Nebraska added a recruit in a unique situation on Friday evening.
Northern Iowa graduate transfer linebacker Chris Kolarevic verbally committed to the Huskers after first entering the NCAA's transfer portal about 10 days ago.
"I heard from quite a few coaches, but Nebraska was actually my first official scholarship offer, the next morning after I went in the portal," Kolarevic told the Journal Star on Friday evening. "I was super excited about that and I felt like it was the right fit, so I ended up committing about a week after that."
Kolarevic was listed at 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds at UNI and figured to be a central part of the Panthers' defense before most of the Football Championship Subdivision level was shut down.
"I was really ready to go, I was excited and my body felt great. I was ready to go mentally and physically, I was excited to play a season and they ended up canceling it," Kolarevic said. "I was just looking at my academics and I saw that I had the ability to graduate in December and I could play two years somewhere else if I wanted to.
"I decided that's what was best for me because I can go play against a high level of competition and get a master's degree at a different institution. It's been rough not playing football. It sucks and I miss it a lot, but I'm excited to get to Lincoln."
Kolarevic announced his commitment via Twitter and added that he intends to graduate from UNI in December and then be immediately eligible. Given the eligibility freeze instituted by the NCAA this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kolarevic should have two years remaining beginning in 2021.
The Traverse City, Michigan, native started six games in 2018 and recorded 65 tackles (three for loss) and a sack before a right foot injury ended his season. In fact, it kept him out nearly a calendar year before he was finally able to return to action about a month into the 2019 season.
Grateful #GBR pic.twitter.com/SNrQS0RcYO
— Chris Kolarevic (@cjkolarevic) October 30, 2020
In 10 games the rest of the way, he recorded 79 tackles (6.5 for loss), a pair of sacks and an interception for UNI.
"It was tough coming back from the injury because I didn't get to do a lot of the offseason stuff, so I missed a lot of that," Kolarevic said. "It took me a game or two to get into shape — you can only bike so much, football shape is a little different — so it just took me a couple of games to get into shape, but UNI's coaches, I love those guys and I think I played pretty well."
Nebraska and Northern Iowa have significant connections. Several of the Husker coaches, including defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, have been on staff at UNI during the course of their careers. Not only that, but junior NU tight end Travis Vokolek's father, D.J., is the linebackers coach at UNI and was Kolarevic's position coach.
"It's wild, I know Coach Chinander coached (at UNI) for a while and (head coach Scott) Frost was there only for a year or two," Kolarevic said. "It was kind of funny, we were talking about campus and stuff and just hearing about their experiences at UNI, too."
Kolarevic said he also talked with Frost and inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud before pulling the trigger and committing.
Wan'Dale Robinson
As a freshman, Robinson flashed his electrifying playmaking ability and topped 1,000 all-purpose yards. As a sophomore, he’s hoping he’s behind nagging hamstring issues and projects to have a huge role in the Husker offense.
Robinson has been used in a variety of ways on the football field and he’s also quickly become a staple off of it, too. He spoke at NU’s announcement of its $155 million football facility project last fall, he’s featured in a recruiting video recently produced by the school, and he’s regularly brought up by recruits considering Nebraska. He’s already a face of the program.
Luke McCaffrey
McCaffrey might not be in line to start at quarterback, but many are excited to see just how head coach Scott Frost and company decide to use him. Package player? Spot duty? One thing that’s clear: McCaffrey is an explosive player and NU needs as many of those as possible.
McCaffrey, remember, didn’t play quarterback full time until his senior year of high school, which only adds to the intrigue considering now he has additional months to add strength and also to further immerse himself into quarterback play.
Ty Robinson
The big man from Arizona opened eyes with the way he held up against Wisconsin last fall and now hopes to be a full-time player. At 6-foot-6 and about 325 pounds, Robinson might be the most promising young defensive lineman the Huskers have had in years.
Ideally, Robinson would be a defensive end who can rush the passer and also be stout at the point of attack. The Huskers think he has the versatility, though, to play up and down the line as needed.
