Nebraska football training camp: Five 'prove-it' players to watch

Aprogram with six straight losing seasons has plenty to prove. So it tracks that Nebraska football is full of players who need to make their mark. Whittling down a long list of “prove-it” players down to five provides a challenge, but we’ve done it with the following criteria: A Husker has to be entering his third season on campus or, in the case of a transfer, at least their third season in college football.

Here are five to WATCH: Defensive back Omar Brown: Media and fans produced palpable buzz when Nebraska landed a FCS All-American corner from Northern Iowa. In 2022, Brown made four tackles, disappointing himself and losing cachet with the coaches, who opted for guys like Malcolm Hartzog instead. Now Brown appears to have practiced his way into more playing time at safety, where competition is steep but one 2022 starter — Marques Buford — is slowly returning from a bad knee injury.

Brown had eight career interceptions at UNI. Two, in 2023, would be good. Tight end Thomas Fidone: Injuries robbed him of two seasons in Lincoln.

Now fully healthy — and counted upon in an inexperienced tight end room — Fidone will get some grace as he plays college football for the first time. But the game won’t be sympathetic, and besides, Fidone has a height/length/catch radius/speed component that should give Husker quarterback Jeff Sims a downfield weapon. Rarely has a true Husker debut been more delayed or anticipated.

Receiver Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda: Coach Matt Rhule has said in multiple interviews that he likes what “IGC” brings to the table as an athlete and talent. No two ways about it: Nebraska needs Garcia-Castaneda, originally a transfer from New Mexico State, to emerge and consistently contribute beyond the 2022 season opener, when he caught NU’s first touchdown of the season. Garcia-Castaneda left the team after four games last season, returned and figures to be the Huskers’ third- or fourth-best pass-catcher.

Can he regain the form he had at NMSU? Defensive end Blaise Gunnerson: The former four-star recruit who picked Nebraska over Iowa State, Iowa, Kansas State and Minnesota has had bad injury luck since arriving in 2020. Forced to wait his turn behind experienced players in 2021 and 2022, Gunnerson enters his fourth training camp with an open runway to playing time. He’ll have a chance to triple or quadruple his eight career tackles if he wins a starting job.

If he stays healthy. Nebraska coaches have high expectations. Linebacker MJ Sherman: Good spring vibes are one thing.

A full, productive season will be the next step for this former five-star Georgia transfer, who arrived at Nebraska looking for the one thing that eluded him while winning two national titles: playing time. Sherman could well be the breakout star of this defense, elevating his NFL draft stock the way Trey Palmer did in 2022. But Palmer arrived at NU having produced more than Sherman did at UGA.

At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Sherman has considerable upside if he realizes his full potential. .