Nebraska defensive backs coach Evan Cooper resigns

Defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Evan Cooper resigned on Friday evening.

The Nebraska football team received a resignation letter right before the start of training camp. Defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Evan Cooper resigned on Friday evening.

Cooper was entering his second season as the Huskers’ defensive backs coach. The 2024 campaign would have been his 12th consecutive year on Rhule’s staff. He resigned for personal reasons.

Cooper’s secondary played a key role in the Huskers’ best statistical defense since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Nebraska’s pass defense limited opponents to 6.1 yards per attempt, which ranked ninth nationally.

The Huskers also ranked 15th nationally in passing efficiency defense and eighth nationally in rushing defense. The Huskers’ secondary helped Nebraska rank 14th nationally in total defense and 17th in scoring defense, their best finishes since 2009 and 2010.

The secondary accounted for seven interceptions and 30 pass breakups. Defensive back Issac Gifford also led Nebraska in tackles with 86, becoming the first Husker defensive back to record 85 tackles in a season since 2014.

This is the second consecutive season that an assistant coach at Nebraska has departed the program just before fall camp begins. Tight ends coach Bob Wager resigned in 2023.

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Watch: Omar Brown intercepts Minnesota QB

Watch: Omar Brown intercepts Minnesota QB

Aided by a roughing the passer and targeting call, Minnesota’s offense was prime to score, but an ill-thrown ball allowed Omar Brown to undercut the route and pick off the Gophers.

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Which Husker defense was ranked as one of the greatest of all-time

Where do you think the Huskers are ranked?

A new list by Bill Connelly of ESPN* attempted to rank the Top 50 defenses in college football history. Here are the questions he asks and the criteria he uses to create his verbatim.

What’s more impressive …

A. Allowing 1.3 points per game in 1939, as Tennessee did under Bob Neyland during one of college football’s lowest scoring ebbs?

B. Allowing 5.2 points per game in 1972, as Michigan did under Bo Schembechler?

C. Allowing 13.0 points per game in 2016, as Alabama did under Nick Saban during maybe the most offense-friendly season ever?

Below are my attempts at answering exactly that. Adjusting for opponents, tempo (where applicable) and my own personal whims, here are what I view as the 50 best defenses in the history of top-division college football.

I’m going to be a completely honest, dear reader. I disagree with almost every entry on this list. If you create a list of the greatest defenses in the sports history, I don’t care what criteria you use; the 2001 Miami Hurricanes must be included, not just in the Top 25 but at the top of the whole darn list. The 2001 Canes defeated five ranked teams and gave up an average of 9.75 PPG with three shutouts. The Caines also had nine players from that defense drafted in the first round over multiple drafts.

Below is the Top 25 as listed by Bill Connelly of ESPN*. Scroll down to see which Husker defense made the list and where they rank among some of the greatest of all-time.