Tag: Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska to host Fresno State transfer Phoenix Jackson

Nebraska will be hosting Fresno State linebacker transfer Phoenix Jackson this week.

The transfer portal has officially opened, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are finalists for a transfer linebacker.

Multiple reports have listed the Huskers among Fresno State linebacker Phoenix Jackson’s top four teams. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound linebacker from Modesto, California, also includes Auburn, Indiana, and SMU in his top four.

Jackson is expected to be on campus in Lincoln this Wednesday, December 11. The California native is coming off a 2024 season in which he totaled 49 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and four sacks. He also had four pass deflections, two interceptions, and one forced fumble.

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Huskers sweep Miami to advance to round three of the NCAA Tournament

The Huskers will now face the Dayton Flyers in the third round of the NCAA tournament

The Nebraska volleyball team entered the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night, clashing with No. 8 Miami. The Huskers delivered another sweep, punching their ticket to the team’s 40th NCAA Regional.

Nebraska held the Hurricanes to under 20 points in each set, accompanying the Huskers’ defensive outing. The Huskers held Miami to a .058 attack percentage and 32 kills off 104 attacks. The Huskers finished 41 of 92 in attacks.

Harper Murray finished with a team-high nine kills off 17 attacks, a team-high 12 digs, and a team-high two service aces. Merritt Beason also delivered 17 attacks, earning eight kills.

Rebekah Allick scored seven blocks in the win and hit six kills off nine attacks. Bergen Reilly landed four of seven in attacks and tallied a team-high 33 set assists.

Nebraska will remain home to host the third round and the quarterfinals. In the third round, the Huskers will face the No. 5 Dayton Flyers. Match day and time are to be determined.

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Could the Huskers sign top Kentucky wide receiver who entered transfer portal?

Could one of Kentucky’s wide receivers be a target for the Cornhuskers in the transfer portal?

This week, the Nebraska Cornhuskers added wide receiver coach Daikiel Shorts Jr. to their staff. Shorts Jr. has extensive ties to offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen but this past season, Shorts was the wide receivers coach for the Kentucky Wildcats.

The wide receiver position will once again be a key one for the Huskers this offseason as they look to add more offensive weapons around the young Dylan Raiola. On Wednesday, a potential wide receiver target announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal.

That player also so happens to be one of Shorts Jr.’s now former players, Kentucky leading receiver Dane Key. The Lexington, Kentucky native was the Wildcats’ leading receiver in 2024 with 47 receptions for 715 yards and two touchdowns.

For his career, Key played in 36 games for Kentucky over the past three seasons, totaling 126 receptions for 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns.

This fall, the Huskers leading receiver was Jahmal Banks, a transfer from Wake Forest. Banks put together a quality season but fell short of his career highs with 40 receptions for 508 yards and three touchdowns. Isaiah Neyor and Jacory Barney Jr also finished the 2024 regular season with over 400 receiving yards.

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Nebraska announces new wide receivers coach

Shorts was a standout receiver under Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia from 2013-16.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have officially hired Daikiel Shorts Jr. as the new wide receivers coach. Shorts has Power Four coaching experience, having previously coached with offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia and Houston.

“It is exciting to add Daikiel Shorts Jr. to our offensive staff. Daikiel is someone who has played for and coached with Coach Holgorsen, and Dana really trusts and believes in him. Daikiel is one of the best recruiters in the country, and he’s a great coach who is familiar with our system.”

Shorts spent the 2024 season as the Kentucky Wildcats’ wide receivers coach. The new coach says he is excited for a chance to coach with Matt Rhule and is looking forward to reuniting with Coach Holgorsen.

“I am extremely grateful for the chance to work for Coach Rhule at the University of Nebraska. When you walk into this place, you can feel the history and tradition associated with Nebraska Football and what it means to everyone inside the program and the fan base. It also means a lot for me to reconnect with Coach Holgorsen. He is a special person in my life, and I have learned a lot from him as a player and a coach.”

Shorts was a standout receiver under Holgorsen at West Virginia from 2013-16. He finished his collegiate career ranked fifth on the WVU career chart with 177 receptions and sixth with 2,263 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

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Husker linebacker Stefon Thompson enters transfer portal

The Husker linebacker appeared in 11 games in the 2024 regular season, recording 27 tackles, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

With the regular season ending and the postseason lingering, some Nebraska players already plan to enter the transfer portal. Linebacker Stefon Thompson joined the group Monday.

