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Parker Gabriel
Nebraska defensive lineman Deontre Thomas is not returning for the 2022 season.
The move is an expected one -- Thomas took part in the Huskers' senior day festivities in November against Cockeye and indicated on social media that he was leaving -- but he had remained on NU's online roster until late this week.
A school spokesman confirmed Thomas' departure from the program.
Thomas first arrived in Lincoln as part of the 2017 recruiting class and played as an undersized nose tackle during his first year on campus. He redshirted in 2018 and served as a role player in 2019. In 2020, his season was cut short by injury, but he returned in 2021 and became a starting-caliber player for the Huskers and now-former defensive line coach Tony Tuioti.
Thomas, a Mustang, Oklahoma native, had the option of returning for a sixth year of football due to the extra season of eligibility granted by the NCAA to all athletes in 2020.
The Huskers now, officially, must replace three of their top defensive linemen in Thomas, Damion Daniels and Ben Stille.
That group will start with junior Casey Rogers and sophomore Ty Robinson and also is likely to feature increased roles for players like Nash Hutmacher, Jordon Riley and perhaps others like Mosai Newsom, Marquis Black and Ru'Quan Buckley. The Huskers could also still add a defensive lineman from the transfer portal, either in the coming weeks or this spring.
NU also removed several walk-ons from its online roster, the most notable of which was freshman place-kicker Kelen Meyer. The Ord native saw spot duty in his first year on campus, both on kickoffs and as a place-kicker. He had a PAT against Oklahoma blocked and returned for two points when he came on to replace struggling senior Connor Culp.
The Huskers have overhauled their specialist group this offseason, adding a commitment from Furman transfer kicker Timmy Bleekrode and a pair of walk-on additions in Furman's Spencer Pankratz and 2022 prospect Charlie Weinrich.
The other walk-ons removed from the roster: DB Kaden Williams, DL Maddox Burton, OLB Nick Leader and OLB Sam Shurtleff.
NU's online roster now stands at 145.
With Thomas' departure official, the Journal Star's count shows 87 scholarship players for the Huskers at this juncture, including six incoming transfers that are not yet listed on NU's roster.
Contact the writer at pgabriel@journalstar.com or 402-473-7439. On Twitter @HuskerExtraPG.
