Blog

We have come to the end of another football season.  It was an up and down year for our Huskers with both highs and lows throughout the season. However, we overcame a lot of adversity and went to a bowl game for the first time since 2016. The Huskers made some improvements and overall, I think it was a successful season. Now, let’s go through each position and assess how they did this year.
Quarterback: B+
True freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola had a pretty good freshman season. He passed for 2819 yards and 13 touchdowns. This is the most passing yards for a freshman in Nebraska football history. Raiola definitely struggled at times and looked like a true freshman, but that was to be expected. Although he struggled at times, it’s clear how talented he is and that he will only improve as time goes on.
Running backs: B
This group really struggled at the beginning of the season. We were constantly rotating different running backs and had a tough time establishing a run game. However, the addition of new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen made a dramatic difference in this aspect of our offense. The huskers were able to put together a run game and were successful in the back half of the season. Dante Dowdell led our running backs with 614 yards and 12 touchdowns. Emmett Johnson was second with 598 rushing yards. Comprehensively, this group’s development was evident throughout the year and will hopefully continue to get better next season.
Wide receivers: C+.
This unit had its fair share of struggles in 2024. Whether it was dropped balls, running the wrong route, or struggles with perimeter blocking, Husker fans saw it all. This was difficult to watch at times. Especially when we were so close to winning games and couldn’t finish the job. Although the Huskers faced these challenges, it wasn’t all bad. Jamal Banks led our receivers with 587 yards. Jacory Barney Junior had a breakout season in his freshman year. He contributed 55 receptions for 447 yards. He also rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns. Barney Junior was also effective in the kick return game. This was a promising sign and was encouraging to see going into next year.
Offensive Line: A+
The offensive line was the most stable part of our offense this year. They did a great job protecting Raiola and keeping the pocket clean for him. The offensive line also did not allow too many sacks and helped make things easier for our young quarterback. Our offensive line was very consistent this year and played a huge role in our success.
Defensive Line: A
The defensive line had a good year with a lot of success. There are several key members that had a great season. The one that stands out the most to me is Ty Robinson. He had seven sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 37 tackles, one blocked field goal, and one safety. These are incredible statistics and show just how good he was this season. Our entire defensive line looked good and had a productive season. Even though we will be losing some key members to the draft and the portal, I believe we are set up for success.
Linebackers: B+.
This group faced a lot of adversity this season. However, they had many productive players. John Bullock had an excellent senior season. Bullock had a pick six, 10 tackles for loss, 70 total tackles, and four sacks. He’s a very talented player and it shows on film. Several other linebackers had remarkable seasons, which is a promising sign for next year.
Secondary: C
The secondary had a bit of a rough season at times. They had a challenging time covering receivers and missed tackles. The Huskers gave up a lot of touchdowns and big yardage plays. We also had difficulty stopping the run at times. Even though we had these struggles in the regular season, we looked a lot better in our bowl game. The extra practices and changes helped this, and I expect this to carryover into next year.
Special teams: C-
The special teams unit had a challenging season. They faced a lot of criticism and had many ups and many downs. With blocked kicks, blocked punts, and blocked field goal attempts, it was not what Husker fans were hoping for. We were also very inconsistent on this side of the ball. In 2025, we will have a new special teams coordinator, which will hopefully help fix these problems.
GBR