Nebraska
Nebraska Football 2024: The MVPs, Best Wins, and What Could Have Been
Chris Fort offers some superlatives for the 2024 Nebraska football season
Offensive MVP: Dylan Raiola
To be sure, the offense struggled for much of 2024, finishing on the wrong side of the national rankings in most every category. But Raiola, while he had his share of freshman moments, was not to blame. Rather, he was the straw that stirred the Huskers’ drink, piloting them to wins over the Badgers and Buffaloes with stellar outings. He finished with the most yards passing of any true freshman ever at NU, surpassing Adrian Martinez’s 2018 effort in the bowl game against BC.
Runner-Up: The Offensive Line
Defensive MVP: Ty Robinson
Cue Ty as the team’s overall MVP to boot. He was a heart-and-soul leader that never shied from reporters after a tough loss and collected his best season as a Husker, grabbing 37 tackles, 13 TFLs, 7 sacks, and forcing defensive coordinators to gameplan around him. He also added a couple pancakes on offense for good measure. For his efforts, he garnered second-team All-Big 10 honors and even snagged an honorable mention on the SI All-American squad.
Runner-Up: John Bullock
Special Teams MVP: Brian Buschini
Boom-Schini as he’s affectionately known by fans, Nebraska’s senior punter had a big rebound year after a frustratingly mixed 2023. He nearly edged Sam Koch’s single season record for punt average in a season but fell short after a disappointing Iowa performance. Still, he was a rock for the Huskers in 2024 amid an otherwise bleak Special Teams season. Bonus points for completing two fake punt passes for first down, as he did against Rutgers and Boston College.
Runner-Up: John Hohl
True Freshman of the Year: Jacory Barney Jr.
Let’s take Dylan out of contention this round. Barney was every bit as good as the hype that surrounded him pre-season, as he led the team in receptions while acting as the Huskers’ gadget guy and occasional kick returner. He tied JD Spielman’s freshman record for receptions (55) to boot. A big game against the Badgers also earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. It doesn’t hurt that he seemingly loves being a Husker.
Runner-Up: Vincent Shavers Jr.
Transfer of the Year: Ceyair Wright
The USC Trojan/Space Jam actor left Hollywood for Lincoln and made a big impact, earning PFF honors after a huge game against Rutgers and filling in nicely for Tommi Hill and Blye Hill after injuries slowed them in 2024.
Runner-Up: Dante Dowdell
Costliest Injury: Tommi Hill
The Husker senior was being penciled in as a first-round draft pick by some after a hot start to the season that included a pick six of presumptive number one pick, Shedeur Sanders. But a stubborn case of planter fasciitis resulted in missed games and tough outings against the likes of Illinois and USC. A healthy Tommi may have been the difference in nailing down a seventh or eighth regular season win.
Runner-Up: Teddy Prochazka
Best Win: Colorado
The Huskers hosted their old conference foes, winners of the last three matchups in the renewed rivalry, and demoralized them from the first drive, resulting in 28-0 margin at halftime. Only some second half miscues and questionable officiating calls robbed them of running up the score further. This was the most complete game by both the offense and defense and the result was a rousing victory over a team that finished with a 9-4 record on the season.
Runner-Up: Wisconsin
Turning Point: Wisconsin
The narrative going in was that Nebraska may sit at home again for bowl season, having lost four straight games when trying to achieve their bowl-clinching victory. The pressure sufficiently mounted, the Husker offense put on its best game. Time shall soon tell if this was the page-turning performance some felt it was.
Worst Loss: UCLA
Indiana was a playoff team, so the 49-point loss, as humbling as it was, is still more justifiable than their inexplicably flat effort against the Bruins of LA. The Huskers were playing for bowl eligibility against a team that finished with 4 wins. This would be Nebraska’s only loss to a team that finished with a losing record.
Runner-Up: Indiana
Best Coaching Job: Donovan Raiola
The offensive line didn’t get enough praise this year. Their running yards and sacks allowed don’t necessarily show it, but the O-Line played better than they have in a long while, putting it all together against a good Wisconsin defense on Senior Day. Just two years after fielding arguably the worst O-Line in modern Husker history, Raiola put together a dependable unit despite being without both top left tackles and often without their best offensive guard in Micah Mazzccua.
Runner-Up: Terrance Knighton
Most Disappointing Coaching Job: TIED between Garret McGuire and Ed Foley
The Huskers appeared loaded at receiver in pre-season, and early outings against UTEP and Colorado demonstrated as much. But a mid-season slump, highlighted by a receiving corps that couldn’t – or wouldn’t – run block, or get off press coverage emphasized their offensive woes. That falls on McGuire, who now coaches with his dad in Lubbock.
Foley likely deserves to occupy this distinction outright, but Nebraska’s Special Teams have been awful since before his arrival so he’s merely carrying on the legacy he inherited from Frost and co. Still his lack of coaching acumen resulted in Nebraska giving up ten – 10! – blocked kicks on the year, three alone against Purdue. Going into the bowl game, the Huskers ranked in the hundreds nationally in net punting, punt returns, and punt/kick return defense. His unit cost Nebraska the victory against Iowa and nearly handed Boston College the win in the bowl game. Shame.
