As game week nears, No. 2 CB job remains up for grabs

There wasn't much left to figure out in terms of Nebraska's projected starting lineup on defense entering the start of fall camp.

The only unknown was who would line up opposite of Cam Taylor-Britt as the No. 2 cornerback?

Now just days before the Huskers enter their first game week of the season to prepare of Illinois, that spot remains to be determined.

According to brief media practice observations and plenty of comments from NU coaches and players this fall, the battle appears to be between Quinton Newsome, Braxton Clark, and the newest addition to the mix, Ohio State transfer Tyreke Johnson.

Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said following Monday's practice that all three have made their cases for the job over the past two weeks, but the staff still needed to see more before making any depth chart decisions.

"That’s one that is still ongoing," Chinander said. "The group at the top, Quinton Newsome, Braxton Clark, Tyreke Johnson... Those top three are all getting reps with the ones right now and that’s a good competition.

"They’re all playing well right now. Someone just has to go take it. Someone has to get their hands on some balls. Somebody has to show up and let us know they can tackle well. Show us they can play on special teams. Those guys will have to help us."

Much was made about the addition of Johnson this summer, as the former five-star recruit was projected by many to push for a starting job immediately this season.

Chinander said the 6-foot-1 sophomore had shown plenty of potential so far, but Johnson's role would come down to how quickly he could pick up the Huskers' defense.

"You never know with a new guy," Chinander said. "But he came from a well-run program used to success. So you know, he’s used to the day-in and day-out and how to conduct himself. The part you don’t know is how he’ll get used to the new language and get along with the other guys. He’s done well."

With 18 game appearances and one start last year at Northwestern, Newsome looked to have a leg up over the rest of the pack at the end of spring practices.

Rather than being deterred by Nebraska added a high-profile transfer to push him for the job, Newsome views his daily battles with Johnson and Clark as opportunities to make all three of them better players.

"It wasn't anything personal," Newsome said. "It's just the game and, like I said before, no matter where you go, it's going to be competition. So a new guy coming in, it's like, 'Okay, now I got to go harder. He is going to make me go harder.' Even with Braxton, he makes me go harder. It's just different people.

"The more competition, it makes me go harder, and these guys who compete for the No. 2 spot, they want the same spot as me. It's just competition. It makes each one of us better."

For Clark, some had already written him off after missing all of last season with an injury. But a strong spring - including starting in the spring game - carried into the fall and put him in the thick of the conversation.

"This camp meant a lot to me, just the attention to detail," Clark said. "Little things matter this year. I just try to be perfect every day and go out and compete."