Nebraska’s cornerback battle has been one of the tightest in camp, but Jeremiah Charles is making a strong case that he’s moved to the front of the line.
Andrew Marshall is locked in on one side, and the other spot is still technically up for grabs. Charles, Victor Evans, Danny Odem and a few others have been in the mix, and the coaches have liked enough of what they’ve seen to keep the competition alive. Still, after this week’s practices and Saturday’s scrimmage, Charles sounds like the name that keeps coming up first.
Wide receiver Quinn Clark may have said the quiet part out loud on Friday when he was asked which Nebraska defensive backs he wants to test in practice.
“Jeremiah Charles and Andrew Marshall. I try to take reps against them, because those are really the guys. I want to be competing against the best players possible to make myself better in the long term.”
That kind of praise lines up with what the staff appears to be seeing. Charles has done enough that last year’s No. 2 corner, Donovan Jones, is sliding to nickel. Jones is said to be happier in that role, but the move still says plenty about how Charles has performed.
Matt Rhule has also been clear about what stands out. The speed has always been there. Now, the coverage is catching up.
“I mean, he’s so fast, and he’s tough, but now he has the kind of the frame to match it, so he’ll play a significant role in what we’re doing… I’m very excited to see what Jeremiah does come this season.”
That doesn’t officially hand Charles the starting job, but it sure reads like he’s the favorite. At the very least, he looks set for a much bigger workload than he had a year ago.
Charles played in all 13 games last season, but his role was mostly on special teams. He finished with five tackles.
His busiest game came against Houston Christian, when he had a career-high three tackles, including two on defense and one on kickoff coverage. He also logged a tackle on kickoff coverage at Minnesota and added a defensive tackle against Utah in Nebraska’s final game of the year.
The other part of the story is what makes this run so notable: Charles is answering after a difficult sophomore season. He earned a starting opportunity against UCLA in 2024, but he was picked apart, taken out of the game and never returned to defensive action that season.
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