LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Matt Rhule was one of Tony White's biggest supporters when the defensive coordinator's name was connected to head coach openings beginning late last season.

Rhule has said he wants his assistants to advance in their careers, and he was happy to make calls on White's behalf.

White stayed put and Rhule selfishly was glad one of the most improved defenses in the country wouldn't have to start over when he begins his second season in Lincoln this fall.

“Fired up to have Tony back,” Rhule said.

White's 3-3-5 base defense initially was met with some trepidation by fans and media doubting a three-man front could hold up against Big Ten offenses. What they didn't know was White's version would feature lots of moving parts and unleash creative blitz packages that allowed the Huskers to post their best defensive numbers since they began playing in the Big Ten in 2011.

With six full-time starters and six others with starting experience back, Nebraska's defense will come out of the spring looking to pick up where it left off. The Huskers went from 100th in total defense in 2022 to 11th last season, and their points-per-game average dropped from 27.6 to 18.3.

Leading tacklers Isaac Gifford and Javin Wright and top sack men Jimari Butler and Nash Hutmacher are back.

The 45-year-old White, according to Butler, is the most important returning piece.

“That was big, I ain’t gonna lie, that was big,” Butler said. “He’s a great coach. We knew the opportunities were going to come, but I’m very happy he stayed.”

White's name was tied to head coach openings at Syracuse and San Diego State late last year and for the UCLA job in February. He also was a candidate for defensive coordinator at Southern California.

White was Syracuse's defensive coordinator for three years before Rhule hired him, he was on San Diego State's staff from 2009-17, and he was a three-year starting linebacker at UCLA from 1997-2000.

After the first wave of outside interest, and in the wake of Nebraska's remarkable defensive improvement, White was given a raise from $1 million to $1.6 million per year.

“I want everyone to have a chance to be a head coach,” Rhule said. “Tony will have his chance.”

Nebraska had its worst offense statistically in more than 50 years and probably will start a true freshman at quarterback, though Dylan Raiola was the No. 1 national recruit at quarterback in the 2024 cycle. For the Huskers to make a bowl for the first time since 2016, the defense just might have to match or exceed last season's performance.

“We want to be the No. 1 defense in the country,” White said. “But, you know, all that is words until guys adopt it and they live it every day.”

There were humbling moments for the defense this spring. White said Rhule laid into him about defensive breakdowns in the first spring scrimmage, and Rhule told reporters this week that the offense dominated the second.

That's not necessarily a red flag. Some top players don't participate or get limited snaps in scrimmages. But White said the criticism should remind his charges to never take off a play.

“The best defenses in the country, they have certain habits," White said. “They run to the ball, they're physical, they don't give a crap and they play with ultimate confidence.”

White said strength and conditioning coach Corey Campbell, coordinator of football sports science Mitch Cholewinski and director of football nutrition Kristin Coggin have done their parts to get the players ready in the offseason and that hours of meetings and film sessions should have them knowing what to do on the field.

His message to his charges: “Bro, go out there and play. No hestitation, no fear. Go play and then we'll correct (mistakes) later. That's the next step, to make sure every guy believes they are monsters out there.”

Here are 14 players to watch next season across the Big Ten Conference

A look at football players in the Big Ten this spring who are poised to have breakout seasons this fall:

INDIANA: Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke appeared to have the lead in the QB competition over the returning Tayven Jackson. Rouke went 20 of 30 with 148 yards while working exclusively with the starters in the spring game. He has prototypical size at 6-foot-5 and 222 pounds, a strong arm and the ability to run. He also has experience, with 16 wins the last two seasons.

ILLINOIS: RB Aidan Laughery has made the most of his opportunities with a short-handed running back room. Coach Bret Bielema said Laughery stood out all spring. He ran 11 times for 70 yards and caught three passes for 27 yards in the spring game. Laughery totaled just 16 carries over nine games last season.

IOWA: DL Aaron Graves has made a steady climb the past two seasons and drew rave reviews from defensive coordinator Phil Parker this spring. His playing time is set to increase with the departure of NFL draft prospect Logan Lee. Graves made 37 tackles in 14 games as the backup to Yahya Black.

MARYLAND: NC State transfer QB MJ Morris is battling 2023 backup Billy Edwards Jr., among others, to replace Taulia Tagovailoa. Though coach Mike Locksley is giving no hints about who leads the competition, reports on Morris have been promising. He was 5-2 as a starter for the Wolfpack the past two years with wins over Clemson and Miami last season.

