The Huskers have their captains.
The Nebraska football team announced its 2021 team captains Saturday night: quarterback Adrian Martinez, tight end Austin Allen, defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt and defensive lineman Damion Daniels. The Huskers return to four captains after naming five for the 2020 season.
Martinez is the program’s first-ever three-time captain. Martinez has a chance to be all over the Husker record books with a strong fourth season.
As for Allen, being named a captain was one of his goals. He told Hail Varsity’s Jacob Padilla about it during the offseason.
“It’s for sure something that I want to strive for,” Allen said. “Being an in-state kid, it means a lot to have your name on that board in that hallway in the stadium. To show all the people that helped me along the way to getting me to where I am, whether that be high school or college, it would be a good thing. A lot of stuff that’s happened to me in my life is a thanks to them. I think getting the accomplishment of captain is just a hat off to all of them.”
Taylor-Britt, a fourth-year junior, is one of two players representing the Blackshirts as a captain. The cornerback returned to school for his fourth season after getting an NFL evaluation. He posted 28 total tackles last season. He also chipped in three pass breakups, a pair of interceptions and three tackles for loss.
The biggest surprise of the group is defensive tackle Damion Daniels. The Texas native was one of the final pieces of the 2017 recruiting class for Nebraska. He’s been a steady contributor to the team since his redshirt freshman in 2018. Fellow defensive lineman Deontre Thomas credited Daniels with helping to make the defensive line room closer this offseason.
“Now since they left we kind of hang out with Casey [Rogers] more, we hang out with Ty [Robinson] more and we hang out with the young guys more,” Thomas said. “We bring them up with us. I want to say it started with us because we were really tight with the twins. Since they left we just kind of broke it down and went down with the younger guys. We started going bowling with each other, going out to eat with each other. That chemistry is strong, really strong.”
Daniels now carries on a family tradition of sorts. His brother, Darrion, served as a team captain during the 2019 season.
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
