Sometimes when you leave a place like Nebraska for a year, you don't realize the impact it had on you.

For first-year outside linebackers coach Mike Dawson, that's exactly how he felt about his one season at NU under Scott Frost in 2018.

Dawson coached the defensive line for the Huskers in Frost's first season at Nebraska, before a unique opportunity came his way to coach outside linebackers with the NY Giants.

Unfortunately, Pat Shurmur was fired in NY, but at the same time outside linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt took a position at North Carolina under Mack Brown. That paved the way for Dawson to rejoin the Husker coaching staff.

“For me, probably more than just an average guy that maybe didn't know Scott or didn't know this place or what this place was about, there probably would have been, I guess, more of a thought process,” Dawson said on coming back. “For me, once the opportunity was there and after I had a conversation with Coach Frost, then it was an easy choice for me.”

And even though Dawson wasn't with NU in 2019, he very much kept tabs on what was going on.

“If we were traveling, I would always get on XM (Radio) and listen to Greg (Sharpe) and Matt (Davison) call the game, which was neat,” Dawson said. “Obviously, I wanted success for the guys that I had coached with and the guys that you had recruited and coached and things like that. I was rooting just as hard as everybody else was for them for sure.”

When defensive coordinator Erik Chinander looks at this move, familiarity is the key.

Dawson is a former defensive and special teams coordinator. He's also coached multiple different positions over the years, including the offensive line. He brings a unique set of diversified skills to the table that will help NU in the long run.

“It's great having Mike (Dawson) back,” Chinander said. “He’s a guy that I've been with for a long time and a guy that knows the system and all that kind of stuff and what we want to get done. I know how he coaches those guys. I think it's going to be a big help just for the whole group and me. Having a guy that I can put back up in the box during games and be able to communicate with easily."

Dawson admits though, it was a little strange leaving Nebraska, and then coming back, especially since he's taken on a whole new group of players.

However, there still remains a lot of familiar faces in his position room.

“I don't know how many times this situation is happening in college football where you're gone and a year later you're back, my office is moved three doors down, different meeting room,” Dawson said. “You've built relationships with those guys over recruiting and also having those guys in the room with you for a year, so there's a lot of those guys that come over and you get to see them.

"That's part of the reason why I'm so excited to come back. That young group of guys working upfront there and even watching them run around a little bit in (early spring) practice was pretty exciting. They look good and Coach Tony (Tuioti) is doing a great job with them. It's going to be a lot of fun being around those guys.

“I think coaching outside linebackers is a little bit unique especially in this system because in one play you could be playing defensive line, doing a defensive line job, the next play you could be doing a linebacker job, and the next play you could be doing what is typically a safety job. There is a lot of flexibility for the players who are playing that position. Then for me as a coach, it helps me get tied in through the entire system with both the front-end and the back end, which I like.”