2021 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 2021 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska as a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Scott Frost and played its games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska .[1]

2021 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
ConferenceBig Ten
DivisionWest
2021 record3–9 (1–8 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMatt Lubick (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorErik Chinander (4th season)
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
(Capacity: 85,458)
Uniform
2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
No. 3 Michigan xy$^  8 1   12 2  
No. 6 Ohio State x  8 1   11 2  
No. 9 Michigan State  7 2   11 2  
Penn State  4 5   7 6  
Maryland  3 6   7 6  
Rutgers  2 7   5 8  
Indiana  0 9   2 10  
West Division
No. 23 Iowa xy  7 2   10 4  
Minnesota  6 3   9 4  
Wisconsin  6 3   9 4  
Purdue  6 3   9 4  
Illinois  4 5   5 7  
Nebraska  1 8   3 9  
Northwestern  1 8   3 9  
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
  • ^ College Football Playoff participant
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The Huskers finished 2021 with a 3–9 record, despite the fact that they outscored their opponents by a combined total of 335 to 272 on the season. All of the team's losses were by single-digit deficits.

Previous season

The 2020 season saw a conference-only schedule and the Cornhuskers finished with a 3-5 record and finished in fifth place for the second year in a row in the Big Ten West Division. Nebraska did not attend a bowl for the fourth year in a row, even though they could have participated.

Offseason

2021 NFL Draft

The following Huskers have announced their plans to enter their names into the 2021 NFL Draft:

NameNumberPositionHeightWeightClassHometown
Dicaprio Bootle#7CB5'10"195SeniorMiami, FL
Matt Farniok#71OL6'6"330SeniorSioux Falls, SD
Brenden Jaimes#76OT6'5"300SeniorAustin, TX
Dedrick Mills#26RB5'11"220SeniorWaycross, GA
Jack Stoll#86TE6'4"260SeniorLone Tree, CO

Outgoing

NameNumberPositionHeightWeightClassHometownDestination
David Alston#45LB6'4"235JuniorSt. Paul, MNMontana State
Matthew Anderson#72OL6'6"255SophomoreLeesville, LALouisiana-Lafayette
Jared Bubak#80TE6'5"245GraduateLincoln, NECentral Missouri
Niko Cooper#32LB6'5"225JuniorMemphis, TNWestern Kentucky
Ronald Delancy III#0CB5'11"160FreshmanMiami, FLToledo
Will Farniok#68OL6'3"295JuniorSioux Falls, SDTulsa
Marcus Fleming#6WR5'10"160FreshmanMiami, FLMaryland
Jimmy Fritzsche#78OL6'7"290SophomoreGreenville, SCTBD
Jamin Graham#89DL6'4"265SophomoreAttalla, ALTBD
Keem Green#4DL6'4"320SeniorSumter, SCSouth Carolina
Demariyon Houston#10WR6'0"180SophomoreOklahoma City, OKTBD
Austin Jablonski#47WR6'2"215SophomoreLincoln, NETBD
Luke McCaffrey#7QB6'2"200SophomoreHighlands Ranch, CORice
Caden McCormack#59LB6'0"235SophomoreLincoln, NETBD
Jamie Nance#3WR6'0"180SophomoreBlanchard, OKUtah State
Ryan Novosel#32K6'0"160FreshmanWilmette, ILTBD
Kurt Rafdal#82TE6'7"245SeniorCarmel, INBoise State
Wan'dale Robinson#1WR5'10"185JuniorFrankfort, KYKentucky
Ronald Thompkins#25RB5'11"195SophomoreLoganville, GARetired
Kade Warner#81WR6'1"210SeniorScottsdale, AZKansas State
Boe Wilson#56OL6'3"300GraduateLee's Summit, MOWestern Kentucky
Branson YagerN/AOL6'8"330FreshmanGrantsville, UTTBD

Incoming

NamePositionHeightWeightClassHometownPrevious
Chancellor BrewingtonWR6'3"185JuniorChandler, AZNorthern Arizona
Kyan BrumfieldDB6'0"185SeniorSan Antonio, TXTexas Tech
Brendan FrankeK6'3"235SophomoreGretna, NEMorningside
Josh JasekK6'1"175SophomoreIowa City, IAIowa Western
Tyreke JohnsonDB6'1"190JuniorJacksonville ,FLOhio State
Markese SteppRB6'0"235JuniorIndianapolis, INUSC
Samori ToureWR6'3"190GraduatePortland, ORMontana

Recruits

The Cornhuskers signed a total of 20 scholarship recruits and 20 walk-ons during national signing period.[2]

