Nebraska’s return to the dorms could be beneficial

The boys are back in town.

Well, it’s not like the Huskers actually left much this summer with all the offseason work they put in, but training camp is here for Nebraska football.

They’re all moved into Selleck to kick off camp. Just like last year.

Yes, Selleck. Not one of the swanky newfangled suite-style residences. Not those fancy new apartments. The Selleck Quadrangle. The cozy, traditional-style dorm life with the twin beds and the community showers circa 1954.

It builds character. It builds brotherhood. In this day and age where teams are living and dying by the transfer portal? Anything to gain an edge.

The player-on-coach pranks from last year — the Saran wrap incident, for example — are still laughed about. Will the coaches get their revenge this year? Junior safety Marques Buford Jr. — who is rooming with his younger brother, Mario Buford — doesn’t think so, but only time will tell. (My money’s on revenge. Count out Terrance Knighton? Never.)

While Nebraska only went 5-7 last year, there’s no denying the strength of this team’s brotherhood.

And plenty of that was built this time last year.

Only eight players entered the transfer portal — one of the lower numbers not just in the Big Ten but in the entire country. Many guys who could have opted to take the NFL leap — defensive lineman Ty Robinson, offensive lineman Bryce Benhart, defensive back Isaac Gifford — all chose to come back for 2024.

That means something. It means they want to stay here. Why wouldn’t they?

Between the finally finished Tom Osborne Legacy Complex (formerly known as the Go Big Project) and the new training table and all the additional resources? Then there’s the overall health of the athletic department with several Big Ten-winning programs with volleyball, soccer, men’s gymnastics, men’s track and field and baseball. Why wouldn’t they want to be surrounded by greatness? Maybe that can rub off on them, too. Pick it up at the training table through symbiosis.

Rhule feels that way, too.

“Why would you go anywhere else? You have everything you could possibly want here,” Rhule said in April before the portal opened. “… Our job is to make this an elite place.”

The place is good. Great, even, when you factor in all of the aforementioned things. But elite? For Nebraska football, they’re not there yet.

You take a spin through the roster and what’s one of the first things that comes to mind? To me, it’s just how talented, athletic and bright some of the players are.

You know there’s something there when you listen to guys like Robinson and Nash Hutmacher and Gifford and Buford. When you watch them on the field, you know another year in Tony White’s defense oughta do them some good.

When you look back to the flashes we all saw from running back Emmett Johnson and receiver Jaylen Lloyd and receiver Malachi Coleman and defensive lineman Princewill Umanmielen and kicker Tristan Alvano and the other young fellas, you know the future’s in good hands. Pair that with what true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola could be, and that’s a dangerous young corps.

But what will they accomplish this year?

Not to drink (or sell) the Kool-Aid, but a bowl game feels like the bare minimum of what this team is capable of.

We’ll see what they can achieve beginning Aug. 31.

* New defensive backs coach John Butler seems to be a seamless fit for Nebraska in the wake of the resignation of Evan Cooper. Heard some pretty high praise from White and defensive back Tommi Hill.

* Strong, strong quote from co-offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield in reference to the plague of turnovers from last season. “We’re not gonna turn the ball over anymore. And if you turn it over, you’re not gonna play,” Satterfield said — emphasizing the “not.”

Considering it’s hard to get worse than last year, I hope that’s the case.