{"id":420005,"date":"2026-01-21T03:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T03:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/420005\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T03:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T03:24:08","slug":"nebraska-special-teams-coordinator-mike-ekeler-leaving-for-usc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/420005\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler leaving for USC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nebraska is officially losing a key piece to its coaching staff, as USC is hiring special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler<\/a> after he served one season with the Huskers.<\/p>\n

Hired from Tennessee on Feb. 3, 2025, Ekeler made $625,000 this past year in Lincoln. He was a 2025 Broyles Award nominee, which goes to the nation\u2019s top assistant coach.<\/p>\n

Ekeler also coached Nebraska\u2019s edge position in the Las Vegas Bowl amid NU\u2019s defensive staff overhaul. While there was speculation that he may continue serving in a role on defense, head coach Matt Rhule<\/a> never confirmed anything long-term.<\/p>\n

Ekeler has previous experience on defense, having served as Nebraska\u2019s outside linebackers coach from 2008 to 2010. Most recently, he was Tennessee\u2019s special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach from 2021 to 2024. Ekeler has coached at USC before as the Trojans\u2019 LB coach in 2013. <\/p>\n

Ekeler\u2019s impact will be missed<\/p>\n

Before Ekeler arrived, Nebraska\u2019s special teams ranked near the bottom of college football under Ed Foley<\/a>. In a single season, his energy-filled style drastically shifted NU\u2019s special teams play from a liability to a strength.<\/p>\n

Unlike the seven blocked kicks allowed in 2024, the David City, Nebraska, native\u2019s unit never permitted one in 2025. In fact, his attacking motto led to the Huskers blocking three kicks, which was tied for ninth-best in the country.<\/p>\n

Inheriting return specialist Kenneth Williams<\/a>, Ekeler helped him develop into one of the nation\u2019s top kick returners. Williams led the Big Ten with 32.9 yards per return to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors. The only other Husker on the All-Big Ten list was conference running back of the year Emmett Johnson<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Punt returns also soared under Ekeler\u2019s guidance. He improved Nebraska from 4.9 yards per return in 2024 to 13.6 in 2025, led by Jacory Barney Jr.\u2019s<\/a> 12.3 (13th nationally). Barney\u2019s 270 punt return yards were the most since De\u2019Mornay Pierson-El\u2019s<\/a> 596 in 2014. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ekeler reshaped Nebraska\u2019s specialist room, bringing in Cal transfer kicker Kyle Cunanan<\/a>. He made 16-of-19 field goals, including a career-long 52-yarder. Ekeler also implemented rugby-style punting with Archie Wilson<\/a>, who pinned 12 punts inside the 20-yard line. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, Ekeler stabilized long snapping woes from 2024 that led to several blocked punts and missed field goals by bringing in New Hampshire transfer Kevin Gallic<\/a>. His name wasn\u2019t mentioned once this season. <\/p>\n

The Huskers just added Michigan State long snapper Jack Wills<\/a> out of the transfer portal. The 6-foot-2, 217-pounder was one of the highest-ranked specialists in this year\u2019s portal cycle. Ekeler also helped bring in Australian kicker Michael Sarikizis<\/a> to Nebraska\u2019s 2026 recruiting class. Both have already signed with the Big Red. <\/p>\n

Never miss breaking news or another HuskerOnline article again. Click HERE to sign up for our Daily and Breaking News Newsletters!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nebraska is officially losing a key piece to its coaching staff, as USC is hiring special teams coordinator…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,200737,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-420005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-mike-ekeler","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-football","12":"tag-ncaafootball","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}