Scholarship recruits

Walk-on recruits

Preseason

Award watch lists

Award Player Position Year
Johnny Unitas Award[3] Adrian Martinez QB JR
Groza Award[4] Connor Culp K SR
Mackey Award[5] Austin Allen TE JR
Maxwell Award[6] Adrian Martinez QB JR
Nagurski Trophy[7] JoJo Domann LB SR
Rimington Trophy[5] Cam Jurgens C JR

Preseason Big Ten Media poll and awards

Below are the results of the preseason Big Ten media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses. For the 2021 poll, Ohio State was voted as the favorite to win both the East Division and the Big Ten Championship Game. This is the 11th iteration of the preseason media poll conducted by Cleveland.com, which polls at least one credentialed media member for each Big Ten team. Only three times in the last 11 years has the media accurately predicted the Big Ten champion.[8]

East
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Ohio State238 (34)
2Penn State192
3Indiana169
4Michigan144
5Maryland79
6Rutgers77.5
7Michigan State52.5
West
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Wisconsin233 (29)
2Iowa202 (5)
3Northwestern160
4Minnesota146
5Nebraska91.5
6Purdue72.5
7Illinois47
Media poll (Big Ten Championship)
Rank Team Votes
1Ohio State over Wisconsin28
2Ohio State over Iowa5
3Wisconsin over Ohio State1

Below are the results of the annual Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year awards conducted by Cleveland.com.[9][10]

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Rank Player Position Team Votes (1st place)
1Chris OlaveWROhio State58 (11)
2Michael Penix Jr.QBIndiana44.5 (8)
3Mohamed IbrahimRBMinnesota36 (4)
4Tyler LinderbaumCIowa13 (1)
5Garrett WilsonWROhio State12 (1)
6David BellWRPurdue10 (1)
7C. J. StroudQBOhio State6 (2)
7Jahan DotsonWRPenn State6 (1)
7Graham MertzQBWisconsin6 (1)
10Tyler GoodsonRBIowa5 (1)
11Ty FryfogleWRIndiana4 (1)
12Tanner MorganQBMinnesota3.5 (1)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Rank Player Position Team Votes (1st place)
1Brandon JosephSNorthwestern49 (11)
2George KarlaftisDEPurdue33 (8)
3Haskell GarrettDTOhio State30.5 (5)
4Micah McFaddenLBIndiana28 (6)
5Olakunle FatukasiLBRutgers18 (3)
6Aidan HutchinsonDEMichigan11
7Jack SanbornLBWisconsin7
7Tiawan MullenCBIndiana7 (1)
9Zach HarrisonDEOhio State3.5
10Jaquan BriskerSPenn State3
10Sevyn BanksCBOhio State3
12Boye MafeDEMinnesota2
12Chris BerginLBNorthwestern2
12Cam Taylor-BrittCBNebraska2
12Jake HansenLBIllinois2
16JoJo DomannS/LBNebraska1
16Tyshon FoggLBRutgers1
16Owen CarneyLBIllinois1

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 2812:00 p.m.at IllinoisFOXL 22–3041,064
September 411:00 a.m.Fordham*BTNW 52–785,938
September 112:30 p.m.Buffalo*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
BTNW 28–385,663
September 1811:00 a.m.at No. 3 Oklahoma*FOXL 16–2384,659
September 256:00 p.m.at No. 20 Michigan StateFS1L 20–23 OT70,332
October 26:30 p.m.Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
BTNW 56–787,364
October 96:30 p.m.No. 9 Michigan
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
ABCL 29–3287,380
October 1611:00 a.m.at MinnesotaESPN2L 23–3045,436
October 302:30 p.m.Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
ESPN2L 23–2885,902
November 611:00 a.m.No. 5 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
FOXL 17–2684,426
November 202:30 p.m.at No. 15 WisconsinABCL 28–3567,888
November 2612:30 p.m.No. 16 Iowa
BTNL 21–2886,541
  1. Nebraska and Illinois were originally scheduled to play at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The game was moved back to the United States due to travel concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

The Big Ten released a revised conference schedule on February 5, 2021 to correct home/away matchups that were altered from the 2020 COVID-stricken season.[12]

