Nebraska football 2023 roster turnover update
Nebraska football experienced lots of turnover from the 2022 season to the 2023 season. Not only did they bring in an entirely new coaching staff, except for offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, but there was also turnover on its roster as well.
With so many changes, HuskerOnline broke down the players who are no longer on Nebraska’s 2023 roster that were on its 2022 squad. We include those who graduated, are no longer listed and are declared for the NFL draft. We also take a look at Nebraska’s total roster number and how it compares to previous seasons.
On3 has a running list of all the former Huskers that are in the transfer portal or have transferred elsewhere.
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Graduated/Exhausted eligibility
Nebraska had 30 players graduate or exhausted their eligibility. Each player in this list has moved on from the Huskers’ program. Quarterback Casey Thompson, offensive lineman Riley Moses and safety Phalen Sanford were the only players who walked at Nebraska’s 2022 senior day that are on the 2023 roster. Thompson and Sanford have one season of eligibility remaining and Moses has two years left.
With the coaching change happening the way it did, a handful of walk-ons chose to walk on Senior Day before their eligibility had completely ended. Walk-ons like Cooper Jewett, Noah Stafursky, Gabe Heins, Beau Psencik and Grant Detlefsen had two more years left. 11 players had one year of eligibility left but chose to walk. Sanford was the only player to return in that group.
| Name | Position |
| Omar Manning | WR |
| Eteva Mauga-Clements | LB |
| Matt Masker* | QB |
| Brandon Moore | DB |
| Cooper Jewett** | RB |
| Chris Kolarevic | LB |
| Brody Belt* | RB |
| Simon Otte* | EDGE |
| Beau Psencik** | RB |
| Chase Contreraz* | K |
| Darius Moore* | DB |
| Jake Archer* | LB |
| Ryan Schommer* | EDGE |
| Brady Weas | LS |
| Ian Boerkircher* | OL |
| Noah Stafursky** | OL |
| Broc Bando | OL |
| Trent Hixson | OL |
| Colton Feist | DL |
| Wyatt Liewer* | WR |
| Oliver Martin | WR |
| Caleb Tannor | LB |
| Travis Vokolek | TE |
| Chancellor Brewington | TE |
| Devin Drew | DL |
| Cameron Pieper* | LS |
| Gabe Heins** | K |
| Grant Detlefsen** | P |
| Cade Mueller | LS |
Declared for 2023 NFL draft
The Huskers declared for the 2023 NFL draft. Of that group, wide receiver Trey Palmer and linebacker Ochaun Mathis were invited to the NFL Combine. Tight end Travis Vokolek was also invited to the combine. Linebacker Garrett Nelson was a player that seemed to be on the bubble of receiving an invitation.
Palmer, Nelson and Mathis all had one year of eligibility remaining.
RELATED – Three Huskers invited to 2023 NFL Combine
| Name | Position |
| Trey Palmer*# | WR |
| Ochaun Mathis*# | LB |
| Garrett Nelson# | LB |
No longer listed
Seven players are no longer listed on the 2023 roster. They aren’t in the transfer portal and didn’t walk on Senior Day. Three scholarship players and four walk-ons departed the team.
Offensive lineman Hunter Anthony and wide receiver Alante Brown are the two biggest names left off of Nebraska’s 2023 roster. Anthony transferred to Nebraska from Oklahoma State before the 2022 season. He played 157 snaps in seven games.
Brown played in 26 games for the Huskers over three seasons. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound receiver caught 22 passes for 262 yards. He was targeted 25 times in 2022 with 16 receptions and 191 receiving yards.
Scholarship offensive lineman Michael Lynn isn’t on the 2023 roster. The 6-foot-6, 295-pound sophomore from Greenwood Village, Colorado played in two games over his four seasons at Nebraska.
Walk-on wide receiver Zach Weinmaster played in every game on Nebraska’s special teams in 2022. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound sophomore returned five kickoffs for 85 yards including a long of 20 yards in 2022. Over his four-year career as a Husker, Weinmaster played in 27 games and had 147 kick return yards on nine attempts.
| Name | Position |
| Hunter Anthony | OL |
| Alante Brown | WR |
| Zach Weinmaster | WR |
| Michael Lynn | OL |
| Christian Lilienkamp | DB |
| Aiden Young | RB |
| Eli Simonson | OL |
Previous season roster numbers
Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule’s 2023 roster is at 140 players before spring practice begins around March 20. The Huskers have 103 players on scholarship and need to get down to 85 before the fall.
Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts has said that the Husker football rosters will be smaller than in the previous seasons. Rhule’s roster is already tied for Scott Frost’s smallest roster size (140) which was his first season in 2018. Nebraska’s newest coach will downsize even more after spring practice.
Here’s a list of Nebraska’s roster numbers over the last seven seasons:
| Season | Number | Coach |
| 2023 | 140 | Matt Rhule |
| 2022 | 151 | Scott Frost |
| 2021 | 156 | Scott Frost |
| 2020 | 154 | Scott Frost |
| 2019 | 153 | Scott Frost |
| 2018 | 140 | Scott Frost |
| 2017 | 129 | Mike Riley |
