Nebraska Football: Huskers Are Back in Black, but Plenty of Work Left to Do

The Blackshirts are back at Nebraska. After a dominant performance against Northwestern, the Huskers coaching staff decided it was time to put members of the defense in the coveted black jerseys.

Before the October 21 practice, 16 of the traditional Blackshirts were hung in lockers. Those lockers belonged to Randy Gregory, Vincent Valentine, Maliek Collins, Greg McMullen, Kevin Williams, Trevor Roach, Zaire Anderson, David Santos, Corey Cooper, Nate Gerry, Josh Mitchell, Daniel Davie, Jonathan Rose, Byerson Cockrell, Josh Banderas and Joshua Kalu.

Earning the Blackshirts is a huge accomplishment for the Nebraska defense. However, the work isn't done for the Huskers. Instead, it's just beginning.

While Nebraska's 38-17 win over Northwestern was a great step in the right direction, the group still faces some tough opponents in the second half of the season. However, holding the Wildcats to only 28 yards in the second half speaks volumes of what this group is capable of.

As it turns out, that was pretty much what determined the defensive players earning the jerseys.

"We challenged them at halftime to correct what we needed to have corrected and go play a good half and we'd win the game," defensive coordinator John Papuchis said, per Brian Christopherson of the Lincoln Journal Star. "That's what they did. I thought based off that it was deserving to hand them out."

Going forward, the defense has a lot to prove to keep the black jerseys. Linebacker Banderas understands that. So much so, the sophomore decided against wearing his new jersey to practice as he feels he's not playing at a high enough level for the honor just yet.

"Definitely I respect him because of that," Collins said, per Christopherson. "It shows that he's not complacent with where he is. He's always looking to reach another level."

The rest of the team needs to follow suit. That doesn't mean they have to forfeit wearing their new jerseys to practice. Instead, it's about playing to the same level they have in recent games against upcoming opponents.

Per Jon Nyatawa of the Omaha World-Herald, Papuchis claims the Blackshirts only recently hit a turning point, as things started coming together before the Illinois game.

"Things started to click," he said. "We're starting to really hit (our) stride."

Since then, the Nebraska defense really has shown significant growth. Despite the loss to Michigan State, the group was looking like Blackshirts. That included holding MSU quarterback Connor Cook to only 11-of-29 passing.

Considering the quarterback had a 69 percent completion rate heading into the game, that says a lot about the Huskers.

Then there's players like Roach, who recorded 18 total tackles against Michigan State and another 10 against Northwestern. No one can forget about Gregory, either, who Papuchis believes makes big plays that most people don't see.

"His combination of size, strength, speed, athleticism, quickness, toughness," Papuchis said, per Nyatawa. "And the fact that he's a (hard-working) player, in terms of his effort and his compete-level. Most of his best plays, I think, are ones that nobody notices him do it."

Ultimately, what this all adds up to is that the Blackshirts can't settle now. While the coveted jerseys have been handed out, they have to continue being earned. In order to do so, players like Gregory and Roach will have to keep playing at a high level and making big plays.

Earning a Blackshirt is a huge honor. How the players handle it going forward is now what matters most.