Roster and coaching staff

2021 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
TE 11 Austin Allen (C) Jr
QB 9 Spencer Arceneaux Fr
OL 73 Broc Bando Jr
OL 74 Brant Banks RFr
WR 32 Brody Belt So
OL 54 Bryce Benhart RFr
WR 15 Zavier Betts Fr
OL 58 Ian Boerkircher So
TE 49 Nate Boerkircher Fr
TE/WR 82 Chancellor Brewington Jr
WR 4 Alante Brown Fr
WR 41 Elliott Brown Fr
WR 84 Alex Bullock Fr
TE 81 James Carnie Fr
OL 79 Alex Conn Fr
OL 69 Turner Corcoran Fr
RB 22 Gabe Ervin Jr.  Fr
WR 88 Levi Falck Sr
TE 24 Thomas Fidone II Fr
TE 46 John Goodwin RFr
WR 13 Kamonte Grimes Fr
QB 10 Heinrich Haarberg Fr
WR 17 Ty Hahn Fr
WR 80 Shawn Hardy II Fr
RB 37 Isaiah Harris Fr
TE 80 Jacob Herbek RFr
TE 87 Chris Hickman RFr
OL 75 Trent Hixson Jr
OL 50 Sam Hoskinson Fr
RB 29 Cooper Jewett RFr
RB 14 Rahmir Johnson RFr
OL 51 Cam Jurgens So
WR 85 Wyatt Liewer So
RB 35 Trevin Luben Fr
OL 59 Henry Lutovsky Fr
OL 77 Michael Lynn RFr
OL 67 Joey Mancino Fr
WR 5 Omar Manning Jr
WR 89 Oliver Martin Jr
QB 2 Adrian Martinez (C) Jr
QB 18 Matt Masker So
OL 71 Keegan Menning Fr
TE 48 Evan Meyersick Fr
WR 19 Barron Miles Jr. Fr
OL 66 Ezra Miller RFr
RB 28 Sevion Morrison Fr
OL 53 Riley Moses RFr
WR 7 Latrell Neville Fr
WR 12 Will Nixon Fr
OL 63 Nouredin Nouili So
OL 57 Ethan Piper RFr
OL 65 Teddy Prochazka  Fr
RB 34 Beau Psencik Fr
WR 45 Truitt Robinson Fr
TE 86 AJ Rollins Fr
OL 76 Beau Schaller Fr
RB 39 Matthew Schuster Fr
RB 21 Marvin Scott III Fr
OL 70 Matt Sichterman Jr
QB 8 Logan Smothers Fr
RB 30 Markese Stepp So
QB 16 Jarrett Synek Fr
WR 36 Taveon Thompson Fr
WR 3 Samori Toure Sr
TE 83 Travis Vokolek Jr
RB 16 Zach Weinmaster RFr
RB 0 Jaquez Yant Fr
RB 44 Aiden Young Fr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
ILB 53 Jake Archer So
DL 96 Marquis Black Fr
DB 43 Michael Booker III Fr
DB 35 Derek Branch Fr
DB 26 Koby Bretz Fr
DB 27 Kyan Brumfield Jr
DL 63 Ru'Quan Buckley Fr
LB 46 Grant Buda Fr
DB 12 Marques Buford Jr. Fr
OLB 35 John Bullock RFr
DL 71 Maddox Burton Fr
OLB 17 Jimari Butler Fr
ILB 58 Chris Cassidy So
CB 11 Braxton Clark So
DB 36 Blake Closman Fr
DB 42 AJ Collins Fr
DL 93 Damion Daniels (C) Jr
S 9 Marquel Dismuke Sr
OLB 13 JoJo Domann Sr
S 4 Myles Farmer RFr
DL 82 Colton Feist So
ILB 14 Mikai Gbayor Fr
S 23 Isaac Gifford Fr
OLB 24 Blaise Gunnerson Fr
ILB 10 Jackson Hannah RFr
DB 29 Ashton Hausmann Fr
LB 42 Nick Henrich RFr
ILB 3 Will Honas  Sr
ILB 18 Wynden Ho'ohuli Fr
ILB 39 Garrett Hustedt RFr
DL 72 Nash Hutmacher Fr
OLB 38 Damian Jackson Jr
CB 1 Tyreke Johnson So
CB 16 Nadab Joseph So
ILB 51 Braden Klover Fr
ILB 31 Chris Kolarevic Jr
ILB 30 Randolph Kpai Fr
OLB 81 Nick Leader RFr
DB 41 Christian Lilienkamp Fr
CB 7 Tamon Lynum Fr
ILB 19 Seth Malcom Fr
ILB 22 Eteva Mauga-Clements Jr
S 48 Lane McCallum Jr
DB 40 Darius Moore Jr
OLB 44 Garrett Nelson So
DL 52 Mosai Newsom RFr
CB 6 Quinton Newsome So
S 43 Mason Nieman Fr
OLB 34 Simon Otte So
OLB 0 Pheldarius Payne Jr
S 21 Noa Pola-Gates RFr
ILB 28 Luke Reimer So
DL 91 Jordon Riley Jr
DL 99 Ty Robinson RFr
DL 98 Casey Rogers So
CB 37 Phalen Sanford So
OLB 54 Ryan Schommer So
OLB 83 Sam Shurtleff RFr
ILB 41 Garrett Snodgrass RFr
DL 95 Ben Stille Sr
ILB 56 Grant Tagge Fr
OLB 2 Caleb Tannor Jr
CB 5 Cam Taylor-Britt (C) Jr
DL 97 Deontre Thomas Jr
DL 55 Chris Walker Jr
DL 50 Jailen Weaver Fr
DL 92 Tate Wildeman So
S 8 Deontai Williams Sr
DB 32 Kaden Williams Fr
DB 15 Malik Williams Fr
S 33 Javin Wright  RFr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 40 Daniel Cerni Fr
PK 36 Chase Contreraz So
PK 33 Connor Culp Sr
P 95 Grant Detlefsen RFr
PK 92 Brendan Franke Fr
PK 93 Gabe Heins RFr
PK 97 Josh Jasek Fr
PK 25 Kelen Meyer Fr
LS 94 Cade Mueller So
LS 91 Cameron Pieper So
P 90 William Przystup So
LS 96 Camden Witucki Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Erik Chinander
       6th season as DC
       4th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Iowa
  • Matt Lubick
       19th season as WR coach, 5th as OC
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Colorado State
       Dismissed on November 8th
  • Greg Austin
       9th season as OL coach
       4th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
       Dismissed on November 8th
  • Sean Beckton
       6th season as TE coach
       4th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Central Florida
  • Mike Dawson
       8th season as LB coach
       3rd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: UMass-Amherst
  • Travis Fisher
       10th season as DB coach
       4th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Central Florida
  • Ryan Held
       6th season as RB coach
       4th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
       Dismissed on November 8th
  • Barrett Ruud
       4rd season as ILB coach
       4th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • Tony Tuioti
       6th season as DL coach
       3rd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Hawaii
  • Mario Verduzco
       29th season as QB coach
       4th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: San Jose St.
       Dismissed on November 8th

