A silver lining at LB, big-hitters at RB and a good recruiting loss

Thinking through the injury to Javin Wright, explosiveness at running back and David Sanders' commitment to Tennessee.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Necessary, nice to have, great to have. Ten days ago, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule put the Huskers’ three starter-caliber inside linebackers in the “nice to have” category. A team needs two in a 3-3-5 defense, and four, to use Rhule’s term, would be great. But on Aug. 10, following Nebraska’s first scrimmage of fall camp, the Huskers had three.

Now they have two. Following the second scrimmage this past Saturday, Rhule shared that senior linebacker Javin Wright was out indefinitely with an undisclosed medical condition. Nebraska fan or not, that’s tough news to hear about any player who has already lost two seasons to injuries. Not only that, Wright blossomed last season under the current staff and was a stock-up standout through offseason workouts.

Minus Wright, the Huskers still have a pair of top-line linebackers in John Bullock (10 starts, 50 tackles) and Mikai Gbayor (4 starts, 24 tackles). Gbayor might even be a bit undervalued entering the year given he didn’t appear in a game in his first two seasons, but seemed to find a fit, and success, last season.

Beyond the top two, Rhule mentioned a trio of intriguing young players. True freshman Vincent Shavers Jr. is going to play in 2024, and that was likely the case before Wright’s setback. Sophomore Montana transfer Vincent Genatone might be one of the most athletically-gifted players on the team. Sophomore Gage Stenger is cut from classic Nebraska cloth, a football player’s football player from Millard South who the Huskers had to flip from a Kansas State commitment in the 2022 class.

The Huskers get younger at inside linebacker without Wright, but I’m buying that there’s talent here. If there is, that’s still something of a luxury, but there’s another silver lining to these unfortunate, injury-induced limits at linebacker.