After significant roster churn during Scott Frost‘s first year in Lincoln, it’s been quiet, relatively speaking, on the transfer front for Nebraska this year. So, of course, there is now some further 2019 roster churning on which to note.
Amidst significant speculation about his future, an NU official has confirmed that the name of CJ Smith is now listed in the NCAA transfer database. As Smith was ticketed for significant playing time in 2019, it’s unclear what triggered the defensive back’s decision to enter the portal.
Smith was a three-star member of the Cornhuskers’ 2018 recruiting class. The Omaha World-Herald writes that “Smith was the first recruit to commit to Scott Frost at Nebraska.”
After playing in the first two games of the 2018 season, Smith sustained a significant knee injury in the second contest that sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
Between the time Frost was hired as the head coach at Nebraska in December of 2017 to the start of the 2018 regular season, at least a baker’s dozen Cornhuskers left the Big Ten school. This offseason, Smith became the fifth as he joins linebackers Quayshon Alexander (HERE) and Breon Dixon (HERE), defensive back Cam Jones (HERE) and punter Caleb Lightbourn (HERE) in departing the program.