“Cornerbacks are like gold,” a former Husker head coach once said.
That idea fits Andrew Marshall pretty well heading into 2026. Nebraska’s veteran corner arrived from Idaho, won a starting job, earned all-Big Ten honorable mention recognition and quickly became one of the players Husker fans feel best about as the new season approaches.
Marshall is No. 5 in our Most Indispensable Huskers countdown, and the case for him starts with what he already proved in his first year in Lincoln. He played 662 defensive snaps, the second-most on the team, held up in coverage and wasn’t shy about sticking his nose into run support. PFF gave him a 79.2 tackling grade, and he also delivered one of Nebraska’s most memorable defensive moments of the season with an interception that looked like he had Jayden Maiava right where he wanted him.
That pick against USC stood out for another reason, too: it came in what was arguably Nebraska’s best stretch of football last fall. The Huskers’ third-ranked pass defense held the Trojans 161 yards under their season average, and Marshall’s play helped set the tone before the game swung the other way a few snaps later.
Now he’s back with Rob Aurich, Nebraska’s new defensive coordinator, who knew Marshall long before he became a Big Ten starter.
“When I left Andrew he was a kid,” Aurich said this spring. “He ain't a kid no more, I'll tell you that.”
Marshall also has history with Aurich from Idaho, where Aurich once recruited him and spent a season coaching him. That familiarity matters, and Marshall says the trust shows up in the way Aurich calls the game.
“He just puts his guy into positions to make plays,” Marshall said. “He trusts his players so on the field you're going to see that. In the playcalling ... and just how aggressive he is on the field, you're going to see all that.”
He’s not walking into August as part of a cornerback battle. The competition is happening on the other side, where Jeremiah Charles, Danny Odem and others are fighting for a starting spot. Marshall’s conversation is different now: how high can he climb, and can he become one of the league’s best corners?
Part of that next step is leadership. Marshall said he’s focused this offseason on taking more ownership in the DB room after older players handled much of that role last year.
“I feel like going into this offseason I've been focusing on just being more of a leader in the DB room knowing that we had a lot of older guys last year who were mainly in that role,” Marshall said. “So now it's up to me to step up and fulfill that role which I feel like I've been working on and getting better at.”
The bigger question for Nebraska’s defense is whether the secondary can turn more of those opportunities into takeaways. The Huskers had just six interceptions last season, a number that ranked 105th nationally. That’s not only on the defensive backs, of course, because pressure up front has to help force those mistakes.
Still, the schedule gives Nebraska plenty of chances to prove it can make quarterbacks pay. By Halloween, the Huskers will have faced four teams from last year’s top 16 in yards per attempt: Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon and Washington.
Marshall already arrived with a chip on his shoulder, and Nebraska’s coaches liked what they saw from it.
“Drew is a pro. He's a pro.
I 100 percent agree with Coach Rhule on that. The one thing about Drew is that he has that chip on his shoulder coming from an FCS school and he feels like, 'Hey, I should've been here before now,'” secondary coach Addison Williams said before last season.
Williams made clear that the edge was fuel, not baggage.
“He's not holding that as a grudge against anybody else, but he's taking that as motivation from the standpoint of, 'Hey, I'm here now and I'm going to go prove myself.' He has that mentality now whether we're in the weight room or whether we're running gassers, film room or wherever we are at, he has that mentality and he's a real competitor.”
In Other News...
Adrian Martinez Is Still Repping Nebraska In A Big Way
Adrian Martinez is still spending part of his offseason around Nebraska, and for Cornhuskers fans, that alone makes the scene worth noting. The former Husker quarterback has been training in the state with former North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton as both prepare for the 2026 NFL season, and their workouts have included time with high school players at Gretna East, where theyve been sharing experience and running drills.
The bigger picture is familiar for both quarterbacks: neither is simply coasting into camp, and both are trying to carve out a place at the next level. Martinez is in the mix with the San Francisco 49ers, while Payton is working to secure his footing with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Nebraska stop has given them a chance to stay sharp while giving back to the next wave of players watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Emmett Johnson Looks Ready To Answer His Draft Slide In A Big Way
Emmett Johnsons final season at Nebraska gave him the kind of rsum that usually travels well to the next level. He racked up more than 1,400 rushing yards, earned multiple All-American honors and showed enough versatility as a runner and receiver to make himself one of the more intriguing backs in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Now the former Cornhusker is trying to turn that production into an NFL foothold with Kansas City, where he enters training camp in strong physical shape and ready to compete for playing time. The Chiefs have reasons to keep an open mind about what he can bring, and Johnsons challenge is the familiar one for a rookie back: prove the college numbers were only the beginning. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Cannot Keep Dodging This Running Back Question Much Longer
Nebraska has spent the better part of the summer letting the Mekhi Nelson situation sit in the background, but the running back question is getting harder to avoid. Nelson was arrested on battery charges in Florida, and since then he has not taken part in team activities, leaving his place in the program very much in limbo as the Cornhuskers move closer to the start of the season.
The expectation now is that Nebraska will have to speak publicly about the matter soon, likely in the next week to 10 days as Big Ten Media Days approaches. Until then, the uncertainty lingers not just around Nelsons future, but around what the backfield picture looks like if the Huskers have to keep moving without him. [Read more 🡒]