Not One Nebraska Player Listed on The Athletic’s Top 25 in Big Ten

So, The Athletic published its list of the top 25 best football players in the Big Ten … and 10 honorable mentions.

I scrolled through the list. Hmmm, no Nebraska players in the top 10. Or top 15. Or top 25. Or anywhere, including the honorable mentions.

No Dylan Raiola, considered one of the best returning Big Ten quarterbacks. Where’s wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr.? How about linemen offensive linemen Elijah Pritchett, Turner Corcoran, or Teddy Prochazka?

No one from Nebraska.

Perspective about the top 25 (plus 10) list

Nebraska was one of six Big Ten programs without a player selected by The Athletic, joining Michigan State, Purdue, Maryland, Rutgers and Wisconsin.

There are surprises in there. Michigan State? Wisconsin? No one from those programs on writer Manny Navarro’s list.

The program with the most players selected? Penn State, which is considered a national title contender, with seven. Oregon has six players. Indiana has five. Defending national champion Ohio State only has four, but three are in the top 7.

Iowa has three. Washington, Minnesota and Illinois have two each. Programs with a single player selected: UCLA, USC, Michigan and Northwestern.

In the top 25, 13 players on defense and 12 on offense were chosen. Among the honorable mentions, seven were on offense, three on defense — making for a tidy mix of 19 on offense and 16 on defense.

If you’re a Raiola fan, or believe in the Huskers sophomore, know this: Only one quarterback was chosen: Penn State’s Drew Allar.

What does this list mean?

Is there a deeper meaning in this list? Does it mean Nebraska has been overrated going into 2025 — after years of being overlooked?

The answer is simple: No, it doesn’t. There’s no deeper meaning unless the fans want it to mean something.

Look at it this way: Maybe Nebraska is more of a team-orientated program, not relying on a single star. Maybe it’s a program on the mend and on the build, with only one five-star stud (Raiola) known and recognized by everybody, including the media.

Perhaps head coach Matt Rhule can use such lists as bulletin-board material — something to fire up the players. “Look at the disrespect, boys. Let’s hit those weights harder today! Let’s practice with more focus! Let’s show them and show the world what Huskers football is all about!”

Perhaps Rhule can use this perceived snub to reinforce the value of team over any individual. He also would take the Huskers carrying a proverbial chip on their shoulder going into the season. At this elite level of college football, any edge can be valuable — even if it’s only an imagined one, something innocuous published on the internet.

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