Thompson arrived at Nebraska after transferring from the Syracuse Orange last year. He appeared in 11 games in the 2024 regular season, recording 27 tackles, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

Prior to Nebraska, he played three seasons with the Orange and missed most of the 2022 season. He averaged over 55 tackles across those three seasons. Thompson now enters the portal along with a few other Nebraska players, including defensive lineman Vincent Jackson.

This comes after it was announced that Nebraska’s defensive coordinator, Tony White, left Nebraska to become the defensive coordinator of the Florida State Seminoles. There is no word on whether or not this affected Thompson’s decision.

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Nebraska running back to enter transfer portal

Nebraska running back Gabe Ervin Jr is expected to enter the transfer portal

Nebraska running back Gabe Ervin Jr. will be finishing out his collegiate career elsewhere. On Monday, it was reported by Max Olson of ESPN that Ervin will be entering the transfer portal after four seasons with the Cornhuskers.

Originally a member of the 2021 recruiting class out of Buford High School in Georgia, Ervin chose the Huskers over offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Boston College, and Charlotte.

In his time in Lincoln, Ervin ran for 455 yards and five touchdowns on 109 career attempts. In 2024, the Georgia native saw a career-low 14 carries, totaling 41 yards and two touchdowns.

Ervin was one of four backs in the rotation early in the season but fell out of favor for Emmett Johnson and Dante Dowdell. His status in the backfield didn’t change even with the switch from Marcus Satterfield to Dana Holgorsen as Offensive Coordinator.

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Big Ten with four teams ranked in top ten of US LBM Coaches Poll

Multiple Big Ten teams were represented in the US LBM Coaches Poll this week.

Despite a shocking loss by the Ohio State Buckeyes over the weekend, the Big Ten enters week 15 of the 2024 college football season with four teams in the top ten of the latest US LBM Coaches Poll.

The Oregon Ducks are still ranked as the No. 1 team in the country, with the Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 3, OSU at No. 8, and the Indiana Hoosiers at No. 9.

The Illinois Fighting Illini were the only other Big Ten team ranked in the top 25, coming in at No. 21. The Michigan Wolverines and The Iowa Hawkeyes each received votes.

Scrolling below, you can find the entire US LBM Coaches Poll for week 15.

Rank Team Record Points
1 Oregon Ducks 12-0 1,325 (53)
2 Texas Longhorns 11-1 1,272
3 Penn State Nittany Lions 11-1 1,192
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-1 1,165
5 Georgia Bulldogs 10-2 1,104
6 Tennessee Volunteers 10-2 1,025
7 SMU Mustangs 11-1 977
8 Ohio State Buckeyes 10-2 976
9 Indiana Hoosiers 11-1 895
10 Boise State Broncos 11-1 840
11 Alabama Crimson Tide 9-3 733
12 South Carolina Gamecocks 9-3 700
13 Arizona State Sun Devils 10-2 665
14 Miami Hurricanes 10-2 646
15 Ole Miss Rebels 9-3 638
16 Iowa State Cyclones 10-2 565
17 Clemson Tigers 9-3 457
18 BYU Cougars 10-2 419
19 UNLV Rebels 10-2 255
20 Missouri Tigers 9-3 229
21 Illinois Fighting Illini 9-3 225
22 Colorado Buffaloes 9-3 215
23 Army Black Knights 10-1 196
24 Memphis Tigers 10-2 187
25 Syracuse Orange 9-3 108

Schools Dropped Out

No. 18 Tulane; No. 19 Texas A&M;

Others Receiving Votes

Texas A&M 90; Duke 39; Tulane 37; Louisville 18; Kansas State 15; Louisiana 11; Michigan 2; Georgia Tech 2; Miami (OH) 1; Iowa 1;

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Three stars from Iowa football’s wild rivalry win over Nebraska

Three stars from Iowa football’s wild 13-10 rivalry win vs. Nebraska.

Iowa football (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) closed out the 2024 regular season with a hard-fought 13-10 victory over rival Nebraska (6-6, 3-6 Big Ten) with a game-winning 53-yard field goal as time expired.

The Iowa victory is another one to chalk up to the defense and special teams as the Hawkeyes‘ offense struggled to gain momentum throughout the night. Regarding offensive yardage, the Cornhuskers outgained the Hawkeyes, 334-164. Nebraska even recorded 20 first downs compared to Iowa’s five.

