The World-Herald is counting down the top 50 NU football players you need to know heading into the season.
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Nick Henrich
6-3, 225 • Freshman • Inside linebacker
Here’s a guy we think will make a big jump in 2021, becoming one of the best defenders on the team.
The Omaha Burke product missed most of 2019 while rehabbing an injury, and the 2020 COVID year was a difficult developmental process for everyone.
Henrich’s 2021 spring camp turned heads, including that of defensive coordinator Erik Chinander.
If Henrich realizes his full potential, his size, range and instincts could make him a faster version of Northwestern’s Paddy Fisher, who was a four-year starter for the Wildcats.
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Our Husker Camp Countdown of Nebraska's 50 most important players
No. 50 Heinrich Haarberg, QB
The arm is there. The athleticism is there. The potential to turn his raw skill into a polished player is there. Haarberg’s best days are ahead of him. Click here to read more.
49. Nouredin Nouili, OL
Offensive line coach Greg Austin is quite high on Nouili. He could figure at tackle as much as or more than he does as guard. Click here to read more.
48. Blaise Gunnerson, OLB
After a year spent getting healthy after surgery, Gunnerson figures as a backup pass rusher, but don’t count him out to play more snaps in bigger situations as the season wears on. Click here to read more.
No. 47 Colton Feist, DL
Here’s Nebraska’s walk-on program at work. Feist, from Yutan, has paid his dues and worked his way up the depth chart. Click here to read more.
46. Chris Hickman, TE
Hickman has moved back inside after spending a year at receiver, and patience is needed as he adjusts his body back to being a bigger guy. Click here to read more.
No. 45 Punter X (Daniel Cerni or William Przystup)
These two will battle into the summer and training camp. This position is a great unknown for yet another year, and has been since the passing of Sam Foltz. Click here to read more.
44. Isaac Gifford, S
Nebraska told Gifford he was being recruited to play a hybrid role like JoJo Domann, and Gifford is on his way to it. Click here to read more.
43. Alante Brown, WR
There’s a lot to like about his game — especially with versatility as a returner and receiver — but he has serious competition in 2021 for the slot role. Click here to read more.
41. Marvin Scott, RB
An ultra-fit powerlifter packed into a smaller frame, he’s part of a giant logjam of running backs all vying for a starting job. Click here to read more.
40. Javin Wright, S
One of the most intriguing athletes on the team, Wright arrived at Nebraska as a cornerback, moved to safety, and may be the best fit at the same hybrid role JoJo Domann inhabits. Click here to read more.
39. Jordon Riley, DL
He’s an absolute house of a man, and now healthy, Riley will likely be a factor in NU’s six- or seven-man defensive line rotation. Click here to read more.
38. Trent Hixson, OL
A former starter on the interior, Hixson is part of the offensive line rotation. He could play left guard, right guard or center. Click here to read more.
37. Will Nixon, WR
He may finally be the consistent, productive, loyal player in the hybrid slot role. Click here to read more.
36. Myles Farmer, S
It’ll be hard for Farmer to get too much playing time outside of special teams. But he’s next, so to speak, and there’s a lot to like about his game. Click here to read more.
35. Levi Falck, WR
The sixth-year veteran has quickly become a leader at a position with lots of recent turnover and will make an impact regardless of how many snaps he plays. Click here to read more.
34. Deontre Thomas, DL
Thomas probably won’t start for the Huskers, but he will be a key part of the defensive line rotation. Health just needs to cooperate. Click here to read more.
33. Logan Smothers, QB
Smothers learned behind the scenes all of last year and has spent the offseason retooling his throwing motion. Click here to read more.
32. Connor Culp, K
Culp represented a major upgrade at a position of need for Nebraska in 2020, earning Big Ten kicker of the year honors a year after Husker field goals and extra points were anything but automatic. Click here to read more.
31. Jaquez Yant, RB
Nebraska was impressed enough by Yant in the spring that it made him its sixth scholarship running back by early June. Click here to read more.
30. Tyreke Johnson, CB
The Huskers landed a former five-star recruit this summer in Johnson, a 2018 prospect who transferred from Ohio State after playing sparingly the last two years. Click here to read more.
29. Pheldarius Payne, OLB
He shifted to outside ’backer in the offseason, where his quick “get off” at the line and ability to shed blockers in tight confines could make him a solution to the Huskers’ pass-rushing woes. Click here to read more.
28. Zavier Betts, WR
Betts has all the physical tools — top-end speed, burst, reliable hands — to quickly carve out a meaningful role. Click here to read more.
27. Travis Vokolek, TE
Vokolek caught nine passes for 91 yards last season, but his bigger impact will come as a blocker. Click here to read more.
