Nebraska’s Knighton fired up about defensive line play

It starts at the top with position coach Terrance Knighton, who deemed the group “Death Row” prior to the season.

From the Polar Bear, Nash Hutmacher, to freshman Keona Davis, who Knighton said is called ‘Tarzan’ among the group, the nicknames are about each players’ strengths — and Nebraska’s defensive line coach has a room full of it.

Making an appearance on the Huskers Radio Network, Knighton said Wednesday that he was pleased with the way his group performed in Saturday’s win over Purdue.

“You’ve got to go in there (on the road) with an attitude,” Knighton said. “… Our guys had that mentality the minute we stepped on the plane and got off the plane and they were ready to go.”

Knighton said despite being on the road, the team’s sideline “felt like a home game” due to the number of Nebraska fans seated directly behind them. Nebraska held Purdue to just 50 yards on the ground during the win and totaled five sacks, two of which came from sophomore James Williams.

“He wasn’t the ‘Sack Man’ until this week,” Knighton said, referencing Williams’ nickname. “He’s a guy that we had to take out in rushing situations but now he’s a guy that can go in there and be gritty. He’s a tough guy, he plays with his hands, he’s physical in the run game and he’s a guy we can depend on every down.”

While Knighton has long known he can depend on the likes of Ty Robinson, Jimari Butler, Hutmacher and Cameron Lenhardt, Nebraska’s defensive line rotation has ebbed and flowed by the week around them. Davis and Williams have played in every game this season as have Vincent Jackson, Elijah Jeudy and Kai Wallin.

Wallin, a redshirt sophomore, was “a little skinny frail guy from California” when he arrived at Nebraska last season according to Knighton. But having made a major impact as a pass rusher this season, Wallin continues to earn more playing time.

“He’ll never lose the ability to pass rush, that’s his God-given gift and now he’s just trying to be an all-around player,” Knighton said of Wallin.

However, the competition for playing time has led to a different role for sophomore Riley Van Poppel this season. Having appeared in Nebraska’s first two games, Van Poppel is now headed toward a redshirt season and is handling the situation like a “pro” according to Knighton.

Van Poppel continues to see important reps in practice as Knighton envisions a future where he takes over for Robinson in the heart of the Nebraska defensive line.

“That’s for the development of the program, and this is why guys should come to Nebraska because you’re going to get 100 reps a day on scout team and you’re going to get better each day,” Knighton said.

The Husker defensive line is set for another test this Saturday against a Rutgers team which is rushing for 237.8 yards per game this season.

Knighton said that the presence of quarterback Dylan Raiola has resulted in opponents hoping to run the ball during long, time-consuming drives to keep it away from Raiola.

Because of that, it’s up to his group to make sure they get into third-and-long situations where they can get after the quarterback as pass rushers.

“I think selfishly a lot of guys want to get sacks, but you can’t get sacks unless you stop the run, right?” Knighton said. “With me being an ex-player and playing for Coach Rhule as my position coach, it always started with stopping the run. That’s our DNA as a defense, that’s our DNA as a program — run the ball, stop the run and we’ve got to handle that first.”