Nebraska Cornhuskers Reveal Defenders Who Earned Blackshirts

The Nebraska Cornhuskers and defensive coordinator Tony White have revealed the defenders on the team that were Blackshirt recipients.

The Blackshirts are a long-standing Husker tradition that involves giving every starter on defense a black pullover practice jersey to differentiate them from the offense. Blackshirts must be earned and have been withheld from starters in the past for poor play.

The 2024 blackshirts for the Nebraska Cornhuskers were revealed

In a release that nearly coincided with the official release of the depth chart for the 2024 season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers revealed who would be receiving Blackshirts.

#Huskers Blackshirts to begin the year:

Ty Robinson
Nash Hutmacher
Jimari Butler
Cam Lenhardt
John Bullock
Mikai Gbayor
MJ Sherman
Tommi Hill
Isaac Gifford
Malcolm Hartzog
DeShon Singleton
Marques Buford

— Kaleb Henry (@iKalebHenry) August 27, 2024

Blackshirts can be taken away or given at any point during the season. Just because there are players that have earned a Blackshirt now does not mean that they will be guaranteed that Blackshirt as the season goes on.

One of the more notable inclusions on the Blackshirts list is defensive end Cam Lenhardt. Lenhardt was not listed as the starter on the official depth chart, but Husker coaches view him as a starter on the defensive line.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are looking to continue a tradition

Many college football teams have many different traditions and Nebraska is no different. The importance of the Blackshirts tradition is intertwined with the identity of Nebraska football, which has been forgotten over the last two decades.

The Blackshirts started in the 1960s when two-time national title-winning head coach Bob Devaney decided to split the offense and defense into two separate squads, as explained in an article from the Huskers website.

“We just decided that we would be more efficient if we started platooning,” Devaney told the Lincoln Star. Otherwise, he said, opponents would take advantage of the Huskers.

A headline in that Friday’s Lincoln Star said: “Final Decision Made.”

The differentiating shirts just happened to be black due to a lack of availability. They became a tradition because Nebraska’s identity lay within their stout defense, who ranked No. 2 nationally right after the Blackshirts became a thing for the Huskers.

The late Monte Kiffin played a large role in growing the tradition during his time as the defensive coordinator in the mid 1970s. Regular defensive prowess defined Nebraska football throughout the 1980s and 1990s when they were the most dominant team in college football.

After one last hurrah with Bo Pelini and Ndamukong Suh in the late 2000s, the Huskers defense lost its identity as it struggled mightily for years. The Blackshirts became a point of contention as many fans though no one on the team deserved them.

Head coach Matt Rhule and DC Tony White brought life back into the Blackshirts in their first seasons on the Huskers. The Nebraska defense finished 13th in points per game allowed and 11th in total yards allowed per game.

While the Nebraska defense isn’t quite dominating the college football landscape like it did in the 1990s, Rhule and White have them on a path to succeed as much as any defense since then.

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