The Huskers found a little old-school edge in the middle of Saturday’s win, and it came with an unlikely twist: a pair of defensive linemen leading the way on offense.
On a 4th-and-1 at the Ohio 37 late in the third quarter, Nebraska lined up with Anthony Colandrea under center, Jamal Rule behind him, and Jahsear Whittington and Anthony Jones Jr. in lead-blocker spots. The result was as blunt as it was effective.
Whittington, the junior transfer from Pitt and new owner of fresh single-digit and Blackshirt jerseys, stepped into the first Ohio defender and steered him away. Jones, a UCLA transfer and owner of the same fresh pair of jerseys, handled the next man and turned him wide.
On the other side, Gunnar Gottula spun his defender backward. Rule then hit the gap at full speed, blasted through contact and powered ahead for 10 yards and an easy first down.
Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said the idea wasn’t some outside import. When asked whether the look came from the Mike Leach playbook, he answered, “No, that came out of the Matt Rhule playbook.”
He added, “We did that with Ty Robinson a couple years ago, you know, and I had a tremendous amount of fun with that, with Ty. We didn’t feel like we had the people to do that last year, so we just kind of shelved it.”
This time, Nebraska had the bodies for it, and Holgorsen said the players themselves took to the concept immediately.
“We had open tryouts in camp, and Anthony and Jahsear kind of took that thing over and ran with it. Man, those guys were fired up.
I’ve never seen two kids on defense go in on offense and do that and play with as much intensity and excitement that those two guys did. Man, that that was that was awesome to see.”
He also liked what the pair brought physically.
“Their angles and their physicality - they looked like tight ends and fullbacks. Big Anthony - I guess he went to Oregon as a tight end. Jahsear just has a fullback body, so we’ll keep building on that.”
Rob Aurich was smiling before he even finished hearing the question. The defensive coordinator said he loved the collaboration.
”I love it. I love it.
It’s a team game. It’s team football.“
Aurich also pointed to the defense borrowing wide receiver Quinn Clark for a Hail Mary defensive set at the end of the half.
The play landed at a useful moment. Nebraska led 14-13 when it happened, and the Huskers then outscored Ohio 35-7 over the final 23 minutes. The source doesn’t claim that one short-yardage snap changed everything, but the timing fit a team that finally looked willing to stop overcomplicating things and lean into being fast and physical.
Jones said the whole thing took him back a bit.
“People don’t know that I was really a highly-rated tight end out of high school. Really, I had more offers to play tight end, so it took me back a little bit. It was fun.”
He also talked about what it meant to pave the way for Rule, a freshman he clearly admires.
“It means a lot to me. Just being able to go block for a guy, especially like Jamal, a younger guy that’s going to be really good. Oh, he’s already really good…Maybe I’ll go try to go be the next punter or something too.”
Jones said the moment felt like a throwback.
”I was fired up. I know Jasir was too when they came to us about that.
It’s like old school Nebraska football, so you know you get some of those comparisons, but that’s what you want to see in the Big 10. Put some of your big physical guys on offense and go get short yardage touchdowns or first down.“
Jacory Barney Jr. said the play carried a special kind of appeal for the crowd as well.
“To all the fans and stuff, it kind of gives them flashbacks, and they love to see stuff like that. So I’m happy for that and look forward to it in the future.
As long as we score points, that’s all that matters - that and if it helps us win. So I’m proud of it.”
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