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(Only Scholarship Players Listed)
| No. 13 Zaire Anderson (Jr.) | 5-11, 220 | four tackles (one solo) |
| No. 40 Max Pirman (So.) | 6-5, 230 | N/A |
| No. 41 David Santos (So.) | 6-0, 225 | 24 tackles (11 solo), two TFL, one FF |
| No. 33 Jared Afalava (RFr.) | 6-3, 230 | N/A |
| No. 28 Thomas Brown (RFr.) | 6-2, 220 | N/A |
| Josh Banderas (Fr.) | 6-2, 220 | N/A |
| No. 51 Courtney Love (Fr.) | 6-1, 230 | N/A |
| Marcus Newby | 6-1, 210 | N/A |
| No. 15 Michael Rose (RFr.) | 5-11, 230 | N/A |
1. Follow The Leader - Considering the corps' so young, someone needs to step up and hold his brothers–in–arms accountable on the field.
Even before Rose signed his letter of intent, he was a pseudo-recruiting coordinator, remaining one to this day. He also won't keep to himself when he knows his teammates can squeeze more juice from the orange.
As the guy that caused "1982 Redemption," Santos led by example last season. There's no reason to keep a player of his caliber off the field. He gets Bo Pelini's system. Enough to make big plays when it count, at least. Unfortunately, he's sitting out this Saturday.
2. Meep Meep! - While this batch of 'backers is young they are oh so incredibly fast. The whiplash-inducing type. While they have all the tools to be a swarm of hornets, they're going to have some whiffs.
That's not a shameful thing. Every younger guy stepping into FBS action has a brain fart or two...or five. Even Jadeveon Clowney missed an assignment once.
Their athleticism can cover up some of those mental errors. Not all of them, but enough that could be the difference between a win and a loss when crunch time comes.
Be cautious in your optmism, Husker fan, but this is a very fun group.
3. Eric Martin 2.0? - Nebraska may be able to kill two birds with one stone thanks to Jared Afalava. He gives the Big Red the ability to put another one of these athletes onto the field and offers the defensive line a badly-needed hand.
With his size and speed, he's can be the pass rush specialist Eric Martin became before The Caveman Experiment began. As a redshirt freshman, refining such a threat not only takes advantage of the current crop, but builds towards the future.
4. Walk-Ons - Trevor Roach deserves props not only for his improvement among walk-ons, but the entire team. The idea of him being in a rotation should provide confidence. Watch for Mitch McCann and Brad Simpson come game time this weekend.
5. Bottom Line - The front seven's going to make or break the Huskers' defense in 2013. The front four has depth issues, both the linemen and linebackers are rife with inexperience.
Considering the numbers alone, at least one new Husker listed above should be able to step up.
If this happens, 2013 may be another Bend But Don't Break Defense®, but it's less likely to be a Bend And Eventually Break, Why Did This Have To Be On National Television? Defense®.
A guarantee of this Red-White Game is that Nebraska fans will enjoy watching the linebackers. Get yo popcorn ready.