Four True Freshmen Who Could See the Field for Nebraska Football in 2025 -

We recently talked to Husker247’s Brian Christopherson on the Common Fan Podcast. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the episode, you can watch it here or listen here. It’s a great conversation as the Huskers gear up for spring ball later this month, and Brian offers some tremendous insight into Nebraska’s revamped coaching staff, new players, and outlook for Matt Rhule’s squad in 2025.

But if you’re not a podcast person, we won’t take it personally. In the coming days, I’ll share a series of articles highlighting the most intriguing takeaways from our conversation with BC.

Today we’re looking at four true freshmen who could see the field for Nebraska football in 2025.

Cortez Mills

Mills was one of the top wide receivers on Nebraska’s recruiting board for almost two years. He had offers from several other big time college football programs, including Clemson, Oklahoma, and LSU. He was a consensus 4-star across all the recruiting services, and as an early enrollee, is in prime position to see the field early.

As Brian told us: “I think Cortez Mills is a guy that has a lot of Jacory Barney in him…I sense they actually are kind of similar (when it comes to their mindset), ‘I’ve been a dog all my life, I expect to be a dog in Lincoln.’ Cortez, I think, has some of that in him when you talk to him.”

He went on to note, “Wide receiver is going to be interesting because you’ve got the new portal additions like Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter and Hardley Gilmore and Jacorey, obviously. But I do think there’s still space for a freshman to make his mark.”

Dawson Merritt

At one time committed to Alabama, Merritt was a major get for this Husker coaching staff. Like Mills, he was a consensus 4 star across all recruiting services, and had over 20 offers from power conference schools. He did suffer a partially torn labrum during his senior season, so we likely won’t hear much about him during the spring. But will be one to watch by the time fall camp rolls around.

According to Brian: “Dawson Merritt’s a guy, I think, as an outside backer that could factor in. And I think he looks at someone like Vincent Shavers, you know last year and what he got done and you saw the progression of Willis McGahee, sort of similar…this is a coaching staff that has played some young guys. And so I do think there is hope, you know, that they can get on the field quickly.”

Malcolm Simpson

Even after committing to Nebraska, Simpson was heavily pursued by USC and Texas. The Huskers did well to hang onto the 4-star recruit, who was noted by Jeremy Pernell as being “explosive and freakishly athletic.” While he won’t arrive in Lincoln until the summer, his athleticism, combined with Nebraska’s needs on the defensive line and the coaching staff’s willingness to play young guys early, could lead to playing time for the young Simpson this fall.

According to BC: “Another guy I’d mentioned is Malcolm Simpson. If people follow him on social media, he’s just a freak athlete for a D lineman. And Rhule has even mentioned, it’s actually his basketball…when you watch him jump and just how he moves his feet out there on the hardwood that gets you really excited about how that could translate.”

He went on to say about Simpson: “He was a key guy to hang onto in this class.”

Tyson Terry

You may have seen it on social media or in the news, but Terry recently won a state championship as a wrestler, and he did it on a torn ACL! He finished his wrestling career with four state championships, having never lost a single match. Let that sink in. It reminds you of multi-year starter Nash Hutmacher, who is currently preparing for a shot at the NFL. Hopefully Terry has a similar trajectory. With the torn ACL, you wonder how soon he can get on the field, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him getting snaps and making an impact in the second half of the season.

As BC put it: “Tyson Terry, everybody of course heard a lot about him this last week as he finished off an undefeated wrestling career at my alma mater Omaha North. But he did it on a torn ACL. So he’s going to have surgery. So we’ll see if that, you know, sort of hinders his first year and how quickly he can make a difference. But I think over time, Tyson’s one of those guys…you know there’s certain guys in the class, I feel like he’s definitely going to give you something. I don’t know what level it’s going to be, but I know he’s going to get on the field at some point and contribute to this program. Tyson Terry is that kind of guy to me.”