2019 Nebraska Football Position Breakdown: Cornerbacks

Hello! I’m Brianna, the new writer for Corn Nation. I am a mom of two boys and a third grade teacher. I originally come from Northeast Nebraska which is where my love for football, particularly Husker football began. Listening to many games on the radio, the announcers drew me in and I have been hooked ever since.

Now, let’s move on to the important stuff, the cornerbacks.

Coach: Travis Fisher

Although last year may have been a rough season for the Husker defense, Fisher has a promising group of returning players at cornerback, as well as some new guys that are turning heads.

While there are a lot of young players in this group, they are talented and should be a solid unit for the Huskers this year.

The Top Returners:

Lamar Jackson, SR. : Last year Jackson started in 11 of 12 games, after being benched for the start of the Wisconsin game mid season, he earned his starting spot back and he ended the season strong. His 2018 stats include 28 tackles, 1 for loss, 7 pass break ups, 2 interceptions, and one forced fumble. Jackson stands at 6’3” and 215lbs and knows that this is his last year to get things done. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s got for us this year.

Dicaprio Bootle, JR. : Bootle is also a returning starter from last year. While Bootle doesn’t quite have the size that Jackson does (5’10” 195lbs) he put up some good numbers for The Huskers secondary in 2018. He led the Big Ten in pass breakups with 15. He also had a forced fumble and 39 tackles for the season. With a year of experience and development under Coach Fisher, he’ll be sure to add some interceptions to that stat list this year.

Cam Taylor, SO : Taylor saw action in 11 games last season as a true freshman, besides helping out in the secondary he also played special teams. He recorded 8 tackles and 3 pass breakups on defense. We may see Taylor at more positions than just cornerback, as the Huskers may also use him at safety and nickel. Taylor had a great spring game and showed Husker fans what they can look forward to from him in the coming season.

Also, in case you forgot these guys have moves:

The New Guys:

In this group we have a couple of true freshman that have been highly spoken of by the coaching staff.

Quinton Newsome, FR: Newsome comes to us from Gwinnett High School in Georgia. He played cornerback as a junior and safety as a senior. He’ll be starting out his career here as a cornerback, but if he gets a little bigger we may see him as a safety at some point. He’s been talked about as a guy that has been doing good things in these early practices. Expect to see him on the field adding some depth to the cornerback position.

Javon Wright, FR: Wright went to Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona and is the son of former Husker Blackshirt Toby Wright. He is one of the four true freshman on defense that Coach Fisher was impressed with early on.

Don’t Sleep on Him:

Braxton Clark, RFR: Although he red shirted, Clark played in four games last season. He was recovering from shoulder injury this spring and summer, but he is now ready to play. Not only is he big (6’4” 210lbs.) but he can move and he spent all of last year and this spring learning how to best play the position.

2019 Cornerbacks:

No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (previous school)

23 Dicaprio Bootle 5-10 195 Jr. Miami, Fla. (Southridge)

39 Bradley Bunner 6-0 195 So. Clarkson, Neb. (Clarkson Public School)

2 Tony Butler 6-2 220 Jr. Lakewood, Ohio (St. Edward)

11 Braxton Clark 6-4 210 RFr. Orlando, Fla. (Dr. Phillips)

16 Ethan Cox 5-10 195 So. Blair, Neb. (Blair)

21 Lamar Jackson 6-3 215 Sr. Elk Grove, Calif. (Franklin)

12 Quinton Newsome 6-2 180 Fr. Suwanee, Ga. (North Gwinnett)

37 Phalen Sanford 6-0 190 RFr. Benkleman, Neb. (Hastings College)

24 Jeramiah Stovall 5-11 200 Sr. Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep)

5 Cam Taylor 6-0 215 So. Montgomery, Ala. (Park Crossing)

33 Javin Wright 6-3 205 Fr. Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton)