1 week Ago By Evan Bland World-Herald Staff Writer
LINCOLN — The frontrunner to be Nebraska’s next starting center is the guy has already quietly been a familiar face in the trenches for multiple seasons. That’s Justin Evans, a fourth-year junior who has spent the bulk of his college career working at left guard and taking snaps when necessary behind the now-graduated Ben Scott for two campaigns. “He can be as good a center as exists in college football — I firmly believe that,” NU offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said Thursday.
“Really happy with his progress.” Holgorsen brought clarity to the competition at center, which also includes underclassmen Sam Sledge and Jason Maciejczak. There’s “quite a bit of a drop-off” after Evans, Holgorsen said, which is natural with a veteran leading the charge.
Evans’ own snapping has some improvement to make too, but the mentality is what the Huskers are looking for in their next O-line leader. That intangible piece is no small development, Holgorsen said. From when the coach arrived in mid-November through the December bowl game, he figures he never heard the 6-foot-1, 315-pounder say one word.
“Now he’s coming out of that,” Holgorsen said. “He’s always been kind of an undersized overachiever. I’m like, ‘You gotta get that mindset out of your head.
You are a dude.’” The blocker is also reliable: He and departed right tackle Bryce Benhart each saw 877 offensive snaps last season to lead the team. Evans committed to former coach Scott Frost’s NU staff during the early signing period in December 2021 over finalist Penn State.
He redshirted his first season and appeared in all 12 in 2023 with five starts before handling every game at left guard last year. Evans, also a former standout prep wrestling from Irvington, New Jersey, said when he committed the only thing preventing every top program from recruiting him was being a couple inches too short. It’s been a motivator for him ever since.
“I really use (my height) to my advantage,” Evans-Jenkins said then. “Being a little shorter than everybody else, that just means I have to go even harder.” Offensive line coach Donovan Raiola last week called center “such a specialty position” with the calls and at-the-line adjustments that so often come with the job.
Raiola himself was a standout center at Wisconsin who also spent time there in the NFL. “You need a guy that’s comfortable being vocal,” Raiola said. “A guy that’s going to prepare, prepare, prepare.
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