MICHIGAN: DE TJ Guy used the spring to position himself for an expanded role. Coach Sherrone Moore said there were times in practice when Guy was nothing short of dominant, and he stood out in the spring game. His career highlights are limited to a sack against Michigan State and three tackles against Indiana last year.

MICHIGAN STATE: WR Nick Marsh, the highest-ranked player in the Spartans' recruiting class, should get on the field a lot if the spring game was an indication. He made three catches for 105 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown to open the second half. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder also showed he's a willing blocker.

MINNESOTA: WR Elijah Spencer is in a great spot with New Hampshire transfer QB Max Brosmer an upgrade as a passer and opposing defenses forced to give significant attention to the returning Daniel Jackson. Spencer transferred from Charlotte before last season and had a quiet debut with the Gophers, catching just nine balls for 65 yards.

NEBRASKA: Five-star QB Dylan Raiola is the highest-ranked recruit in program history and his dad is Dominic Raiola, the longtime Detroit Lions center who was an All-American for the Cornhuskers. Coach Matt Rhule hasn't named Dylan the starter, but it would be a huge surprise if he's not considering the Huskers had their worst offense since the 1960s.

NORTHWESTERN: RB Cam Porter is one of the few known quantities on offense. The quarterback situation is murky with 2023 starter Brendan Sullivan in the transfer portal, the top three receivers gone and the line in flux. Porter, entering his sixth season, was last year's leading rusher with 651 yards and four touchdowns.

OHIO STATE: WR Jeremiah Smith was the No. 1 national prospect, at any position, in the 2024 cycle and he looked every bit the part in the spring. Some of his catches had observers mentioning his name in the same breath as Marvin Harrison Jr. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder should be a big part of the offense right away.

PENN STATE: WR Julian Fleming had a mostly star-crossed career at Ohio State, and now he's in Happy Valley to play his final season for his home-state school. Beset by injuries and unable to find a consistent role, Fleming never lived up to his billing as a top-five national recruit in 2020. He's in a spot now where he can flourish if Drew Allar can get him the ball.

PURDUE: RB Reggie Love III was Illinois' leading rusher and is entering his fifth season. He and Devin Mockobee could form a stronger 1-2 punch than the Boilermakers had with Mockobee and Tyrone Tracy Jr. Mockobee led what was the Big Ten's top rushing attack in conference games. Having the experienced Love will take some pressure off QB Hudson Card.

RUTGERS: TE Kenny Fletcher moved over from defensive end late last season and played the position in the Pinstripe Bowl win over Miami. Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca leans heavily on his tight ends, and the hope is Fletcher can help cushion the blow of losing the top two from last season. Fletcher stood out in the first spring scrimmage.

WISCONSIN: WR Trech Kekahuna looks to build off a strong bowl performance after he didn't catch a pass during the regular season as a freshman. He caught four balls for 64 yards in a bowl game loss to LSU and has stood out the first couple weeks of spring practice. He figures to give the Badgers another playmaker behind Will Pauling and Bryson Green.

Michigan's QB battle among many in Big Ten that started in spring and will ramp up again in the fall

Quarterback discussions always dominate spring football, never more than this year in the Big Ten with transfers coming and going and only a handful of starters returning.

Just four of the 14 teams — and two of the four from the Pac-12 that join the conference in August — appear set at the position.

Defending national champion Michigan will go into preseason practice with a three-man competition to replace J.J. McCarthy. Alex Orji and Davis Warren were the starters in the spring game last Saturday. Jack Tuttle, granted a seventh year of eligibility, missed the spring while recovering from an injury.

“He’ll be in it,” first-year coach Sherrone Moore said. “We talked about this as a team, as a staff — the dudes that he backed up are Michael Penix (at Indiana) and J.J. McCarthy. So he’s got talent and we’ll see what happens when he gets in fall camp.”

Kansas State transfer Will Howard and Devin Brown are the front-runners to take over at Ohio State for Kyle McCord, who transferred to Syracuse.

Iowa and Northwestern face major challenges. The Hawkeyes' Cade McNamara continues to recover from a knee injury and was extremely limited in the spring, and the man who replaced him in October, Deacon Hill, entered the transfer portal Monday. The Wildcats also took a hit when 2023 starter Brendan Sullivan entered the portal on the same day.

At Michigan State, the assumption was that Aidan Chiles would be the guy when he transferred from Oregon State, the previous stop for first-year Spartans coach Jonathan Smith. But North Dakota transfer Tommy Schuster was sharp in the spring game and is making a push.

