Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen doesn’t hand out praise lightly to his wide receivers, and he’s not lowering the bar now.
“Extremely (high),” Holgorsen said when asked about his expectations for the group.
That standard is being tested by a room that has some real continuity. Nebraska returns Nyziah Hunter and Jacory Barney Jr., and it added UCLA transfer Kwazi Gilmer to the mix. All three were listed as starters on Monday’s depth chart, and Holgorsen said the group is beginning to close the gap toward what he wants to see.
“They're gaining ground,” Holgorsen said. “I had a unit meeting with them yesterday and I think we're gaining ground as an offense with how the offensive staff has come together.
Our meetings have been fantastic and it's starting to show on the field. It's practice, so now we have to do it in a game situation.
I see speed with routes, I see ball skills, I see route running improving. I see ball placement improving.
I see yards after catch improving. Excited to see it.”
Quinn Clark has been one of the biggest reasons the receiver competition keeps pushing forward. He started Nebraska’s bowl game against Utah last year and added another flash point in the spring game with a one-handed touchdown. Even though he was listed as a second-team receiver, Holgorsen made it clear Clark is going to be on the field plenty.
“I didn't know if he was going to be able to turn the corner or not,” Holgorsen said. “You looked at him and he had size, but he didn't have much of a pulse.
He started gaining a little last year…he's had a great eight months. There ain't many places where he wouldn't start.
He'll be a starter for us in 10 personnel. He'll be the next one in.
I think we have three really good, experienced returning starting receivers. Kwazi (Gilmer) has fit in really nice in that room.
Quinn will play as much as the other three, that's for sure.”
Holgorsen also has some flexibility to sort through Nebraska’s running back rotation for Saturday’s opener against Ohio. That plan is still being worked out, even if the staff already knows the top names it wants to use.
Head coach Matt Rhule said earlier this week that Mekhi Nelson, Isaiah Mozee and Jamal Rule make up the upper group at running back. All three are set to play Saturday, but Holgorsen said the order and usage are still undecided.
“I don't even know which one is going out there first,” he said. “There is no RB 1.
Emmett (Johnson) was RB1. We don't have one of those right now.
There are three of them who are going to play and we're comfortable with that. It's not because one of them hasn't had a good camp.
They've all three had a good camp and we're comfortable with all three going out there.”
He added that his offenses have usually leaned on multiple backs rather than one featured runner carrying the load.
“The rest of the time, it's always been two or three guys who can go out there and get the job done. It's a grueling position... I don't know which one is going first, but it doesn't really matter,” he said.
Another notable name on Monday’s depth chart was Demitrius Bell. He has not played in a game for Nebraska and has dealt with multiple setbacks since injuring his knee in the 2024 Red-White game. Bell got back on the practice field near the start of fall camp, and Holgorsen said the receiver has made a strong impression after a long stretch out of sight.
“The setbacks are just overwhelming at times for him to the point where it's like, 'I don't know what I'm going to see when I have an opportunity to see it.' I was here for 21 months and never saw him run a route, then there's the mental aspect of overcoming it,” Holgorsen said.
“He's a good kid and really done a good job of overcoming that to the point where he's out there playing football. I can't imagine not playing for two years and going out and playing this game.
This game is hard enough. Just excited for him to get out there and play ball.”
In Other News...
Justin Evans Just Became A Powerful Symbol Of Nebraska's New Culture
Justin Evans has become one of the clearer signposts of where Nebraska football wants to go under Matt Rhule, earning recognition from teammates and the coaching staff as the Huskers prepare for the 2026 season. A lineman by trade and now a more complete presence than he was when he first started reshaping his role in 2023, Evans has grown into the kind of steady voice and dependable figure a team wants setting the tone up front. He has also helped anchor an offensive line that brings back several experienced players, which matters for a program trying to build something more durable than one good week at a time.
The clearest measure of that respect came in the teams leadership voting, where Evans drew the most votes ever for an offensive lineman eligible for one of Nebraskas single-digit leadership jerseys. He still cannot wear that number on game days, but the distinction says plenty about how his teammates see him heading into a season that opens with Ohio and carries the usual pressure that comes with a program trying to turn culture into results. For Nebraska, Evans is not just part of the line - he has become a symbol of the line the Huskers want to be. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Blackshirt Debate Is Back And Fans Know Why
Rob Aurich is still sorting out one of Nebraska footballs most recognizable traditions, and that alone has kept the Blackshirt conversation humming around the program. The new defensive coordinator has not decided when or how hell hand out the coveted Blackshirts, the symbolic gear reserved for starting defensive players, and he has made clear that the timing will depend on how the unit develops as the season unfolds.
For Nebraska fans, that uncertainty is part of the appeal and part of the debate. The Blackshirts carry real weight in Lincoln, so every delay invites more questions about the criteria, the rollout, and what Aurich wants to see before making the call. Until he settles on a plan, the speculation figures to keep following the defense wherever it goes next. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Just Gave Nebraska Fans A Very Different Reason To Look Closer
Rutgers opened its season with a home loss to UMass, a result that immediately rippled beyond the Big Ten East because of who was driving the Minutemen offense. Pop Watson, once a Nebraska commit, was sharp from the start and kept Rutgers on its heels while UMass snapped through a matchup many expected the Scarlet Knights to control.
For Nebraska fans, the relevance is obvious. Watson finished 19 of 22 for 197 yards and three touchdowns, a reminder of the arm talent the Huskers once had in their recruiting database, while Rutgers quarterback Dylan Lonergan never found rhythm and was eventually replaced late after a rough night. It was the kind of opener that leaves both Rutgers looking for answers and Nebraska followers wondering what might have been. [Read more 🡒]