Husker notes: Assistants' pay bumps, Matt Rhule on new Nebraska WRs, projected win totals (2024)

LINCOLN — Two Nebraska football defensive assistant coaches have higher salaries going into their second year on the job.

Defensive line coach Terrance Knighton will make $425,000 in 2024 — up from $400,000 in 2023 — while linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek will make $300,000 in 2024 after making $285,000 in 2023.

NU released the salary information after a records request.

Knighton, a former NFL defensive lineman, helped the Huskers post 32 sacks over 12 games last season. The team’s top linemen, Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher and Jimari Butler, all chose to return for an extra season. All three project as potential NFL Draft picks in 2025.

Dvoracek played briefly for Rhule at Temple, then coached for him at Baylor and Carolina before following him to NU, where, in 2023, four of the team’s top six tackles came from the linebacker position. Two of those, John Bullock and Javin Wright, had previously played defensive back.

Matrix Analytical football service graded Dvoracek as a “rising star” in the coaching business.

Rhule: We want to 'take the top off' defenses

Nebraska fans saw the run-after-catch potential of Texas transfer receiver Isaiah Neyor in the spring game. NU coach Matt Rhule, in an interview this week with ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, expects Neyor to “take the top off” a defense, as well.

“If you’re going to try to play man coverage, we’re going to try and run by you,” Rhule told McElroy on the “Always College Football” show. “If you’re going to try to play quarters coverage, we want to try and run by you. And we weren’t able to do that very much last year.”

Quarters coverage, favored historically by teams like Michigan State, is a zone defense against underneath routes but functionally a man defense deep, where two corners and two safeties are responsible for ¼ of the field. NU receivers struggled in the 20-17 loss to the Spartans, who held quarterback Heinrich Haarberg to 12 of 28 completions.

Wake Forest transfer Jahmal Banks, Rhule said, is a “move the chains, third-and-five” receiver can make a body catch on an option route.

Rhule anticipates NU will become a better passing team in 2024 after reviewing its struggles from last season, signing quarterback Dylan Raiola and adding more receivers to the roster. Hiring quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas to focus specifically on coaching the QBs — and not calling plays — has been the “perfect situation” for Raiola and Daniel Kaelin, Rhule said.

“Both guys are NFL players,” Rhule said. Both guys are going to be great, great, great football players. They have the brain to do it, and they have ability to do it.”

NCAA to limit football roster size?

A May 9 Yahoo Sports story reported that the NCAA was considering a restriction of football roster sizes down to 85 players, roughly 50-to-60 fewer players than the roster at Nebraska, which has historically relied on walk-ons for competitiveness and practice strategy.

The Yahoo piece noted strong backlash from conferences. And Nebraska football general manager Sean Padden said May 9 that it’s not uncommon for the NCAA or major college football organizations to put stories in the national media as trial balloons.

“Sometimes they’re being leaked something,” Padden said of national reporters, specifically on NIL issues. “And sometimes they’re putting something out to see what the response is, so everything you see is taken with a grain of salt.”

Success in noncon primetime games

Nebraska’s 6:30 p.m. game vs. Colorado will be NU’s first home night non-conference game against a power conference opponent since 2014, when the Huskers beat Miami (Fla.) 41-31. Since 2000, Nebraska is 5-2 in such games — with losses to Virginia Tech in 2008 and USC in 2007 — and 21-3 overall in home night non-conference games. The third loss: Scott Frost’s final game, a 45-42 stunner to Georgia Southern in 2022.

Chief Borders says Heisman dream led him to Pitt

Former Husker Jack linebacker Chief Borders announced his transfer to Pittsburgh May 12. Borders, who had nine tackles last season for NU, transferred out of the program just days after the 2024 spring game in late April.

Borders began his career at Florida before spending one season in Lincoln. He told On3 that he chose Pitt, coached by Pat Narduzzi, as part of a “business decision.” The defense, Borders said, would mold itself around his talents.

“The Heisman is a trophy I’ve been dreaming about in all of my football years,” Borders said to On3. “I believe they can give me the best shot in making it a reality.”

In Heisman history, only one defensive-primary player, Michigan’s Charles Woodson, has won the award.

On May 1, former NU defensive back Corey Collier transferred to Florida A&M.

Vegas believes Nebraska is in for bowl season

Some of the nation’s top online sportsbooks anticipate a bowl season for Nebraska football.

Circa Sports, FanDuel and Action Network released preliminary over/under regular season, 12-game win totals this week. Each set their totals at 7½ wins, which means gamblers can bet on NU winning seven or fewer games or bet on NU winning eight or more games.

A seven or eight-win season would qualify the Huskers for a bowl, and be their best season since 2016, when Nebraska finished 9-4.

Big Ten teams Oregon and Ohio State each got win totals of 10½ wins, followed by Penn State and Michigan (9 ½) then Nebraska, Iowa, USC and Washington at 7½. The Trojans play 11 power-conference teams, including LSU and Notre Dame in their first and last regular season games in 2024.

At the bottom of the Big Ten list are Purdue and Michigan State with 4½ wins. The Boilermakers again have one of the nation’s toughest schedules, while MSU is rebuilding under new coach Jonathan Smith.

Last season, NU’s win total over/under, according to most sportsbooks, was 6½ wins. The Huskers finished 5-7.