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Nebraska Football: 2017 Projected 2-deep depth chart

By Shane Lunnen

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 12: Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. #4 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers leads the team on the field before the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 12: Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. #4 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers leads the team on the field before the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Defensive Backs

Starting safeties: Kieron Williams, Joshua Kalu
Backups: Antonio Reed, Aaron Williams

The safety position is one of the better position groups for Nebraska. Seniors Kieron Williams and Joshua Kalu lead the way. Williams made nine starts at safety in 2016 and led the team in interceptions with five. Kalu has been a staple for the secondary since he first set foot on campus. He has made 28 starts in his collegiate career and now is making the transition over to safety from cornerback. He led the team in pass breakups last year and looks to continue the trend in 2017.

Antonio Reed and Aaron Williams will be pushing both Williams and Kalu for playing time. Reed played in 12 games a year ago with one start in the Music City Bowl. Williams has even more experience, with 14 career starts.  He has the ability to slide into the nickelback role when needed.

Starting cornerbacks:  Lamar Jackson, Aaron Williams
Backups: Dicaprio Bootle, Eric Lee, Chris Jones

Coming out of the spring there was optimism with the cornerback position, but recent news will affect the depth here. Senior Chris Jones was projected to play a big role for his senior year, however in mid-July it was revealed he had offseason surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee. He’ll miss a significant amount of time, but has not been ruled out from playing this season yet. The other disheartening news is that the highly touted Elijah Blades has decided to go to junior college for the 2017 season.

With that in mind, it is a crap shoot to guess who the starters will be at cornerback. Sophomore Lamar Jackson gained a lot of playing time as a true freshman so he looks to earn a starting spot this season. We’ll slot Aaron Williams opposite Jackson since he has experience playing the nickelback role.

Redshirt freshman Dicaprio Bootle and sophomore Eric Lee do not have the experience, but because of the depth issues now may be forced into the reserve roles. Lee played mostly on special teams last season. The Huskers better hope that Jones heals quicker than the current projection off four to six months.

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