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 27, 2021

  • Due to COVID-19, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to student-athletes who competed during the 2020-21 season where it would not count against a student's years of eligibility.[13] As a result, all returning players are listed as the same class as 2020.[14]

Depth chart

Game summaries

at Illinois

Nebraska at Illinois
1 234Total
Nebraska 0 976 22
Illinois 2 14140 30

Fordham

Fordham at Nebraska
1 234Total
Fordham 0 700 7
Nebraska 7 171414 52
  • Date: September 4
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Lincoln, NE
  • Game start: 11:00 AM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:59
  • Game attendance: 85,938
  • Game weather: 68 degrees, cloudy, Wind N @ 12 MPH
  • Referee: Bryan Banks
  • TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst) & Elise Menaker (sideline)

Buffalo

Buffalo at Nebraska
1 234Total
Buffalo 0 030 3
Nebraska 0 14014 28

at #3 Oklahoma

Nebraska at #3 Oklahoma
1 234Total
Nebraska 3 067 16
#3 Oklahoma 7 097 23

Nebraska and Oklahoma will meet for the first time since 2010 when they last met in the Big 12 Championship game that year, which was Nebraska's last Big 12 game before joining the Big Ten.

at #20 Michigan State

Nebraska at #20 Michigan State
1 234OTTotal
Nebraska 0 10370 20
#20 Michigan State 0 13073 23

Northwestern

Northwestern at Nebraska
1 234Total
Northwestern 7 000 7
Nebraska 21 14147 56

#9 Michigan

#9 Michigan at Nebraska
1 234Total
#9 Michigan 0 13613 32
Nebraska 0 0227 29

at Minnesota

Nebraska at Minnesota
1 234Total
Nebraska 3 677 23
Minnesota 7 1409 30

Purdue

Purdue at Nebraska
1 234Total
Purdue 0 1477 28
Nebraska 7 1006 23

#5 Ohio State

#5 Ohio State at Nebraska
1 234Total
#5 Ohio State 0 1763 26
Nebraska 0 1070 17
  • Date: November 6
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Lincoln, NE
  • Game start: 11:00 AM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:38
  • Game attendance: 84,426
  • Game weather: Sunny, 50 degrees, Wind SW & 7 mph
  • Referee: Michael Cannon
  • TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline)

at #15 Wisconsin

Nebraska at #19 Wisconsin
1 234Total
Nebraska 7 777 28
#15 Wisconsin 14 0147 35

#17 Iowa

#17 Iowa at Nebraska
1 234Total
#17 Iowa 0 3619 28
Nebraska 7 770 21
  • Date: November 26
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Lincoln, NE
  • Game start: 12:30 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:16
  • Game attendance: 86,541
  • Game weather: Sunny 57 degrees, Wind NW @ 22 mph
  • Referee: Mark Kluczynski
  • TV announcers (BTN): Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), James Laurinaitis (analyst) & Rick Pizzo (sideline)

Big Ten Awards

Player of the Week Honors

Weekly Awards
Player Award Week Awarded Ref.
Luke Reimer Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Week 2 [28]
JoJo Domann Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week Week 5 [29]

All-Conference Awards

2021 Big Ten Offense All-Conference Teams and Awards[30]

Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year
Position Player
TE Austin Allen

National Awards

All-America Awards

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