If you’re a Husker fan and have followed Nebraska football, then you are familiar with the name Damon Benning. Damon was a Husker and a member of the 1994-95 National Championships teams. He now works as color analyst on the Husker Radio Network with play-by-play announcer Kyle Crooks. Through the week he’s part of the team at Hurrdat Sports Live, a three-hour radio show on Monday through Friday. You can also catch Damon as a regular guest on NPR’s Big Red Wrap Up, and he’s also an assistant coach with Omaha Westside. It’s easy to see the man is deeply ingrained in Nebraska football, Omaha, and the state of Nebraska.

So, why am I giving you Benning’s life history and trying to introduce him when he is probably someone you already know? Because he recently said something on his show that struck me as one of the truest statements I’ve ever heard about football. It’s something I’ve never really thought about but when I heard it, it rang so true I was dumbfounded.

Benning said, “You want your football team to take on the identity of one of your position groups that plays closest to the ball. Which is the offensive line, defensive line or the quarterback.”

Now, I can’t sit here and give Benning credit for that line of thinking, if it’s something he recognized or something he was taught, I’m not sure, but as a coach it’s surely a piece of knowledge you would want to possess, and going a step further, it validates the importance of line and quarterback play in order to be successful.

But first, stop and think about that statement. I played football, certainly not at the level Benning did, and I’ve followed and watched football my whole life and that statement resonated with me like no other. Think of every team you’ve ever known or been a part of, dissect them, break them down, and you’ll see that it’s true.

Taking it a step further, look at those 93 through 97 Nebraska teams. Whose identity did they have. Was it the Pipeline, the Blacks Shirts front, or Frazier, Berringer and Frost. Perhaps good teams take on the identity of one position group, great teams take on the identity of two, and teams that go 60-3 and win three national championships in five years take on all three.

If you look at those Nebraska teams, they were a little of each. They possessed the confidence of the offensive line, the nastiness of the defensive line, and the flat-out cockiness and competitiveness of the quarterbacks.

So, how sound is Benning’s statement. Stop and look at each one of Rhule’s teams since he’s been here. But before you do, ask yourself if Nebraska has developed an identity in any of those three seasons. If they have, the identity they’ve adopted hasn’t been a particularly strong one. In 2023 the quarterback position couldn’t hang onto the ball, creating a, “Oh crap, here we go again,” attitude and offensive and defensive line play was mediocre at best.

In 2024 the defensive front with Hutmacher, Robinson and Butler was the best position group of the three closest to the ball. But even then, they weren’t consistent enough for the team to believe they could win games when they had to.

Last season they carried themselves like the tenth best team in the Big Ten and it was almost like they knew it. They wanted to think they were good, but you could see and feel the doubt.

So, what will we get in year four. As Husker fans, we can’t expect the 2026 team to take on all three personalities. Right now, we need to hope for one, be elated with two, and dream of three. I think we learned enough during spring ball and the Red-White game to know that the identity we will get in 2026 will be a mix between the quarterback room and the offensive line. The one thing we heard from both the coaches and all the players about Colandrea was that he brought the juice and carried himself differently from any of the quarterbacks we’ve seen under Rhule. And there have been nothing but positive reports about offensive line coach Geep Wade and his top eight linemen. Whether it’s former DC Charlie McBride, or former players Jeremiah Sirles and Adam Carriker, those that have been watching have said they see a difference. This O-line is big, agile, and can move.

The wild card for the 2026 team? The same old thing that has been missing with all Rhule’s Nebraska teams since day one. Mental toughness. Go back to Minnesota this season, or all three games against Iowa, the Huskers lost those games because they either weren’t mentally prepared or they mentally collapsed.

What does mental toughness look like? It’s what the 90’s Nebraska teams had. It’s what Curt Cignetti took to Indiana. That extra something that those JMU players brought with them. They believed in themselves and they believed they could win and they weren’t going to let anyone prove otherwise. We haven’t seen that kind of attitude from Rhule’s teams.

Rhule needs to remember where he is, because there is a quote in the Osborne Legacy Complex from one of the greatest defense players ever to suit up at Nebraska, Rhule should have his players read it every day.

Ndamukong Suh – “At Nebraska, I learned that toughness is not just physical – it’s mental.”

I believe Benning is right, this 2026 team will take on the identity of one of the positions closest to the ball. Who will it be? We will have to wait and see but my money is on a Colandrea – O-Line combo, making this Rhule’s best team he’s put on the field thus far.

GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!

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