Nebraska heads into 2026 with a roster built around experience, and a few fourth-year players look positioned to turn that into real production.
The Huskers have 26 players entering their fourth year of eligibility, a number that matters for a team trying to climb in the Big Ten. With so many veterans in the mix, Nebraska needs more than just depth - it needs those older players to start delivering like established pieces. Three names stand out: Cam Lenhardt, Jamir Conn and Anthony Colandrea.
Lenhardt is the most intriguing case because the tools have always been obvious. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound edge from Staten Island, New York has appeared in 36 games with 13 starts, and his freshman year hinted at a much bigger future. In 2023, he made Freshman All-American Honorable Mention after posting 16 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks in 10 games.
Since then, the numbers have leveled off some. Lenhardt has added 39 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks to his career total, and his most disruptive season still came as a true freshman.
But Nebraska’s shift to a four-down front should put him back in a spot that fits his game better. That move gives him a chance to play the position that made him a high school All-American at IMG Academy in Florida, and the expectation is that his snap count and production both rise in 2026.
Conn is another player whose next step could be a big one. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound defensive back from Lee’s Summit North High School in Missouri played in all 13 games last season, but most of that work came on special teams while Nebraska finished No. 3 nationally against the pass. That won’t be the case forever, especially with several members of the secondary now in the NFL.
Conn has been around long enough to know the routine - 36 games played, 11 starts - and now he finally has a clear lane to contribute on defense. He was blocked more by the depth chart than anything else, and Nebraska’s staff has been talking him up all offseason. If those internal evaluations hold up, Conn should become a familiar name for Husker fans in 2026.
Then there’s Colandrea, who has already produced at a high level and now has to do it in a new setting. The fourth-year quarterback was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year a season ago and put up 4,108 all-purpose yards and 33 total touchdowns in 13 games as a junior. He’s also closing in on 8,700 career all-purpose yards and has started 31 games, which puts him among the more experienced quarterbacks in the sport.
At the same time, this is a major jump to the Big Ten, and Colandrea still has plenty to prove. Nebraska is leaning hard into him, though.
Matt Rhule, Dana Holgorsen and the rest of the program have clearly bought in quickly, and that kind of internal confidence matters. If he can keep the trust of the teammates around him, the Huskers believe they have a quarterback who can lift the whole offense.
With Colandrea at the controls, a rebuilt offensive line and wide receivers retained from 2025, Nebraska has a chance to be much more dangerous on that side of the ball. The expectation here is straightforward: Colandrea should land in the top third of Big Ten quarterbacks, and if that happens, the Huskers’ ceiling rises with him.
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