Nebraska football has its new special teams coordinator, and it's a familiar name making a return home.
Mike Ekeler, the Blair High School graduate who played collegiately at Kansas State before developing into a position coach under Bo Pelini, will take the special teams role after four seasons at Tennessee, a source confirmed Monday morning.
The Volunteers consistently fielded some the nation's best punt return units under Ekeler, ranking at the SEC's top unit in 2021, 2023 and 2024 in return yards. In 2024, UT topped college football with 424 return yards. Nebraska had 73.
"Each year we push the envelope to get better," Ekeler said in August 2024 during training camp about his unit. "And we got a saying, it’s ABT, all about technique, for ABM, all about money. These guys buy in, they get it, they see it every single day."
