Marquel Dismuke came to Nebraska with high hopes of seeing the field early in his career, but like a lot of players, things don't always go as planned.
The last three seasons Dismuke has bided his time learning from veterans like Nathan Gerry, Joshua Kalu, Aaron Williams and Antonio Reed at the safety position.
The Huskers graduated three senior safeties in 2018, and Dismuke is currently slated to take one of the starting roles, along with fellow junior Deontai Williams.
Secondary coach Travis Fisher said he's noticed a rise in Dismuke's demeanor both on and off the field since the end of last season.
“Just being a leader,” Fisher said of Dismuke. “Just changing up the way he approaches it off the field and then coming into the building with the same approach. He’s bought in, he’s still buying in. He’s coming in trying to get better, he’s asking questions, he’s holding separate meetings with the guys. He’s the guy one-on-one when they have a minute they go and play arcade games together, and Marquel is the guy doing that, just trying to build that chemistry with the guys and that’s totally different than where he was before, last year.
“So he’s doing a great job, and he’s making plays. He’s making plays when he gets the opportunities, he’s a lot better with his hands right now. He’s making plays, I think he made two great plays two days in a row, so he’s doing a great job.”
Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander has also seen a rise in Dismuke's game recently.
“I don’t think I can pinpoint a moment, but I think it was probably after the season last year,” Chinander said on Dismuke’s rise. “Maybe it was when he knew it was going to be a little more his time, or the position was up for grabs. He’s been an unbelievable teammate and player this spring and in fall practice.”
The biggest thing for himcontinues to be competition.
It's been ongoing this August for Nebraska in the secondary room. You have a group of five veteran players in Lamar Jackson, Cam Taylor, DiCaprio Bootle, Dismuke and Williams. They are battling it out with a group of five younger players that include redshirt freshman Braxton Clark and true freshmen Noa Pola-Gates, Myles Farmer, Quinton Newsome and Javin Wright.
Fisher keeps that group hungry every day by keeping track of their production in practice and then posting the results each day.
“The competition is a lot greater and the production chart is thick with guys at the top, with guys that are maybe one or two points away from each other, and those guys are competing,” Fisher said. “The first thing they want to see on the board is who’s climbing, who’s dropping, who’s in the lead, that’s the first thing they want to see. So, I have to make sure I go get that right so when they do come in there, so they stay competitive throughout the day.
“Marquel’s doing a great job. To be honest with you, most of the guys are doing—all the guys are doing a great job. I can’t really point one out that’s really sticking out. All of them are doing a great job."
