).

Juniors

• Jimari Butler is now listed as a defensive lineman instead of a linebacker, so he gets mentioned in this article. I expect that to be semantics as he will likely still come off the edge and be expected to wreak havoc for QBs. After flirting with the transfer portal ahead of 2023 and deciding to stay at Nebraska, he went on to play 11 games with six starts. He recorded 34 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, leading the Huskers in TFLs and sacks while earning honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors.
• Elijah Jeudy – 12 games played; eight tackles; one TFL; one blocked field goal. He has shown versatility and can be deployed in multiple places along the line – presumably where the coaching staff sees a matchup advantage.
• Chief Borders – 12 games played; nine tackles; ¹⁄₂ TFL; one PBU. He will be a big part of the Husker pass rush in 2024.

Sophomores

• Cam Lenhardt – Lenhardt became the first true freshman to start a season opener on the defensive line. He played in 10 games (four starts) and recorded 16 tackles. five TFLs, and three sacks.
• Riley Van Poppel – 11 games played; five tackles; one TFL; half sack; one QB hurry. He saw the field when the Huskers used extra big guys in short yardage situations.

Waiting in the Wings

These guys played minor roles in 2023 but will be looking to get more snaps in 2024.

Junior

• AJ Rollins – the former tight end played in four games in his first season on the defensive line (2023). He made seven tackles. He is very athletic and if he develops the strength and technique, he could carve out more playing time.

Sophomore

• James Williams – The JUCO transfer used a redshirt year in 2023, playing in four games. He posted four tackles with two of those being sacks. Coach Knighton has mentioned that he has really shown potential as a pass rusher.
• Brodie Tagaloa started his career as a tight end before moving to defensive line in spring 2022. He was injured and missed the 2023 season.
• Kai Wallin – the JUCO transfer played in four games in a redshirt 2023 season. He had one tackle.

Redshirt freshman

• Sua Lefotu – He also redshirted (playing three games) in 2023. His highlight play was a recovered fumble at Colorado.
• Vincent Carroll-Jackson – has plenty of raw talent but only played football one year in high school. That made it an easy call to reshirt him in 2023. Can Coach Knighton develop him? I suspect it will take a little more time to do that, but you never know…
• Leslie Black – redshirted in 2023. He had scholarship offers at smaller schools and chose to walk-on at Nebraska.

New Faces

There was not much activity in recruiting or the transfer portal due to the amount of returning production for Nebraska. There is only one completely new Husker to introduce.

• Ashton Murphy – the true freshman from Omaha was considered a top-50 defensive line prospect nationally.

Projected Starters

We all assume Hutmacher and Robinson to trot out for the first defensive snap of the season. I think Lenhardt and/or Butler are also poised to be the first guy on the field for many of the games.

Nebraska rotated a whole bunch in 2023 and I think that will continue in 2024. As such, expect to see most of the contributors from last season show up on the field and in the stats. Some may earn more time through improved play and others might be pressed into service due to injuries (knock on wood that doesn’t happen!) There will be plenty of playing time to go around. The designation of “starter” vs “backup” may be less meaningful for this group than any other one on the team.

Lots of guys will play. Lots of guys will play a lot. #Analysis

Go Big Red!