Maryland will decide between North Carolina State transfer MJ Morris and Billy Edwards Jr., who was the backup to the prolific Taulia Tagovailoa. Rutgers' battle is between 2023 starter Gavin Wimsatt and Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis, who played for offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca when Ciarrocca held same job with the Gophers.

Tyler Van Dyke, who started 28 games for Miami, and Braedyn Locke are dueling at Wisconsin. At Indiana, first-year coach Curt Cignetti will decide between Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke and Tayven Jackson.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said he won't name a starter until the fall, but it would be a major surprise if it's not five-star freshman Dylan Raiola. He was the top national recruit among quarterbacks and has had a solid spring. Heinrich Haarberg is back, but the Cornhuskers put up the program's worst offensive numbers since the 1960s under his direction.

Illinois (Luke Altmyer), Minnesota (New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer), Penn State (Drew Allar) and Purdue (Hudson Card) have their quarterback situations settled.

PLAYERS ON MOVE

Notable moves in the transfer portal:

WR Jahmal Banks (Wake Forest to Nebraska), LB Jaishawn Barham (Maryland to Michigan), Brosmer (New Hampshire to Minnesota), Chiles (Oregon State to Michigan State), Julian Fleming (Ohio State to Penn State), Hill (Iowa to TBD), Howard (Kansas State to Ohio State), RB Quinshon Judkins (Mississippi to Ohio State), Kaliakmanis (Minnesota to Rutgers), WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (Penn State to Auburn), RB Reggie Love (Illinois to Purdue), McCord (Ohio State to Syracuse), C Seth McLaughlin (Alabama to Ohio State), WR Tanner Miller (Oregon State to Michigan State), OL Kadyn Proctor (Iowa to Alabama), DE Nic Scourton (Purdue to Texas A&M), Sullivan (Northwestern to TBD), Chip Trayanum (Ohio State to Kentucky), TE Cael Vanderbush (Iowa to TBD).

INJURY ROUNDUP

The most significant injury of the spring was to Michigan S Rod Moore, who tore his ACL in practice March 25. He has started 27 games and made a late interception to seal the Wolverines' win over Ohio State in November. ... Iowa tight end Luke Lachey was full-go in spring and looked good, offensive coordinator Tim Lester said. Lachey, one of the top offensive players in the conference, broke his ankle in the third game and missed the rest of the season. ... RBs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen didn't play in Penn State's spring game because of what coach James Franklin called “bumps and bruises.” ... RB Kyle Monangai and CB Robert Longerbeam missed the last week of Rutgers' spring practice with minor injuries. ... Wisconsin LB Aaron Witt will be out until fall after suffering an upper-body injury last week.

SEASON OPENERS

Minnesota once again will open with a Thursday night game, hosting North Carolina on Aug. 29. Eastern Illinois also visits Illinois that night.

Aug. 31: Fresno State at Michigan; Akron at Ohio State; Penn State at West Virginia; UConn at Maryland; Howard at Rutgers; Florida Atlantic at Michigan State; FIorida International at Indiana; Illinois State at Iowa; UTEP at Nebraska; Miami (Ohio) at Northwestern; Western Michigan at Wisconsin; Indiana State at Purdue.

Openers for Pac-12 teams entering the Big Ten, on Aug. 31: UCLA at Hawaii; Idaho at Oregon; Weber State at Washington. Sept. 1: Southern California vs. LSU, at Las Vegas.

RHULE SPEAKS ON SPRING GAME, DRAFT DAY

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule met with the media following Thursday’s practice.

He spoke on his mindset about playing real football during the spring game and why he organizes it like that.

“I just think it’s playing football, and we’re 5-7. I’ve said that from day one. We’re 5-7, we have to earn everything we get. I’ve never not done this. I think for a lot of our young players, what an unbelievable opportunity. They haven’t played in Memorial Stadium. What an opportunity for them to go out there and play and play in front of their family and friends and show what they can do. I’m excited.”

He discussed the importance of the team’s performance in front of a crowd and how telling it will be.

