In a matter of a week, Nebraska went from having to potentially replace nearly every key face on their defense, to having six of their top players all decide to come back in 2021.

Sixth-year seniors JoJo Domann, Ben Stille, Will Honas, Deontai Williams and Marquel Dismuke all made the decision to return, while fourth-year cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt opted to stay at NU for another season vs. declaring for the draft. The only departure to the NFL was cornerback Dicaprio Bootle.

As each chip started to fall, the excitement level within the locker room continued to grow around the potential of the 2021 Blackshirts.

“Each individual had to make that decision for themselves, but also understanding that there is a power in numbers,” Domann said.

“If we could get everybody back, that'd be big for our defense and for this team, so it was awesome.”

Head coach Scott Frost has said before that the Huskers need to get old, and stay old.

When looking at the 2021 defense, eight of the 11 projected starters have all played three or four years now on the field in Erik Chinander’s system.

That experience is something the Huskers haven’t had in years, as constant coach and coordinator changes since 2014 have put the Big Red in this position.

“They're really going to be working on their leadership this spring, and hopefully, we've got six of those guys back, so hopefully, we have six extra coaches around during practice,” Chinander said. “They're very versed in what we're trying to do, they understand the drills, what we want to get done.

“I'm asking those guys to take dual roles of not only making themselves the best player they can be sharpening their craft, but also helping us get everybody else, where we need to go, just a few more sets of eyes and ears out there. But I'm really pleased with those guys coming back. I think they're going to be very instrumental to what we're trying to do. I'm just really happy when they all said they're coming back.”

When Domann reflects back on his decision, getting the chance to finish things out the right way was one of the deciding factors.

“A lot went into it,” Domann said on his decision to come back. “My personal development went into it, and my commitment to this program, seeing it through. The idea I had when I came here was to return this place to the winning tradition that it ultimately is, and to create a culture that lasts beyond my time here and with the opportunity to come back. Just both of those doors are wide open for us to walk through them, so I'm really excited for this next year.”