Omar Manning
NU lacked perimeter playmakers in 2019 and had no physically imposing receivers. Manning is being counted on to solve both problems at 6-4 and 225 pounds. Husker fans have watched his dominating junior college film and wonder what might be in store in Lincoln. Manning will be interesting to watch because it may not take much for him to put himself back on NFL radar screens. Any type of late fall or winter season might be as important for Manning as for any player on the NU roster.
Cam Taylor-Britt
The secondary’s Swiss Army knife played multiple positions as a sophomore and dealt with injuries, leading to some uneven play. He also made a lot of big plays, though, including a pick-six against Iowa. He’ll be among the defense’s leaders and could be a big, physical corner for Travis Fisher this fall. Taylor-Britt has plenty of competition, including the newest addition to the secondary in juco transfer Nadab Joseph. One of the things the staff likes about Taylor-Britt, though, is he never seems to shy away from a challenge.
Cameron Jurgens
Jurgens took his lumps as a redshirt freshman when he was thrown into the fire as Nebraska’s starting center and struggled with the first step of the position: snapping the ball. The Beatrice native, though, settled in as the season went along and ended up showing signs of why the coaching staff is so high on his prospects by the time the season ended. Another year will do him good across the board. He’s bigger and stronger, he’s been healthy for an extended period of time now and he’s got a better understanding of the offense and his extensive responsibilities in the middle of the offensive line. Greg Austin calls it “command presence.” Jurgens has that now, along with a lot of snaps under his belt.
Travis Vokolek
Like many of these entries, there are multiple players who could qualify here. At tight end, Vokolek will draw eyes because he’s the newcomer in the room. The Rutgers transfer sat out the 2019 season because of NCAA transfer rules but drew rave reviews from pretty much everybody that saw him work on the scout team. At 6-6 and 250 pounds, the Missouri native fits the bill in Sean Beckton’s physically imposing position group. The Huskers have had periods of quality play from Jack Stoll, Austin Allen and Kurt Rafdal over the past two years, but nobody has truly emerged as a dangerous weapon in the pass game. Maybe Vokolek will, or perhaps it will be somebody else in the room.
Deontai Williams
Nebraska thought Williams was in for a big season in 2019 before he suffered a season-ending injury less than one quarter into the first game of the season. Williams, though, is healthy now, and head coach Scott Frost and secondary coach Travis Fisher have consistently expressed excitement about what his future holds. Williams was a part-time player in 2018 and made some big plays despite being in the midst of learning NU’s defense. He’s had a long road from being an SEC recruit out of high school, through the junior college ranks and now into his third season already with the Huskers. Can he prove himself to be ready for the next level?
Caleb Tannor
Tannor is part of Frost’s first recruiting class at Nebraska and already is going into his third year in the program. He’s played a lot over his first two seasons but still hasn’t shown the ability to be an every-down Big Ten outside linebacker. Fans and coaches have seen the flashes from Tannor, though. He’s got a new position coach this year in Mike Dawson, who oversaw the NU defensive line in 2018 before spending 2019 with the New York Giants. Will it click for Tannor? At 6-2 and 220 pounds, he’s not perhaps going to be a true run-stuffer, but if he can hold up at the point of attack and get to the quarterback, he would be a major upgrade at the position for the Huskers.
Adrian Martinez
You didn’t think we were going to make it through the whole list without the starting quarterback, did you?
Martinez didn’t play as well as he would have liked in 2019; his completion percentage backtracked to less than 60% and he turned the ball over too often. Martinez, though, is still in prime position to be the Huskers’ starting quarterback for a third straight season.
The Fresno, California, native has shown the ability to make explosive plays through the air and with his legs, especially when he’s healthy. He needs to be more accurate and more decisive in the passing game, but if he takes those steps as a junior — and has more talent around him along with a veteran offensive line — the chance for a big jump forward is there.
Contact the writer at pgabriel@journalstar.com or 402-473-7439. On Twitter @HuskerExtraPG.
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Parker Gabriel
Husker football reporter
Parker joined the Journal Star as the University of Nebraska football beat writer in August 2017. He previously covered Montana State athletics for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2012.