Best Offensive Performance: Wisconsin
As if it could be any other game. The Badgers came into the game winners of 10 straight in the series and having just taken number one Oregon to the wire at home. Nebraska proceeded to pile up nearly 500 yards of offense, not allowing a negative yardage play until the final kneel down. Emmett Johnson and Jacory Barney had career days, with Barney garnering Big Ten freshman of the week honors for his exploits.
Runner-Up: UTEP
Best Defensive Performance: Colorado
The Blackshirts harassed Shedeur early and often, nabbing a touchdown on Tommi Hill’s pick in the first quarter. The Buffs only managed 260 yards of offense, most of which they piled up in garbage time. Eventual Heisman winner Travis Hunter was held without a touchdown in a frustrating outing for Coach Prime’s ballyhooed charges.
Runner-Up: Rutgers
Most Heartwarming Performance: Rahmir Johnson vs. Boston College
The New York City native, who battled through a litany of injuries and a bizarre position move in 2022, ended his Husker career rather poetically, taking home game MVP honors after securing his first rushing touchdown in three years and sealing the victory with a tough run on 4th down. Only after the game was it revealed that Rahmir lost his mom to illness during the season. The sixth-year do-everything senior stuck with the team throughout the ordeal and capped the season with a trophy.
Runner-Up: James Williams vs. Rutgers
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Nebraska has picked up a third linebacker commitment from Oregon State transfer Dexter Foster, a sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining, including a redshirt year.
The 6-foot-3, 236lb linebacker started in seven games this fall for the Beavers, totaling 52 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. As a true freshman in 2024, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 43 tackles with two tackles for loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries.
Foster held just two offers coming out of high school prior to committing to Oregon State, but was at one point a target for new Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, when Aurich was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Idaho in 2022-2023.
The sophomore joins a linebacker room that has seen a bit of a facelift through transfer portal additions. San Diego State linebacker Owen Chambliss led the Aztecs in tackles this season and has now signed with the Huskers, following Rob Aurich to Lincoln. Iowa State freshman linebacker Will Hawthorne committed to the Huskers on Tuesday. Nebraska fell just short of Iowa State when Hawthorne was coming out of Gilbert (Ia.) in the 2025 cycle.
Foster is the seventh transfer portal addition for the Huskers this cycle and the fourth defensive addition. The Huskers are expected to be done with linebacker portal recruiting at this point and will turn attention to needs up front, both at defensive tackle and edge rusher.
Quick look at what Nebraska is getting in Foster
Standing 6-foot-3, and north of 235lbs, Foster is rangy and athletic in space. Has the versatility to play true strong-side or weak-side linebacker and could even spin down to edge rusher if needed. Possesses the athletic and physical range to track down ball-carriers in space, arm length to keep would-be-blockers at bay. Shows good eye discipline working through traffic, quick to react and trigger downhill, with the fluidity to change directions quickly. Still more read-and-react than anticipatory at this point in his development, but gets to his spots quickly. Has the athleticism to stick in coverage against running backs, tight ends and even slot receivers.
Has the experience, size and play-style to factor into Nebraska’s linebacker rotation immediately, and could even push to start alongside San Diego State linebacker transfer Owen Chambliss. Has the versatility to be a chess piece of sorts for Aurich and stick on the field regardless of personnel.
QUEEN CREEK, AZ — A slice of the Midwest is coming to the East Valley! Godfather’s Pizza from Omaha, Nebraska, is set to open a new location this month in Queen Creek.
Bruce Cannon, who owns and operates two Godfather’s Pizza locations in Lincoln and Norfolk, Nebraska, will also own and operate the new Queen Creek restaurant.
“This marks the brand’s first traditional Godfather’s Pizza restaurant in Arizona since 2009, signaling an exciting return to the Phoenix metro area,” read the news release sent to ABC15.
The restaurant will open near Queen Creek Rd and Signal Butte Rd.
The restaurant will provide dine-in, carryout, and third-party delivery options, featuring its classic pizza lineup alongside favorites like breadsticks, streusels, and specialty pies.
IF YOU GO
- Opening date: January 19, 2026.
- Address: 22485 Queen Creek Road, Suite 101
More Things to Do stories:
The quarterback position has been one of the most intriguing to follow early on into the transfer portal period, as schools across the country make offers to some of the best available arms. Nebraska thought they managed to bring aboard one of the best quarterbacks in the portal on Sunday when they received a commitment from Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey.
That commitment ended up being rather short lived, however.
On Monday, reports emerged saying that Minchey was flipping his commitment from Nebraska to Kentucky just one day after declaring he’d be joining the Cornhuskers for the 2026 season.
Instead, Minchey now appears set to join the Wildcats under new head coach Will Stein, who is finishing up his duties as the offensive coordinator for Oregon.
Minchey is entering his redshirt junior season and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He’s spent the last three years as a backup at Notre Dame. He completed 20 of 26 passes this season for 196 yards, but did not have a passing touchdown or interception.
Now, he’ll get the chance to start for Kentucky, replacing former Wildcats quarterback Cutter Boley, who transferred to Arizona State.
As for Nebraska, this is a big blow for the program. It’s not yet clear what direction they’ll turn as the program hunts down its next quarterback after Dylan Raiola entered the transfer portal at the end of the season.
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