26. Brant Banks, OL
Banks was the top backup at either tackle position last year, but with the emergence of tackles Turner Corcoran and Bryce Benhart as long-term contributors, Banks will likely be more of a factor at a less-settled guard spot. Click here to read more.
25. Matt Sichterman, OL
Longtime reserve Sichterman exited spring ball as the favorite to start at right guard, though that battle may continue into fall camp. Click here to read more.
24. Quinton Newsome, CB
Who will take over Dicaprio Bootle’s old job as starting cornerback? A leading contender is Newsome. Click here to read more.
23. Caleb Tannor, OLB
If this is the year Tannor's production spikes, he’ll have to beat out some upward-trending teammates for the chance. Click here to read more.
22. Markese Stepp, RB
When Stepp is healthy, the bowling ball of a back is a no-nonsense, north-south runner who has thrived in short-yardage situations. Click here to read more.
21. Gabe Ervin, RB
While many other rushers on the Huskers' roster have clear strengths, Ervin has stood out for his all-around game. Click here to read more.
20. Garrett Nelson, OLB
One of the first examples Nebraska might give to show the transformational effect of its strength program, Nelson slid into a starting role last year and will again factor heavily into what the Blackshirts do at the second level of their defense. Click here to read more.
19. Luke Reimer, LB
The Lincoln North Star grad is beyond the breakout stage after last year, when he exchanged his walk-on label for a scholarship and always seemed to be around the football. What’s next? Click here to read more.
18. Ethan Piper, OL
Perhaps lost in the conversation about Nebraska’s youthful promise at center and both tackle spots is the reality that Piper is also trending toward being a multi-year starter on the line. Click here to read more.
17. Bryce Benhart, OL
Nebraska appears to have its cornerstone at right tackle for the near future. Click here to read more.
16. Damion Daniels, DL
As deep as Nebraska is along its defensive front, Daniels is one of the few Huskers who fits the mold of a prototypical space-eating, gaps-clogging nose tackle. Click here to read more.
15. Omar Manning, WR
The anticipated breakout never happened in 2020 for the ballyhooed junior college transfer, who appeared in just one game and made no catches. But were expectations simply premature? Click here to read more.
14. Oliver Martin, WR
Offseason performance testing confirmed what Nebraska players and coaches knew last fall — that Martin is among the best athletes on the team. Click here to read more.
13. Marquel Dismuke, S
Few current Huskers have seen as much as Dismuke, who is running it back for a sixth college season. Click here to read more.
12. Ben Stille, DL
Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said last year Stille was on the verge of a “big-time breakout,” and now the Ashland-Greenwood grad will have the chance to show it. Click here to read more.
11. Austin Allen, TE
One of the Big Ten’s top returning receivers at his position should again be a major factor in Nebraska’s offense. Click here to read more.
10. Chris Kolarevic, LB
When teammate Nick Henrich called him a “freak of nature,” you know Nebraska hit nicely on this transfer from Northern Iowa. Click here to read more.
9. Turner Corcoran, OL
The highest-rated signee in Nebraska’s 2020 class looked awfully good in his one start against Rutgers. Click here to read more.
8. Nick Henrich, LB
Here’s a guy we think will make a big jump in 2021, becoming one of the best defenders on the team. Click here to read more.
7. Ty Robinson, DL
Since we’re rating Robinson higher than every other defensive lineman on the team, it gives you an idea what kind of leap we think he’ll make in his third year on campus. Click here to read more.
6. Cam Jurgens, OL
Some of Jurgens’ downfield blocks are so rare and spectacular that his occasional big mistake snapping the ball is worth some of the trouble. But wouldn’t it be something if he had no more issues with snaps? Click here to read more.
6. Samori Touré, WR
Smart, savvy and focused, Touré transferred from Montana to Nebraska because he wanted exposure in the Big Ten, which could help his NFL draft stock. Click here to read more.
4. Deontai Williams, S
As a sixth-year senior he can show he’s all the way back to the guy who looked like he’d quickly follow in his father’s footsteps to the NFL. Click here to read more.
3. Adrian Martinez, QB
For the first time since Martinez joined the program, he’s not No. 1 on our Camp Countdown. Click here to read more.
2. Cam Taylor-Britt, CB
Scott Frost had an honest moment this summer when asked who’s the best player on the team. He said the answer was “easy” — Cam Taylor-Britt. Click here to read more.
1. JoJo Domann, OLB
The top spot in our Camp Countdown is occupied by the player who may have the best football instincts on the team. Click here to read more.
sam.mckewon@owh.com, 402-540-4222, twitter.com/swmckewonOWH
Sam McKewon
Reporter - Nebraska athletics
Sam covers Nebraska football, recruiting, women's basketball and more for The World-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @swmckewonOWH. Email: SMcKewon@owh.com