Despite the stagnant Iowa offense for most of the game, the combination of a miraculous 72-yard catch-and-run touchdown from junior running back Kaleb Johnson with two field goals off fumble recoveries sparked just enough firepower to lead an Iowa victory.

With the Hawkeyes fresh off another exhilarating victory over Nebraska, here are the three stars that helped Iowa finish the regular season on an exhilarating note.

Kaleb Johnson

Kaleb Johnson was bottled up for most of the night by the rugged Nebraska defensive front as he recorded only 45 rushing yards on 17 carries on the ground.

Johnson was most impactful through his role as a receiver out of the backfield, where he recorded two receptions for 73 yards, including a magical 72-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jackson Stratton early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 10 apiece.

His game-tying touchdown adds to his impressive highlight reel from a historic season with the Hawkeyes this year.

Max Llewellyn

While the Hawkeyes’ defense was strong throughout the night to keep Nebraska within striking distance, Llewellyn finished with a tame two tackles and a sack.

However, he shined when it mattered most by forcing a critical strip-sack fumble recovery of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola at the Cornhuskers’ 36-yard line with 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

With the game tied at 10, the clutch takeaway by Llewellyn set up Iowa for the game-winning field goal to secure victory over the Cornhuskers.

Drew Stevens

As a kicker, it’s often easy to overlook the position’s importance in games. Friday night, Stevens was easily one of the most impactful Hawkeyes as his 20-yard field goal in the third quarter put the Hawkeyes on the board and his 53-yard field goal sent Kinnick into a frenzy.

Regarding his game-winning field goal, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule attempted to “ice” the junior kicker with a timeout just before the snap, in which Stevens nailed the negated attempt anyway.

When the try actually counted, Stevens squeezed the ball just within the right upright as time expired to secure the Iowa victory.

Stevens finishes the regular season converting on 17-for-20 (85.0%) field goal tries and 36-of-36 (100%) on PATs.

Iowa will now await its bowl game destination, which is still to be determined based on the results from Saturday’s slate of games and next week’s conference championship games.

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Oklahoma 4-star wide receiver commit projected to flip to Nebraska

Oklahoma four-star wide receiver commit projected to flip to Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The Oklahoma Sooners sit at No. 12 in team recruiting rankings in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag], according to 247Sports.

It’s a group that’s taken a few hits over the last few months. Defensive tackles [autotag]Ka’Mori Moore[/autotag] and [autotag]Floyd Bouccard[/autotag] and quarterback [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] have pulled back their pledges to the Sooners and found new destinations.

As the Sooners prepare to take on the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, another commit might be heading elsewhere soon.

On3 recruiting experts Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons issued predictions expecting four-star wide receiver prospect [autotag]Cortez Mills[/autotag] to flip from the Sooners to their former Big 8 and Big 12 rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Nebraska has one of the more promising young quarterbacks in college football in Dylan Railoa. With the addition of Dana Holgorsen as offensive coordinator, the Cornhuskers could have a more explosive offense coming to Lincoln.

Mills has been committed since July 1. He’s considered the No. 205 player in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the No. 21 wide receiver in the class.

While losing Mills certainly hurts, the Sooners still have a strong group of wide receivers expected to join the team in 2024. It’s a group that includes Elijah Thomas, Marcus Harris, Gracen Harris, and Emmanuel Choice.

With the early signing period just days away, expect a final decision from Mills shortly.

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Iowa’s Drew Stevens hilariously described blacking out on game-winning 53-yard field goal

All instinct for the Iowa kicker!

The Iowa Hawkeyes are once again celebrating a game they really had no business winning.

Against Nebraska on Friday night, Iowa had just five first downs to the Cornhuskers’ 20. The Hawkeyes were out-gained 334 yards to 164 (including 144-49 yards rushing) and held the ball for just 20 minutes compared to Nebraska’s 39.

Yet it all came down to a 53-yard field goal attempt at the end of the night by Iowa junior Drew Stevens.

Entering Friday, Stevens was 7-13 on kicks from 50 yards or further — including 3-7 this season. Maybe that’s partly why he described blacking out when he launched a game-winner against the Huskers that snuck right through the uprights.

Iowa 13, Nebraska 10.

“I black[ed] out, I have no idea,” Stevens said. “I don’t know how I got here, I don’t know how I got there. All instinct.”

It is extremely likely Stevens was one of many people on Iowa’s campus who said the same thing after Friday night.

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