A dive into the 2025 regular season for the Husker D-line, and what needs to come next

Matt Rhule has prided himself on his staff being a development team and the Huskers have no greater mission than making their D-line trenches a formidable, destructive group by the time the 2026 season opener arrives.

While it may need to involve some portal additions, developing what’s already in place at Lincoln will be just as important for a unit that only has one senior (Eliza Judy) in the room.

Husker third-year sophomore Riley Van Poppel expressed his belief in the postgame after Iowa’s 40-16 win over Nebraska that the defensive line will only go up from here.

“I think we have some juniors and then we’re all sophomores (or freshmen) … we all have two, three years of eligibility left. That’s no excuse. Yes, we’re a young room but you don’t have to worry because you’re seeing the growth … getting better week by week,” Van Poppel said. “So I think we will only progress in the future.”

Nebraska needs to move up several floors as we take a closer look at some numbers and statistics from the 2025 regular season.



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