Nebraska Professional Athletes

Nebraska's pipeline to the NFL is quietly producing — and heading into Week 1 of 2026, the most compelling Husker story belongs to a defensive tackle who was barely hanging on 12 months ago.

Ty Robinson: From "Life Support" to Roster Lock

A year after his NFL future looked tenuous at best, Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson has done more than survive — he's made himself a certainty on Philadelphia's 53-man roster. Sports Illustrated reported this week that Robinson's trajectory is being held up as a cautionary tale with a happy ending — his slow first-year start reframed as reason for patience rather than panic, and a model for what young defensive linemen can become with time.

For Husker fans who stuck with Robinson through a quiet rookie campaign, the redemption arc is real. The former Nebraska standout, selected by Philadelphia in the 2023 draft, spent his first season learning the pro game at the expense of production. That's a familiar story league-wide — interior defensive linemen routinely take an extra year to process the complexity of NFL blocking schemes. What matters now is that Robinson has forced the Eagles' hand in the best way possible: he's no longer a project, he's a piece.

Philadelphia's defensive front is one of the more talented in the NFC, which makes Robinson's ascent more meaningful, not less. Earning snaps on a contender's defensive line requires more than promise — it requires production. By all indications, Robinson delivered enough of both in training camp and the preseason to remove any doubt about his roster status.

Cam Jurgens and the Eagles' O-Line Watch

Robinson isn't the only Husker with something at stake in Philadelphia. Center Cam Jurgens enters 2026 as part of an offensive line that Heavy Sports tagged as an "X factor" unit this week — a five-time Pro Bowl combination that spent chunks of last season battered by injuries. Jurgens, Landon Dickerson, and Lane Johnson all dealt with health issues in 2025, and the Eagles' ceiling in 2026 is meaningfully tied to whether that group can stay intact. If it does, Philadelphia has one of the NFL's premier fronts. Jurgens, now a full-time starter, is central to that equation.

Ben Scott Lands on Bucs' Practice Squad

Elsewhere, offensive lineman Ben Scott caught on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who announced a wave of practice squad signings this week. Scott — a guard — joins a Buccaneers practice unit that also includes familiar names from the broader NFL developmental pool. It's a foothold, not a headline, but for a Nebraska interior lineman working to establish himself in the league, it keeps the dream alive.

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The broader takeaway for Husker fans: Nebraska's defensive line tradition is finding its footing at the next level, even if the path isn't always linear. Robinson's story is proof that a slow start doesn't have to write the ending — and with a legitimate role on one of the NFC's best defenses, he's written a new chapter entirely.

Nebraska's NFL alumni class had a quiet summer — then the final week of August delivered two genuine storylines worth watching heading into the regular season.

Maliek Collins Ends His 'Long Journey' Back

The bigger news out of the Husker diaspora belongs to Cleveland. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins, whose 2025 season was cut short by injury, has been activated by the Browns and is back on the practice field — a moment Collins himself described as the end of a "long journey."

Collins' return is significant for a Cleveland defense that missed his interior presence last year. The Browns had gone the entire summer without him at practice, making his activation in the final stretch of the preseason a notable development for a team still searching for its defensive identity. Collins doesn't have to rebuild his reputation — he just has to stay healthy. If he can do that, he slots back in as a legitimate starter along Cleveland's defensive line.

The timing gives him a narrow window to get up to speed before the regular season, but Collins has made clear he's not easing back in gingerly. By all indications from the Browns' camp, he intends to pick up exactly where he left off.

Ty Robinson Turning Heads in Philadelphia

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the country, former Husker Ty Robinson is generating buzz for a very different reason: All-22 film doesn't lie, and Eagles analysts reviewing Philadelphia's second preseason game against the Patriots liked what they saw from the big defensive tackle.

Robinson, competing for snaps in what is a crowded but talented Eagles defensive front, showed "signs of life" according to film-room analysis of the game — the kind of granular praise that matters more than preseason box scores. For a player working to carve out a role on a roster with legitimate Super Bowl ambitions, standing out on film review is how you survive final cuts.

Robinson has the size and the pedigree — Nebraska's defensive line pipeline has fed the NFL for years — but translating college production to a competitive Eagles depth chart requires more than potential. The early film suggests he may be doing exactly that.

The Broader Husker Picture

Collins and Robinson are the headliners this week, but Nebraska's NFL footprint remains expansive. Jack Stoll is still in Cleveland alongside Collins at tight end. Cam Jurgens and Nick Gates both hold roster spots on the Eagles' offensive line — meaning Philadelphia's connection to Lincoln runs deep on both sides of the ball. Lavonte David continues to hang on in Tampa, and Cam Taylor-Britt is in Indianapolis looking to reestablish himself with the Colts.

The Collins and Robinson storylines are the ones that matter most right now. One is a veteran fighting to reclaim his health and his standing; the other is a younger player fighting to earn his. Both are worth tracking as rosters finalize and the regular season comes into focus.