After tweaking off-field approach, NFL Draft hopeful Omar Brown saw success

There might not be a Nebraska player from last season's team that helped himself more than Omar Brown.

The Minneapolis native spent the first three seasons of his college football career as a corner in the FCS ranks playing for Northern Iowa. He did well there, and in 2019 was the Defensive Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-American for both Phil Steele and the Associated Press.

After transferring to Nebraska in 2022 for his big power-conference opportunity, Brown didn’t have the start he hoped for. Injuries and position changes slowed his development. After starting at corner, Brown was moved to nickel, where he'd play closer to the line of scrimmage and could help in run support.

Following a 2022 campaign where he was a backup and only netted five tackles, Brown had a breakout senior season in 2023. Tony White’s 3-3-5 defense was a strong fit for Brown, who possesses the size at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds to hold up in the tackle box, but also the instincts and speed — he ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash at Nebraska's Pro Day — to hold his own against receivers and tight ends in pass coverage.

Along with being a good fit for White's defense, Brown learned and grew under first-year defensive backs coach Evan Cooper.

“He learned that your approach off the field affects your production on the field, and that's a really good thing for him,” Rhule said

Brown played in all 12 games in 2023 and started eight of them as a safety, playing the third-most snaps with 665. He came off the bench for the games against Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan State, but still finished tied for second on the team in tackles with 51 to go along with two forced fumbles and one interception. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and media.

Brown's season-opener at Minnesota, his home-state program that never offered him out of high school, was both impressive and telling of how far he had come.

Brown showed off his versatility against the Gophers. He was able to stick on receivers in the pass game:

And recorded his first interception as a Husker on an out-breaking route he basically ran for the receiver:

But Brown also showed he's a strong tackler who can play both deep safety or at the second level, closer to where the action is:

The highlights continued.

More strong tackling against Louisiana Tech, which had receiver Smoke Harris, who, if you remember, has a lot of make-you-miss in him.

Not against Brown he didn't:

Brown showed out against Maryland, too.

Here he is staying in his zone until it was time to hit the gas and go after quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. Brown got a hand on the pass, which helped teammate Javin Wright pick it off:

And here Brown is ripping at the ball successfully. This is the exact same drill/technique Husker coaches have been seen teaching during the open practices media members get to watch in the spring:

As we enter further into NFL Draft weekend, Brown is Nebraska's best hope for a Husker name being called in Detroit.

“He's got corner skills in a safety’s body. I think he’ll be excellent on special teams,” Matt Rhule said of Brown on Thursday following Nebraska's 14th practice of the spring.

Many of the draft experts aren't projecting Brown to be selected higher than the sixth round. Most are expecting him to go undrafted and catch on with a team as a priority free agent.

Brown is not in The Athletic’s Top 300 rankings or ESPN's seven-round mock, but he is a sixth-rounder according to Pro Football Focus and a seventh-rounder according to Sporting News.

Brown has gained more interest following the season because of a strong showing at Nebraska's Pro Day and the East-West Shrine Bowl in San Antonio, where he flashed his diverse skill set:

Rhule and receivers coach Garret McGuire were on a recruiting trip in Texas during the East-West practices and decided to pay Brown, and long snapper Marco Ortiz, a visit.

“The best thing was, he came up to me and said, ‘Coach Rhule, you were right. All these scouts asked me if I graduated, and I'm glad I did,’” Rhule said. “So he fought to graduate on time and he did, so I'm proud of him.”

Led by a new head coach in Rhule, and a new position coach in Cooper, Brown tweaked his approach off the field and saw his performance improve on it.

Now he has a shot at being drafted.

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