Jordan Larson has decided she’s not done yet, and Nebraska fans know better than to argue with a legend who’s already earned the freedom to write her own ending.
Earlier this month, Larson reversed course on retirement and chose to play at least one more season with LOVB Nebraska. In an interview with Nebraska Public Media News, she explained the tug-of-war that led her back.
“ I felt so good as I kept playing, and then I just was like, ‘I get to do this at home. Like, why am I actually stopping?’
So I think it was just a lot of that back and forth most of the season, and even towards the end,” the Nebraska volleyball legend said in an interview with Nebraska Public Media News. “I think even having the confidence to say that I want to play again.
I think that was also scary.”
While Larson is extending her run, Nebraska football is looking ahead to a different kind of return. Rex Guthrie put together one of the best freshman seasons any Cornhuskers player has had at his position in 2025, and now he’s trying to build on it after offseason surgery. He said the offseason plan is simple: stack up more film study, more work in the weight room and more time on the field.
“Trying to watch as much tape as I can,” Guthrie said about how he plans to improve in Year 2. “ Get in the weight room, on the field and try to better myself every day.”
Guthrie will also have to fight for his role again, especially with new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich reshaping the defense and bringing in some of his own players.
Carter Nelson is in a different spot. The former highly touted in-state offensive weapon has not produced much yet, and after moving from wide receiver to full-time tight end last year, he finished with two catches for 11 yards. Even so, Nelson says the mental side is where he’s focused heading into 2026.
“The biggest thing for me has been trying to change my mindset. The (production) will come, but at the end of the day, if you put it in your mind you are going to go kill somebody, you are going to go kill them.”
Elsewhere in the Nebraska orbit, Nick Saban is drawing attention for comments that don’t exactly match the way his Alabama teams operated. Saban said, "I actually think we should play 12 games against the Power 5.
That's it. Because it's a business & people want to see those games."
But in his last five years at Alabama, not counting 2020, the Crimson Tide played 18 non-conference games. Only three of those opponents were Power 4 teams, while 10 were Group of 6 teams and five were FCS teams. That means 17% of those non-conference games came against Power 4 opponents, a far cry from the standard he was calling for.
Tom Osborne also made history this week. The former Nebraska coach, who led the Huskers to three national championships in the 1990s and finished with one of the best winning percentages in college football history, became the first living person voted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame on Wednesday. The state legislature had already opened the door earlier this spring by passing a law changing the induction requirements.
On the national football side, UMass was left at the bottom of the MAC preseason coaches poll, landing last in the conference and even finishing behind Sacramento State, which went 7-5 in the FCS last season.
The full poll put Western Michigan first with nine first-place votes, followed by Miami with four, Toledo, Ohio, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Bowling Green, Akron, Ball State, Sacramento State and UMass.
ESPN’s FPI ratings were also released earlier this week, and Nebraska’s outlook landed in the middle range. The system projects the Cornhuskers to win about six to seven games, while still leaving room for a much stronger season if things break the right way.
In Other News...
Nebraska Is Finally Giving Anthony Colandrea The Offense Fans Wanted
Anthony Colandrea looks set to be Nebraskas starting quarterback, and the early signs suggest the Huskers are trying to make the offense fit him instead of forcing him into a rigid system. Colandrea has already praised Dana Holgorsen for adjusting the scheme to include elements from his time at UNLV, a notable shift for a program that has spent plenty of time searching for the right formula under center.
For Nebraska, that matters because Colandrea arrives with a track record of production and a style that can change how the whole offense feels. The same momentum around the program is showing up on the recruiting trail, too, with the Huskers offering defensive lineman Simon Nuamah and expecting him on campus, while the schedule ahead also gives Nebraska a pair of familiar MAC matchups in Ohio and Bowling Green as the 2026 slate starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Three Nebraska Wild Cards Could Reshape Fall Camp Fast
Fall camp is about to give Nebraska a clearer look at a few players who could matter a lot by the time the 2026 season rolls around. Janiran Bonner, Dawson Merritt and Carter Nelson all missed spring practice because of injuries, but each still sits in the group of wild cards who could change the feel of the roster if they get on the field and stay there.
Bonners versatility gives the staff plenty to think about, Merritt brings the kind of linebacker upside that keeps coaches interested even after a stop-start injury path, and Nelson remains one of the more intriguing developmental pieces on the roster after moving from wide receiver to tight end. The common thread is health, and Nebraska will spend camp finding out whether these three can turn potential into something more concrete before the season starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska's Offense Is Drawing Real Belief From Its New Quarterback
Anthony Colandrea has spent spring practice getting a closer look at what Nebraska wants to be on offense, and the early impression is a confident one. The quarterback said he likes the way Dana Holgorsen has blended concepts from his previous stop at UNLV into the Huskers system, with Colandrea pointing to a group of receivers and an offensive line that give the unit a chance to do more than just get by.
There is still a learning curve, though, and Colandrea did not gloss over it. He talked about the jump from the Mountain West to the Big Ten and the challenge of facing a defense that has been complex throughout camp, but he also said the offense is starting to get more comfortable with the system. For a Nebraska attack looking for a cleaner identity, that kind of belief from the new quarterback matters, even if the real proof is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]