Nebraska Football: Can Huskers end bowl drought in Year 3 of Scott Frost era?

Nebraska will be replacing almost entire defense

Huskers defensive coordinator Erik Chinander will have his hands full this season as the team will be replacing their entire starting defensive linebacker, middle linebacker and top defensive back from a year ago.

Nebraska’s defense that featured Khalil Davis, Carlos Davis, Mohamed Barry and Lamar Jackson finished 64th in the nation a year ago and will now be looking to improve without perhaps their four top players from last season.

The Huskers will bring back some key defensive backs in Cam Taylor-Britt that grabbed three interceptions and will get Deontai Williams who missed much of 2019 back from injury.

At linebacker, Will Honas, who finished second on the team with 73 total tackles, and Collin Miller, who made 61 total tackles, both return.

Up front is where the biggest concerns for the Huskers will be as they’ll be looking at an entirely new defensive line. The names to watch will be 6-foot-6 defensive end Ty Robinson, nose tackle Damion Daniels who is the younger brother of now-graduated Husker Darrion Daniels and Deontre Thomas, who is the favorite to start at the second defensive end spot.

What is perhaps most worrisome for the Nebraska defense and the idea of an entirely new defensive line is what it means for the run defense. The Huskers allowed 188.1 yards per game on the ground last season, finishing 94th in the nation. They can hardly afford for that number to get worse, but improvement with inexperienced starters will be difficult.