Tony White announces this year’s Blackshirts

Nebraska football settled on the single-digit jersey recipients last Tuesday, and one week later defensive coordinator Tony White revealed this year’s Blackshirts.

The single-digit jerseys – who are handed out via player vote – had a heavy, overwhelming defensive flavor. Nine of the 10 single digits belong to players on White’s crew as receiver Jahmal Banks (4) was the only player on the offense to earn one.

Beyond Banks, the other nine went to defensive lineman Nash Hutmacher* (0), defensive end Jimari Butler (1), rover Isaac Gifford* (2), safety Marques Buford Jr. (3), linebacker John Bullock* (5), cornerback Tommi Hill (6), safety Malcolm Hartzog (7), safety DeShon Singleton* (8) and defensive lineman Ty Robinson* (9).

*returning player who earned a single-digit jersey last season

Those nine starters have also earned a Blackshirt, per White’s announcement at his Tuesday game week press conference.

In addition, starting inside linebacker Mikai Gbayor, starting Jack linebacker MJ Sherman and defensive lineman Cam Lenhardt each earned one, giving the Huskers a total of 12 Blackshirts to begin the 2024 season.

“Coach (Matt) Rhule and I had talked about who to give them out to. And coach (asked) this morning if we’re ready to do it, and they were in their lockers hanging up,” White said. “It’s really, really neat to watch them come out of the gates with them. You can see the excitement in their eyes, and they knew what it was about. I actually threatened some of them, like, ‘Hey, you don’t act right, you have your regular jersey there standing on the sideline. So we’ll switch that out real quick.’ That’s a special, special deal around here, and we want to make sure that we uphold it the right way.

“… It’s not just (that they are) the 11 at the top of the depth chart. (Our coaching staff) went back and looked at all the stuff that they had done – mat drills, if they were on the Blackshirts during the offseason stuff and then go through the summer on the elite lists and all those things like that. It gets real tricky in there.”

Lenhardt is not officially a starter, per the depth chart for the UTEP game, but he has proven himself enough to be a starting-caliber player and worthy of the Blackshirt honor.

“Cam got the extra one (because), even from last year, coming in here doing and everything he’s done in the offseason, the summer, fall we felt like he was a guy who (earned it),” White said. “He is OOU. He’s what this place is all about, what this program is all about academic-wise. Engineering major, elite grades, and he’s processing in the classes he’s taken, knowing where he’s supposed to be and doing things he’s supposed to be doing.

“You watch him in the offseason, and he’s 100 miles an hour, no excuses, always in front of the lines, just a low-maintenance, blue-collar guy. And then when he goes out there, he knows what to do, he knows how to do it, and then he does it at an elite level. And he’s a great teammate. Again, he’s OOU. If you talk about one of the first guys you mention (who represents) the DNA of the program, it would be him.”