McKewon: A key ‘takeaway’ for Nebraska’s defense, Ohio State’s NIL juggernaut and more (2024)

LINCOLN— They talk about it before a practice rep. They’re deliberate about it in drills. They keep it front of mind throughout spring camp.

Nebraska’s defenders want to create more takeaways. A lot more.

“We’ve got to punch it out,” safety Isaac Gifford said. “Every chance we get.”

It’s not just rhetoric, either. Getting the ball from opponents is a year-over-year weakness of the Husker defense —even, to some degree, in Tony White’s defense. It’s one of two things to fix headed into 2024.

The general narrative of Husker football over five years is this: Finicky, flaky offense— and even flakier special teams— propped up by a defense that bends until it breaks.

The 2021 season is full of such games, and the Huskers lost 2022 games to Minnesota and Wisconsin for this reason. And in the 2023 season— coach Matt Rhule’s first— you had an early example against Colorado, when Nebraska’s D stymied Shedeur Sanders and Co. until an avalanche of Jeff Sims’ mistakes brought down the Husker house.

Sims made basic errors. Nebraska couldn’t overcome them.

But the Huskers also caused only one turnover that day. And that fumble came late, after the Buffaloes had already iced the game.

NU produced just 14 takeaways in 2023, which ranked 106th nationally and 12th in the Big Ten. NU’s propensity to cough up the ball— 31 times!— was the bigger culprit in a -17 turnover margin. It wasn’t the only one.

The Huskers have produced just 71 takeaways since the start of the 2019 season. That’s tied with Maryland for last in the Big Ten. Iowa ranks first, with 108 takeaways over that span. Illinois ranks second with 106. Penn State (102) also reached triple digits.

Northwestern’s surprising eight-win season? Built off turnover margin. Just nine giveaways, set against an impressive 22 takeaways.

In fact, the top 11 FBS teams in turnover margin last season averaged 21.9 takeaways. And roughly 60% of the top 50 in turnover margin had at least 20 takeaways.

The Huskers reached that 20 mark just once in the last five years— 21 in 2019. And since joining the Big Ten, NU has never had more than 23. Seven league teams have had 24 or more takeaways nine times in the last five seasons. One of them, 2023 Michigan, won the national title.

Sometimes, takeaways correlate to luck, especially when it comes to fumble recoveries. Since 2019, NU ranks sixth in the Big Ten when it comes to forcing fumbles, but has only recovered 27 of them. Iowa forced fewer fumbles but recovered 35.

Still, Nebraska drills the heck out of creating more takeaways. And defensive backs coach Evan Cooper foresees more success as NU defenders better understand the scheme they’re in.

“They need to know it at a level where they can teach it,” Cooper said. “And defense is all reactionary. They need to know it and be able to react in the first blink of the snap. Just knowing the defense – and putting ourselves in a position. And also knowing the offense will help us.”

Cooper said he’s seen more takeaways this spring as a result.

“I’ve seen more effort for takeaways,” Cooper said, “and I’ve seen a better grasp of the defense as a whole.”

If Nebraska’s defense can cross that item off its to-do list, it’ll have just one more on the notepad.

And that’s for next week.

On with the Rewind.

Director's Cup update

Through two-thirds of the athletic calendar, Nebraska appears headed a top-30 finish in the Learfield Director’s Cup for a second year in a row. In 2023-24, it might even be a top-20 finish.

NU stands 19th after the completion of the winter sports session. This cycle, the Huskers got a boost from the men’s and women’s basketball teams each qualifying for the NCAA tournament— the women, who advanced to the second round, got more points— along with contributions from swimming, rifle, wrestling and both indoor track and field teams.

Those track teams will get a chance to earn more points in the outdoor season. So will baseball and potentially softball, if those teams find a way into the NCAA tournament.

The Huskers’ 29th-place finish in 2022-23 triggered a bonus of $160,000 for then-athletic director Trev Alberts. New A.D. Troy Dannen has a similar bonus structure written into his contract; it seems likely he’d receive the bonus this cycle if NU stays in the top 30.

