Nebraska football is two weeks into fall camp, and the picture is starting to sharpen. Saturday’s scrimmage felt like the midway marker, with game week for Ohio still two Mondays away.
Matt Rhule said the Huskers will hold another scrimmage next Saturday, though he wasn’t sure exactly what it will look like. It should be lighter than the 120 plays they ran this past Saturday.
At this point, the roster’s top end is beginning to stand out. The Huskers have already had their biggest takeaways and stock-riser conversations, and the list of Nebraska’s 10 most important players for next season is already on the table. If the question is who looks like the five best right now, the answer starts up front and works its way outward.
Justin Evans sits at No. 1, and it’s easy to see why. The veteran has started 31 games for Nebraska between center and guard, and he landed on the Rimington Award Watch List this fall after a season in which he started 13 games at center in 2025.
Pro Football Focus graded him as the top returning center in the country, and his improvement has shown up every season. There’s even a real case that he ends up as the best center in the Big Ten.
Even if he lands as a second- or third-team All-Big Ten type, that would still mark another step forward, especially if Elijah Pritchett is right there with him.
Pritchett checks in at No. 3, but his rise has been one of the more important developments in camp memory. Early in the 2025 season, he looked like he might not work out.
Instead, he settled in and became one of Nebraska’s best players late in the year, starting the final nine games at left tackle. He’s now started 21 games at tackle between Nebraska and Alabama, and Geep Wade recently said he expects “big things” from him this season.
There’s a decent chance Pritchett plays himself into a Day 2 NFL draft conversation, or at least an early day-three slot.
Between those two linemen is Owen Chambliss, who comes in at No. 2 and looks like Nebraska’s most impactful defender. The first-team All-Mountain West linebacker played under new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich last season and brings the kind of every-down presence the Blackshirts have been missing.
After redshirting with Utah in 2023, Chambliss still has two seasons to play if he wants them. Over the last two seasons, he started 20 of 24 games for the Aztecs and piled up 142 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery.
At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, he doesn’t have to come off the field, and he always seems to be near the ball. Phil Steele has taken notice, and Pro Football Focus lists him as the highest-graded returning linebacker in the Big Ten.
Anthony Colandrea lands at No. 4, and he brings a different kind of electricity. The Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year still has to prove he can do it at the Power-4 level, and the turnover issues from his time at Virginia are part of the package.
He’s likely to throw 9-10 interceptions this season, because that’s the kind of gambler he is. If there’s a first down to be had by diving headfirst, he’ll do it.
Sliding isn’t really his style. But Nebraska fans will take that edge if it comes with the legs and production.
Colandrea passed for over 3,459 yards last season and enters with 7,542 career passing yards, 49 touchdowns, 29 interceptions and a 63.5 career completion rate. Dana Holgorsen is clearly fired up about him, and Rhule has called him the yin to his yang.
Nebraska has been searching for a dynamic quarterback, and Colandrea looks like the one to answer that call.
The final spot goes to Andrew Marshall at No. 5.
It would have been easy to put Nyziah Hunter here, but Marshall gets the nod. The 6-foot, 195-pound cornerback earned honorable mention All-Big Ten last season after arriving as one of Nebraska’s best portal additions.
A first-team All-Big Sky selection in 2024, he started 13 games for the Huskers and was credited with 45 tackles, four pass breakups, four tackles for loss and one interception. He might have been Nebraska’s best cover corner last season, and he enters this year as CB1 and one of the players on the roster most likely to hear his name called in the NFL draft next April.
In Other News...
Former Nebraska Standout Put His NFL Push On Hold For One Reason
Ceyair Wrights NFL push hit pause during Bengals fall camp, but not because of an injury or a roster move. The former Nebraska standout stepped away from Cincinnati to chase an acting opportunity, a decision Bengals coach Zac Taylor said was tough for Wright because it comes down to two real passions for him: football and acting.
Wright is no stranger to the screen, either, with prior work that includes a role in the Space Jam remake and a run on Grown-ish. For Nebraska fans who watched him develop into a standout, the football part of the story is still very much alive, with Wright planning to return after his acting project wraps in October. [Read more 🡒]
Former Huskers Are Already Turning Heads In Early NFL Battles
The NFL preseason is still young, but a handful of former Nebraska players have already found ways to make an impression. Emmett Johnson, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, got steady work in his preseason debut and showed the kind of versatility that helped him stand out in Lincoln, while Ty Robinson and Garrett Nelson both showed up on defense with sacks for their new clubs.
For Nebraska fans, it is the sort of early August development worth keeping an eye on because it gives the program another quick reminder of how many Huskers are trying to carve out roles on Sundays. Some alumni were active in games, others did not see the field, and these opening reps are only the first step in battles that will stretch through the rest of the preseason. [Read more 🡒]