Nebraska released its first official 2026 depth chart on Monday, giving the clearest picture yet of how the Cornhuskers plan to line up for Saturday’s season opener against Ohio. The chart, issued as game week began, featured few major surprises but settled some key spots while leaving others open. Transfer quarterback Anthony Colandrea is listed as the starter. Behind him, sophomores TJ Lateef and Daniel Kaelin are listed as “ORs,” meaning the backup job remains undecided.
At running back, Nebraska listed three co-starters: sophomore Isaiah Mozee, sophomore Mekhi Nelson, and true freshman Jamal Rule. Junior Kwinten Ives is the next man up. The committee approach matches what coaches described during fall camp.
On the offensive line, Lincoln Southeast product Gunnar Gottula earned the starting right tackle job outright after a strong camp. The rest of the first unit consists of Elijah Pritchett at left tackle, Paul Mubenga at left guard, Justin Evans at center, and Brendan Black at right guard. Backups include Preston Taumua, Tyler Knaak, Sam Sledge, Gibson Pyle, Tree Babalade, and freshman Hayden Ainsworth.
Defense produced one of the bigger talking points: Cameron Lenhardt is listed ahead of Williams Nwaneri at defensive end. Owen Stoudmire starts at nose tackle. Several other spots, including some linebacker, corner, and safety roles, carry “OR” designations.
Tight end is led by Luke Lindenmeyer, followed by Janiran Bonner, Carter Nelson, and Eric Ingwerson.
Notable absences from the published two-deep include freshman tight end Luke Sorensen, sophomore offensive lineman Grant Brix, and freshman offensive tackle Claude Mpouma. Sorensen, a three-star California recruit viewed as a high-upside athlete who began playing the position in high school, had been mentioned as a player to watch during camp and someone who would be hard to keep off the field. Brix had appeared in earlier projections as a potential rotational piece. Mpouma, a four-star Chicago product standing 6-foot-8, was reportedly running with the 2nd string but now looks like a longer-term project. On defense, I think the depth chart they showed is our “kill the run” defense, and I expect the lineup to change heavily depending on the situation and down.
Depth charts can shift quickly once games begin. Several position battles remain live, and players left off this initial list will have opportunities to work their way onto later versions. I expect the depth chart to be nearly set in stone come week 4 when Nebraska starts conference play.
Nebraska hosts Ohio at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on FS1.
