Nebraska defensive lineman Ru'Quan Buckley enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Nebraska defensive lineman Ru’Quan Buckley entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Thursday, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. Buckley was a three-star prospect in the 2021 cycle, according the On3 Industry Rankings.

In 2023 as a redshirt freshman, he played in eight games on the defensive line. Buckley had a quarterback hurry against Louisiana Tech and tallied a solo tackle against the Michigan Wolverines. Late in the season, he switched from the defensive line to the offensive line, so we’ll see where the coaching staff at his new school decides to put him.

In 2022, Buckley did not play in any games but traveled with the team. In 2021, he appeared in one game, playing on the defensive line in the ‘Huskers win over Fordham.

Before joining the Cornhuskers, Buckley became just the fourth Michigan native to join the Nebraska program since 1974. He was a star offensive and defensive lineman for Godwin Heights High School (Michigan). At the time of enrollment, he was the youngest member of the Nebraska recruiting class, only turning 18 two months into his freshman campaign.

He earned All-America honors from Sports Illustrated in 2020 and started all four seasons for Godwin Heights, including as a freshman at the young age of 13 years old. He became the first player in school history to sign with a Big Ten program. Buckley racked up 74 tackles his senior year, with 22 tackles for loss and 11 sacks in just seven games of work.

He was well respected by several different scouting services in high school on both the offensive and defensive lines. Out of high school, he earned an impressive list of offers, Cincinnati, Florida State, Michigan State, and Minnesota.

Nebraska went 5-7 overall this year but they had several close losses. They lost 13-10 to Minnesota. They lost 20-17 to Michigan State. And they also lost three other games by one score or less (Maryland, Wisconsin, and Iowa). Two of those losses were by three points (Maryland and Iowa) and the other was in overtime (Wisconsin).

Quarterback Jeff Sims was benched after he threw six interceptions in five games. Heinrich Haarberg came off the bench to be very effective, especially as a runner. He finished with 477 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in 10 games. As a passer, he threw for 967 yards, while tossing in seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in 10 games.