Both of the Huskers’ touchdowns were scored by transfers. New defenders stood out, too.
Nebraska receiver Dane Key (left) celebrates his touchdown reception with quarterback Dylan Raiola in the Huskers’ win over Cincinnati.
Nebraska receiver Dane Key (left) celebrates his touchdown reception with quarterback Dylan Raiola in the Huskers’ win over Cincinnati.
Transfers scored Nebraska’s two touchdowns in the Huskers’ 20-17 win over Cincinnati in the season opener. They weren’t the only transfers to contribute.
Wide receivers Nyziah Hunter (Cal) and Dane Key (Kentucky) each caught a touchdown pass from Dylan Raiola. Hunter’s TD was a circus catch on a 5-yard pass with 11 seconds to play in the first half to increase Nebraska’s lead to 13-3. Hunter caught six passes for 65 yards.
Key’s touchdown was on a 3-yard pass on fourth down early in the fourth quarter that gave the Huskers a 20-10 lead. Key also had six catches for 51 yards.
Raiola’s protection on the offensive line included transfers Rocco Spindler (Notre Dame) and Elijah Pritchett (Alabama), who did not start but saw considerable action.
Transfers contributed on defense, too, with 17 total tackles. Williams Nwaneri (Missouri) had six tackles and recovered Cincinnati’s only fumble, setting up Hunter’s touchdown; Andrew Marshall (Idaho) had five tackles; Dasan McCullough (Oklahoma) made four tackles; and Marques Watson-Trent (Georgia Southern) had two tackles.
Nebraska wide receiver Nyziah Hunter runs past Cincinnati cornerback Logan Wilson.
Where Nebraska ranks in the transfer portal
ESPN did a deep dive into the number of transfers at each big football school. Nebraska ranks 43rd of 68 — 12th in the Big Ten — in the number of snaps taken by the transfers at previous schools. According to ESPN, the Huskers’ 15 transfers had 176 starts and had taken 10,944 snaps at their previous schools.
For comparison, West Virginia’s 51 transfers had the most snaps of any team in the country with 32,779. That’s nearly three times Nebraska’s total. West Virginia’s transfers had 462 starts at other schools. Clemson ranked 68th (last) in number of transfer snaps with 1,607 from its three transfers who made 22 starts at other schools.
ESPN said its methodology included using ESPN Research and Pro Football Focus to “identify which programs did the most — or the least — with their portal shopping.”
Purdue’s 53 transfers had the third-most snaps overall and the most snaps in the Big Ten with 25,465. The new Boilermakers made 377 starts before landing with Purdue.
The rest of the Big Ten, with overall ranking among Power 4 schools, the number of transfers, number of starts and number of snaps.
3. Purdue: 53 transfers, 377 starts, 25,465 snaps
11. Indiana: 23 transfers, 346 starts, 21,326 snaps
21. Rutgers: 19 transfers, 249 starts, 16,040 snaps
23. Michigan State: 23 starters, 238 starts, 15,589 snaps
24. UCLA: 30 transfers, 203 starts, 15,289 snaps
33. Oregon: 11 transfers, 216 starts, 13,489 snaps
34. Washington: 18 transfers, 192 snaps, 13,385 snaps
35. Northwestern: 15 transfers, 215 snaps, 12,901 snaps
38. Minnesota: 21 transfers, 155 starts, 12,267 snaps
39. Illinois: 18 transfers, 198 starts, 12,237 snaps
40. Wisconsin: 18 transfers, 179 starts, 12,055 snaps
43. Nebraska: 15 transfers, 176 starts, 10,944 snaps
44. Michigan: 18 transfers, 157 starts, 10,787 snaps
52. USC: 15 transfers, 116 snaps, 7,9111 snaps
54. Iowa: 10 transfers, 127 starts, 7,576 snaps
55. Ohio State: 11 transfers, 102 starts, 7,255 snaps
57. Maryland: 15 transfers, 87 starts, 6,937 snaps
66. Penn State: 8 transfers, 61 starts, 4,980 snaps
ESPN reported that big-school transfers accounted for 13,000 starts before this season and had 930,000 snaps. Transfers in college football these days are more ubiquitous than the marching band. And, in some cases, they’re making more noise.
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