Nebraska football has landed a commitment from Arizona transfer defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew, the fourth secondary addition for the Huskers through the portal this cycle.

Groves-Killebrew joins Jamir Conn (Southern Illinois), Andrew Marshall (Idaho) and Justyn Rhett (Georgia) as the defensive back additions in the Huskers' 2025 transfer portal haul.

Groves-Killebrew will be a redshirt junior at Nebraska with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Groves-Killebrew played in nine games for the Wildcats this season, starting six at cornerback. He totaled 23 tackles and four passes deflected on the season, allowing just one touchdown in coverage. Playing in a talented Arizona secondary, he largely played outside cornerback when on the field, but earned snaps at safety and nickel as well.

He started his career at Texas A&M in 2022, earning the Aggie defense's Top Newcomer Award for his play in practice, but transferred after one season to be closer to home, heading to his birthplace of Louisville, Kentucky, to play for the Cardinals. After one season at Louisville, in which he appeared in four games, he transferred to Arizona, looking for more play time.

Groves-Killebrew was a four-star recruit out of high school in the 2022 class out of North Cobb (Ga.). As a senior he recorded 38 tackles and two interceptions. Across his final three seasons of high school he came down with six interceptions.

Natural cover corner who is smooth in his backpedal with impressive change-of-direction ability. Played all over the secondary for Arizona in 2024, but largely played outside corner with limited reps at safety and in the box.

In over 200 coverage snaps, he allowed just 17 receptions and one touchdown last season. Has natural length in his limbs despite a relatively average 6-foot frame. Plays with good eyes, and has a quick downhill trigger on underneath throws.

When caught out of phase, he shows the ability to quickly recover and plays through the hands to create incompletions. He’s patient with hand usage, mirrors hips well off the line and shows impressive physicality off the line, though he could afford to be more handsy with bigger receivers.

Shows good physicality taking on and shedding blocks, but could be more consistent, once again bigger wide receivers can overwhelm him at times. Instincts in zone could improve, but shows good awareness and reacts quickly, closing quick as pass-catchers enter his zone.

Plays with good technique for the most part but still has room for improvement as he still largely relies on athleticism over technique and instincts in coverage. Could still afford to add more muscle to his frame, still developing as a run defender, but shows the willingness to come downhill and hit.

The addition of Marquis Groves-Killebrew gives Nebraska a total of 16 commitments out of the transfer portal in the 2025 cycle. That officially ties the Huskers for their largest transfer portal class with the 2022 cycle, which finished at 16 transfers following the mid-season addition of UCF cornerback Brandon Moore in October 2022.

His commitment, which comes one day after the transfer commitment of former five-star and former Alabama starting offensive tackle Elijah Pritchett, boosts the Huskers' 2025 transfer class two spots from No. 17 to No. 15 in the transfer team rankings. The addition of Pritchett, however, has not yet been added into the overall point total for Nebraska, so the Huskers may ascend even further up the ladder following Groves-Killebrew joining the fold.

Nebraska passed Missouri and Wisconsin on the national transfer team rankings, and the Huskers moved past the Badgers for the No. 2 ranking in the Big Ten. Nebraska (1265 total points) now trails only UCLA (No. 8 nationally at 1455 points) for the No. 1 spot in the conference.

– Zack Carpenter, Inside Nebraska publisher

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