Nebraska will have a big depth-chart issue to address when the team reconvenes for fall camp.

Michael Decker, who started at center for the Cornhuskers last season, announced Saturday that he is stepping away from football. In a lengthy note shared on his Twitter account, Decker said it wasn’t an easy decision to make, but that he simply could no longer meet the commitments of being a football player. Going on without being able to meet his commitments would be unfair to his teammates, Decker writes in the note below.


Decker was set to be a junior in the 2018 season. As a sophomore, he started five games, but suffered a season-ending knee injury against Purdue. His recovery kept him out of practice this spring. A class of 2015 product out of Omaha, Decker was rated the No. 2 recruit in the state of Nebraska by the 247Sports Composite. He redshirted in 2015 and appeared on special teams in the 2016 season.