Nebraska currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten. Wisconsin, where the women’s ice hockey team finished as national runner-up, is first in the league and sixth nationally, followed by Penn State (8th), Ohio State (10th), Michigan (16th) and NU. The Buckeyes won the women’s hockey title.

No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Texas will duke it out for the Director’s Cup crown again. The Cardinal won 25 straight cup races until UT won in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Stanford won in 2022-23, with the Longhorns finishing second.

Ohio State’s football juggernaut NIL

Ohio State’s football juggernaut doesn’t just have one predominant name, image and likeness collective— two share the responsibility. One, the 1870 Society, seems an awful lot like NU’s 1890 Initiative. The other, The Foundation, helped deliver five-star Alabama transfer Caleb Downs.

The Buckeyes’ NIL operation puts coach Ryan Day in the catbird’s seat, for sure. After all, it takes a lot of money to woo Mississippi transfer running Quinshon Judkins— who rushed for 2,725 yards and 31 touchdowns in two years for the Rebels— to a school that already has TreVeyon Henderson, who has rushed for 2,745 yards and 32 touchdowns. Judkins will share carries in Columbus instead of, say, being a feature back at a school like Nebraska.

NU likes the guy it got— Oregon transfer Dante Dowdell will get every chance to snag a major role— but if you want to discern why Dannen, in his introductory press conference, propped up 1890, just remember the Huskers head to Columbus Oct. 26.

“I’ve identified that the last couple of years, wanting to be talented but also wanting to be experienced,” Day told The Athletic in a detailed story about OSU’s NIL push. “I’ve noticed some of the teams we played have been a little bit more of 21-, 22-years old, and I think that matters.”

Ohio State has a fifth-year QB transfer (Will Howard), two blue-chip freshmen (Julian Sayin and Air Noland) and two more blue-chippers in between (Lincoln Kienholz and Devin Brown). It’s possible two of the five transfer this week after OSU staged its spring game on Saturday. It’s also possible the Buckeyes’ money keeps them in the room, too.

OSU’s most impressive feat may have been to retain 2024 NFL Draft-caliber players for an extra season. Cornerback Denzel Burke is a dude. He might have gone in the top half of the first round later this month. Instead, he’s playing one more year in the Horseshoe.

Of course, with great NIL comes great expectations. Day isn’t in the catbird’s seat, if you catch the drift. There’s an Oct. 12 trip to Autzen Stadium, a Nov. 2 trip to Beaver Stadium and a Nov. 30 date with Michigan. Better win ‘em. If you’re going to ask boosters to buy players for national titles, better put a trophy in the case.

Nebraska's NFL Draft prospects

Speaking of the 2024 NFL Draft, Rhule on Thursday alluded to “hoping some guys get drafted” in a few weeks before adding “next year, let’s say we have three, four, five, six, seven guys get drafted.”

We’ll do the 2025 look-ahead after the 2024 Draft ends April 27. According to the most exhaustive NFL Draft guide— put together by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler— it’s likely every Draft-eligible Husker will be sorting through free agent deals.

Safety Omar Brown might be the top prospect thanks to running a 4.53-second 40-yard dash on his Pro Day. Brown, Brugler wrote, has the “eyes of a cornerback” and can crowd receivers without drawing a flag. He’s ranked as the No. 34 safety.

The second most-likely NFL Draft prospect could be long snapper Marco Ortiz. He’s No. 2 among snappers— most of whom don’t get drafted.

Phalen Sanford is the No. 68 safety. Quinton Newsome is the No. 79 cornerback. Nouredin Nouili is the No. 45 guard. Luke Reimer is the No. 62 linebacker— he plays fast, but a 4.7-second 40 didn’t help his cause— while Anthony Grant and Josh Fleeks are Nos. 53 and 64 running backs. Marcus Washington and Billy Kemp are the 184th and 197th wide receivers.

Former NU defensive end Casey Rogers— who left on good terms— is the No. 30 defensive lineman. Former Husker quarterback Luke McCaffrey— who did not leave on great terms— transferred to Rice and is the No. 25 receiver prospect. Brugler grades him as a fifth-round pick. Former Husker lineman Chris Walker— who started at Montana— is the No. 56 offensive tackle.