“That’s what I mean. I want to know who is going to go out there. Like I’ve said to our team, the Tuesday/Wednesday Huskers were better than the Saturday Huskers. The Saturday Huskers last year – doubt, fear, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of ‘what are they going to say about me?’. All of that stuff affects performance for young people. Tuesday/Wednesday, you get beat, you move onto the next play. You get beat on Saturdays, how we handled that wasn’t elite. That’s my job and that’s our staff’s job, but that’s also our players’ job. I’m very much excited to see us play in front of a crowd and I’m very much excited to see us operate in front of a crowd and see how we do. There’s a continuum in terms of how we’re blocking, tackling, running, but there’s also a continuum in terms of ‘are we improving at how we handle stress and how we handle pressure?’ I’m very excited to play in front of crowds. Last Saturday, we played in front of probably 500 people. This will be way different and it’ll be good for our guys.” 

Rhule also talked about the NFL Draft and how players coming from Nebraska can stand out.

“People in the NFL, they’re never going to ask me about their players’ talent. They make those decisions themselves. What they want to know is the football character. Is this guy going to take notes? Is he going to learn? How is he going to learn? What’s his football character like? Meaning, will he work, will he practice? One of the major stats for a guy for if he’s going to be successful in the NFL is how often he practiced in college. I learned that talking to guys over the years. I think when people come watch us practice, they know we’re going to be physical. They know that we’re going to practice. It’s not about me, it’s about our guys. When Quinton Newsome goes to a team and he shows up to practice every day, takes care of himself, is professional in the building, then people will say ‘let’s go get more Nebraska guys.’ I love recruiting players from programs where I know they’ve been prepared well, so I know when they get here, it’s not going to be a big transition. Same thing for the NFL. All those guys are pros and I think they’ll do a nice job for whatever team gets them.”

The annual Red-White Spring game presented by FNBO is scheduled for this Saturday, April 27 at 11 a.m. (CT). Tickets can be purchased on huskers.com or by calling the ticket office at 800-8-BIG RED.

NEBRASKA-CREIGHTON SET FOR NOV. 22

The first piece of the 2024-25 Nebraska men’s basketball schedule is in place, as the annual Nebraska-Creighton matchup will take place on Friday, Nov. 22 in Omaha.

Tipoff time and TV will be announced at a later date for the matchup between the Huskers and Bluejays at the CHI Health Center.

It is the first time the schools have met in November since the 2021-22 season, as both programs come off NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023-24.

The remainder of the Huskers’ non-conference schedule will be announced throughout the spring and summer.

NU DISTANCE EARNS FOUR TOP-15 FINISHES THURSDAY NIGHT AT DRAKE

Nebraska distance runners took on the blue oval Thursday night at the Drake Relays, notching four top-15 finishes.

Taya Skelton earned a top-five finish in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, crossing the line at 10:25.08 to take fourth. On the men’s side, Sadio Fenner took 21st with a time of 9:14.58.

Brynna McQuillen provided NU’s top finish in the women’s 5,000m, placing 14th with a 16:16.16. Sam Kirchner ran in the unseeded section of the men’s 5,000m, taking 11th with a time of 14:26.60.

Holden Ruse ran a 1:53.20 in the men’s unseeded 800m to finish 13th. Lindsey Blehm placed 14th in the unseeded section of the women’s 800m with a 2:13.07.

Emma Ralston clocked a 37:46.82 in the 10,000m to cross the line 21st.

After Thursday evening’s distance carnival, Nebraska will compete a full day tomorrow, with field events starting at 9:30 a.m. (CT) and running events starting at 9:18 a.m. (CT).

JOHANSSON EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARD

Nebraska track and field's Axelina Johansson earned the Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor, announced on Thursday by the conference office.

Johansson hit the Olympic Standard in the shot put on her birthday Saturday. The 61-9 (18.82m) was the farthest mark in the shot put field at the Michael Johnson Invitational by over two meters. The distance improved upon her mark that is No. 2 in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. Johansson won the shot put at the Jim Click Shootout on April 6.

This is Nebraska's second conference weekly award during the outdoor season and its seventh overall during 2024. 

The Huskers are competing at the Drake Relays this weekend. Johansson kicked the action off last night, competing in the team shot put showcase. She was paired with Texas graduate and current member of Team USA, Tripp Piperi. The duo placed second with a score of  38.91. NU will be back in action tonight, beginning with the 800m at 5:34 p.m.

Nebraska's 2024 Big Ten Track & Field Weekly Awards
Jan. 17: Henry Zimmerman, Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Jan. 24: Henry Zimmerman, Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Feb. 7: Till Steinforth, Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Feb. 21: Brithton Senior, Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Feb. 21: Micaylon Moore, Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
April 10: Rhema Otabor, Women's Field Athlete of the Week
April 25: Axelina Johansson, Women's Field Athlete of the Week