Training camp preview: Defensive line is unproven, unsettled entering season

Below is a snapshot preview of Nebraska's offensive line as the Huskers prepare to begin training camp. Here's who to watch, the prove-it players and the pecking order.
Who’s here
Elijah Jeudy, AJ Rollins, Brodie Tagaloa, Ru’Quan Buckley, Cameron Lenhardt, Kai Wallin, Blaise Gunnerson, Ty Robinson, Princewill Umanmielen, Nash Hutmacher, Vincent Carroll-Jackson, Sua Lefotu, Riley Van Poppel, Jason Maciejczak, Mason Goldman.
Who’s new
Carroll-Jackson, Lefotu, Goldman and Maciejczak are all three-star incoming freshmen who weren’t present for spring camp. Maciejczak and Goldman are listed as both defensive and offensive linemen.
Who’s hurt
No one. The Huskers will enter the season with a clean bill of health in the trenches.
Indiana vs. Nebraska, 10.1
Nebraska's Ty Robinson (99) sacks Indiana's Connor Bazelak in the fourth quarter of an Oct. 1, 2022, game at Memorial Stadium.
Snapshot
It’s a relatively unproven group with plenty of potential and snaps up for grabs as the season looms. Defensive coordinator Tony White said during the spring he wanted his linemen capable of playing on both the interior and edge, and coach Matt Rhule expressed a desire to use a lot of players in a given game.
Umanmielen and Lenhardt are early enrollees who had solid springs and proved they could be early contributors, especially after strong performances in the spring game. Wallin, a junior college transfer, earned praise from White for his performance as a pass rusher in the early practices as well. Tagaloa and Rollins are yet to play their first defensive snaps, having both recently converted from tight end, but have the athleticism to be intriguing pieces even as they reacclimate to defense.
The coaching staff is high on Gunnerson, who became a regular on defense and special teams in 2022 after spending the previous year on the scout team. He has a path toward starting with so much up in the air before the season begins.
One of the surprise transfers after the spring game was tackle Stephon Wynn, a former Alabama lineman who landed at Mississippi for his final season of eligibility. It was a blow to a D-line group already lacking experience. Wynn made 22 tackles in 2022, appearing in every game.
The departure left Robinson as the most established player in the room. The fifth-year junior from Arizona has been a starter since 2020 and will likely be a fixture along the line again. A season ago he recorded 24 tackles and a pair of sacks.
Prove-it players
Hutmacher spent the offseason reshaping his body, eating healthier and getting into better condition. He now has a chance to take another step forward after making gradual improvement throughout his first three seasons as a Husker as one of the more experienced players in the group.
Jeudy came to Nebraska in search of the playing time that eluded him in two seasons at Texas A&M, where he appeared in three games. The former four-star prospect spent the spring lining up on the interior and the edge and will give the Huskers a versatile option in their rotation.
Walk-on to watch
The vast majority of the line is on scholarship. A rare exception is Jacob Herbek, who has been with the program since 2019 but hasn’t appeared in a game, converting to tight end in 2021 before switching back to defense.
Training camp pecking order
1s: Robinson, Wallin, Hutmacher.
2s: Lenhardt, Gunnerson, Jeudy.
3s: Umanmielen, Rollins, Tagaloa.