With an Illinois running back inches away from scoring a touchdown, Nebraska’s Riley Van Poppel shed his block, filled the gap and helped stop the fourth-down try.
Van Poppel’s big play was instrumental in the Nebraska win. It was perhaps even more important in the development of a young defensive lineman who’d previously found his rapid introduction into Big Ten play “a little intimidating.”
“In the moment, I didn’t really know what was going on, but afterwards, I saw the play on film and when I saw that, I said, ‘I can do this, I’m good enough to be here,’” Van Poppel said. “And that kinda helped me flip my mental state.”
It’s the first spring on campus for Van Poppel, a former four-star recruit who quickly cracked Nebraska’s defensive rotation as a true freshman last fall. Van Poppel might not have played in NU’s season opener, but he appeared in the following 11 games as a key rotational option behind the likes of Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson.
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Van Poppel watched and learned as the veteran defensive linemen went about their business, taking lessons on areas such as technique and practice efforts. Defensive line coach Terrance Knighton helped, too, leading to immediate growth in Van Poppel’s overall knowledge of his position.
“I came in here with I think a small mind of D-line (play),” Van Poppel said. “I kinda just used mainly my size in high school, but just watching them and watching how Ty plays, it really has opened my eyes to allow me to see the player that I can be.”
Having learned from Robinson and Hutmacher, Van Poppel can now prepare to replace them — both this spring and down the road. Both seniors are in their final year of eligibility and are not participating in Nebraska’s initial spring scrimmages to ensure younger players receive more practice reps.
Defensive coordinator Tony White said that Nebraska’s practice setup, alongside Knighton’s tendency to combine units and rotate positions, has led to “good competition” throughout the defensive line room.
The future of Nebraska’s defensive line is being molded this spring — and Van Poppel feels good about the way things are going.
“When Ty and Nash leave and Jimari (Butler) and (Elijah) Jeudy leave, they’re going to look back and they want to be comfortable in what they’ve shown us so when it’s our turn to step up, they know that we can take over the reins,” Van Poppel said.
It was an important offseason for Van Poppel to continue the growth he made in the fall. The sophomore lineman said he immediately set his sights upon offseason workouts and mat drills, while Nebraska’s strength and conditioning and nutrition programs helped him develop physically.
Having added muscle and gained 5-10 pounds, Van Poppel is eager to continue his physical growth. The second-year Husker said he puts big expectations on himself, while his position coach is also expecting big things moving forward.
“We expect him to take that jump and play a lot more reps in the game as an impact player on defense,” Knighton said of Van Poppel on April 2. “Right now, he’s done a great job, he’s gotten stronger and he’s moving a lot better.”
Van Poppel’s freshman season was “a lot of fun” learning the position and developing as a player, he said. Development alone won’t be his only goal moving forward, though — production will be expected of the budding defensive lineman.
The son of a former MLB pitcher, Van Poppel has learned how to handle the spotlight.
It’s never been bigger than it was following his crucial stop against Illinois — but it’s the work no one sees that Van Poppel hopes will lead to more big plays on the field.
“(I’m) kinda just focusing on what I do in the dark, what I do when no one’s looking,” Van Poppel said. “Day by day when I’m by myself, how am I going to sleep, how am I eating, how am I drinking? … That way when the moment comes I’m not focused on outside noise, I can just focus on me and making the play.”