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Football
HUSKER FOOTBALL
Nebraska’s new defensive voice lands on Butkus Award watch list
LINCOLN — Owen Chambliss has been entrusted with making sure 11 Nebraska defenders know where to go. Now, he’s getting recognition as one of the nation’s best linebackers.
Chambliss was named Thursday to the 51-player Butkus Award watch list, recognizing the Nebraska junior as one of the early candidates for one of college football’s top defensive honors.
The award is named for Dick Butkus, the legendary linebacker, and the 51-player watch list honors his iconic jersey number. It recognizes the toughness, instincts, leadership, competitiveness and football character that defined one of the great defensive players in football history.
For Chambliss, the recognition follows a breakout 2025 season at San Diego State — and it comes as Nebraska prepares to make him one of the most important voices on its defense.
Defensive coordinator Rob Aurich has asked Chambliss to become Nebraska’s “green-dot guy.”
“Be the green-dot guy,” Chambliss said before the start of Nebraska’s monthlong preseason training camp. “Keep getting everybody on the field on the same page.”
The green dot indicates the helmet contains the coach-to-player communication device. The responsibility typically falls to a linebacker who gets the defense aligned and makes sure everyone understands his assignment.
Chambliss, a 6-foot-3, 204-pound Corona, California, native, anchored an Aztec defense that ranked 12th nationally in total defense and seventh in scoring defense last season. He earned first-team All-Mountain West honors after leading San Diego State with 110 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Semifinalists will be announced Oct. 28, finalists Nov. 20 and the winner during the week of Dec. 7. A player does not have to appear on the preseason watch list to ultimately win the award.
Nebraska's Owen Chambliss full press conference from Aug. 4, 2026
Courtesy Photo
Nebraska's Owen Chambliss speaks during a press conference
Aug. 4.
Page B1
Courtesy Photo
Nebraska's Owen Chambliss speaks during a press conference
Aug. 4.
Volleyball
'Now anyone can play': With redshirts gone, Nebraska volleyball frosh aiming for court time
Evan Bland
Omaha World-Herald
LINCOLN — Jayden Robinson didn’t mind the idea of redshirting. She planned to get better this year, whether that was in volleyball matches or behind the scenes.
Now that the NCAA has done away with redshirts — athletes instead have five years to play five seasons — the Nebraska outside hitter is dreaming a bit bigger for the next few months.
“It’s kind of cool because now anyone can play,” Robinson said Thursday. “The coaches have a variety of players to play with.”
Robinson is one of three Husker freshmen — all former top-20 national prospects — whose outlook perhaps changed for their debut college campaigns in the wake of the eligibility shift. Middle blocker Keoni Williams and outside hitter Gabby DiVita are the others.
Four current NU members already completed redshirts in second-year players Keri Leimbach (defensive specialist), Kenna Cogill (middle) and Ryan Hunter (outside hitter) along with third-year hitter Skyler Pierce.
Cogill, now firmly in the blocking mix, said Nebraska optimizes either scenario. She would have liked to taste an actual match last year. But practicing with Husker nonstarters are like daily facing a top-25 team.
“Redshirting was very beneficial to me,” Cogill said. “I feel like I got to grow a lot and it’s such a good opportunity for the younger girls to not have that too so they can get on the court and get a taste of it. But honestly for me, I don’t think it was a bad thing to redshirt. I was happy with it.”
Williams said she never considered whether she would redshirt when she committed to Nebraska. She called the possibility of playing at any moment now “exciting” while adding it would be no easy task.
The depth of quality Nebraska personnel is like last year, coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. But the margins between starters and everyone else are “even closer” than before as players work to establish roles.
“For roster management, I think it’s great for this team,” Busboom Kelly said of the rule change. “We were probably going to redshirt some players and now we don’t have to. So you can get them experience. I think it’s awesome.”
The eligibility change also means Nebraska’s four seniors who didn’t redshirt will all have the option to return for 2027 in setter Bergen Reilly, outside hitter Harper Murray, middle Andi Jackson and libero Laney Choboy.
“Everyone thinks that if one of us stays, all of us are playing,” Choboy said. “But we really don’t know what each other are doing. Personally, I don’t even know what I’m doing. It’s a lot to process.”
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Nebraska's Owen Chambliss full press conference from Aug. 4, 2026
