Mike Dawson knew he needed to be careful.
There simply weren’t many healthy bodies left along the interior defensive line this past spring. Of the starting rotation from 2021 — Ben Stille, Damion Daniels, Ty Robinson, Deontre Thomas and Casey Rogers (when he was healthy) — Robinson was the only healthy returner going through those 15 practices.
Defensive lineman Jordon Riley, who was set to get more playing time in 2022, had entered the transfer portal in January and landed at Oregon, following his old position coach Tony Tuioti. Rogers would do the same in late April.
So Dawson, who is coaching both the interior defensive line and EDGE defenders this season, wanted to pay attention to how many reps each lineman was taking during practice. He didn’t want to overwork anyone, especially an important player like Robinson, so each rep was monitored.
“We knew exactly how many they were getting, when they were getting them, what looks they were getting them against so they didn’t repeat the same looks over and over again,” Dawson said on ‘Sports Nightly’ Tuesday. “So, I think, probably for the growth of the guys, I think it was a really good thing.”
Robinson is the guy on the inside of the defensive line this season. He’s not the 18-year-old four-star recruit in the 2019 class trying to earn playing time with the older players anymore — he is one of the older players. With that comes responsibility — he’s expected to be more of a leader now.
Robinson has improved in each of his first three seasons at Nebraska. After playing in just three games to preserve his redshirt in 2019, Robinson racked up 17 tackles and two tackles for loss in eight games during the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign. Last season was his best as a Husker — he notched career-highs in tackles (27), tackles for loss (4) and sacks (2).
But defensive coordinator Erik Chinander and Dawson want Robinson to take the next step in his development. Chinander spoke on that earlier this spring.
“I think his progression that he’s made the last couple years is good. Now he needs to get that thing to the next level,” Chinander said. “He’s been there, he’s done that, he knows what it’s like to play in games in Memorial Stadium. I mean, shoot, last year he played against Ohio State, he played against Michigan, he knows what it’s like to play against those guys.
“Now, can he win those one-on-one battles. Can he get some more TFLs (tackles for loss) for us? Can he stay in his gap and make the ball bounce?”
This will be Robinson’s D-line room. He knows what it’s like to play meaningful reps in the Big Ten in November against teams like Wisconsin and Iowa. Two key transfers who the Huskers picked up in the transfer portal, Stephon Wynn Jr. from Alabama and Devin Drew from Texas Tech, don’t.
“Ty’s got some experience under his belt now, he’s no longer the young guy trying to come up and break through,” Dawson said. “He’s going to have to have a great season for us, and I think he knows that. He’s ready for a big challenge. He’s doing a good job in the weight room, his body is continuing to mature, he’s putting that muscle mass on, he’s getting bigger and stronger. So he’s doing a good job of getting physically ready to go that way. So we’re looking for a lot of good things from Ty this year.”
Wynn needs to make a Daniels-type impact, too. He needs to be that gap- and space-eater who holds his own against opposing guards and centers in the run game. Wynn has impressed Dawson in the short amount of time he’s been in Lincoln. The 6-3, 305-pounder played in 21 games with the Crimson Tide and had a total of 16 tackles. He didn’t record a tackle for loss or a sack.
While his numbers won’t blow anyone away, Wynn was still a member of Alabama’s program for four years while playing behind future NFL linemen. He wasn’t processed out by Nick Saban's coaching staff. So he knows a thing or two about what a successful program looks like from the inside, and he’s hoping to help the Husker defense and put on good film for NFL scouts in 2022.
“He’s already made an impact in the room with just his football knowledge and IQ,” Dawson said. “Knowing and understanding not only, ‘Where do I line up’ and, ‘How do I fit into this defense’ but, ‘What’s the offense trying to do to me’ as well. He’s got a great head on his shoulders.”
Robinson isn’t the only returning defensive lineman who is expected to take the next step. Another is Nash Hutmacher, a 6-4, 330-pound South Dakotan nicknamed Polar Bear. Hutmacher, now entering his third season at Nebraska, played in 11 games in 2021, mostly in goal line packages on defense and special teams.
Strength has never been an issue with Hutmacher, a state champion heavyweight wrestler during his high school days. He’s regarded as one of the strongest players on the team. But the process of using that weight room strength to become a great interior defensive lineman — there’s a difference between the two — is what the coaching staff is working on.
“The thing he’s going to have to work on and do a great job with this training camp is changing and taking that weight room strength and applying it to the field,” Dawson said. “When you’re doing those specific lifts in the weight room, it’s great to have a great bench, a great squat and a great power clean, but when you’re playing football you’re doing all three of them at once.
“Now, can you take all three of those and put them together at the same time.”
Dawson mentioned a scene he witnessed following a workout this past spring inside Hawks Championship Center. Hutmacher was messing around with another former state champion heavyweight wrestler on the team — EDGE rusher Garrett Nelson.
“Obviously two great high school wrestlers, and they kind of got in that stance,” Dawson recalled. “Nash went right at Garrett, and it looked like a cobra coming out of his stance and going to strike. I said, ‘That’s what we need to take and turn that over and get that as part of your get-off on a football field.’ I think that kind of clicked with him a little bit.
“So when he starts doing that, especially getting up field and getting those O-linemen on different levels where they can’t get a good double team on him, he’s going to be a hard guy to move.”
Mosai Newsom is another Husker who has been around for a while waiting his turn. The Iowa native is entering his fourth year at Nebraska and has yet to play meaningful snaps. The 6-5, 285-pounder has worked hard to change that, Dawson said.
Newsom has already checked off one of his college goals from his to-do list: graduate. According to Dawson, that may help him earn playing time.
“I think that (graduating) has given him a little bounce in his step, and he’s gotten a little bit of confidence from that,” Dawson said. “I think he’s a guy who has great upside athletically, he’s really got some quick-twitch, and I think he’s starting to figure it out a little bit.
One area where Dawson wants to see improvement with Newsom is consistency and not trying to make every play himself.
“I think he’s starting to understand how to take on blocks and how to stay on a man a little bit better rather than trying to do too much, where you’re trying to take on maybe two guys at once or something like that,” Dawson said. “If he can bring that confidence that he’s got going with his athleticism, I think he’s a guy who will be able to stack some reps for us.”
Then there’s the super-young duo of Ru’Quan Buckley and Jailen Weaver, two redshirt freshmen looking to find a role. Buckley is a 6-6, 290-pounder from Michigan while Weaver, a California native, is massive — 6-8 and 345 pounds.
The redshirt year last season was crucial to their development. It’s hard for O- and D-linemen to play early in their college football careers and be successful. It’s a grown man’s game in the trenches, especially in a conference like the Big Ten, where the older the linemen are, the better.
“I think those guys,” Dawson said of Buckley and Weaver, “not only being big guys, but having the right kind of weight and getting stronger and being able to catch up with the speed that happens also with that size and strength, I think that’s going to be a big deal for them.”
It’d be wise not to count out a walk-on from the group, too. That’d be Yutan, Nebraska, native Colton Feist, who enjoyed a healthy spring and could find himself in the rotation if he keeps developing like he has.
The 6-2, 275-pounder has stuck around in Lincoln and is entering his fifth season. He endured injuries at the beginning of the 2021 season and at the end of it, but played in eight games in between. He’s a fighter, and Dawson likes that about the in-state product.
“If he can have a year where he’s healthy,” Dawson said, “he’s going to be one of those guys where, ‘Hey, this is a guy who we were able to grow in the program and is gonna be able to be a big factor for us.’”
