Honors & Awards
» Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (2021, Coaches)
» Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (2020)
» Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2016)
2021
Marquel Dismuke started every game at safety in 2021, finishing his career with a streak of 32 consecutive starts at the position spanning every game of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. Dismuke recorded 46 tackles, intercepted one pass and blocked one kick, finishing his career with 204 tackles to become only the eighth defensive back in school history with 200 tackles. For his efforts, Dismuke was selected as an honorable-mention All-Big Ten pick by the conference coaches.
Dismuke finished with six tackles against Illinois before making one stop and recording Nebraska's first blocked field goal since 2014 the next week against Fordham. Dismuke totaled a pair of tackles in the win over Buffalo. Against No. 3 Oklahoma, Dismuke recorded four tackles. He intercepted his first career pass and finished with two tackles at No. 20 Michigan State. He made three tackles against Northwestern and had one tackle against No. 9 Michigan. Dismuke had five tackles at Minnesota, including four solo stops. He totaled a season-high eight tackles against Purdue. Dismuke recorded five tackles against No. 6 Ohio State. He finished with a pair of solo tackles at No. 19 Wisconsin. In his final game against No. 17 Iowa, Dismuke had seven tackles to become the eighth defensive back in school history with 200 career tackles.
2020 (Senior)
Dismuke was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection in 2020. He started all eight games to stretch his streak to 20 consecutive starts at safety. He ranked fourth on the team with 47 tackles and set career highs with 4.0 tackles for loss and four pass breakups.
In the opener at No. 5 Ohio State, Dismuke tied for the team lead with seven tackles. He added three tackles at Northwestern and broke up a Wildcat pass that led to a Husker interception. Dismuke had a career performance in Nebraska’s win over Penn State. He totaled a career-high 15 tackles against the Nittany Lions, becoming the first Husker to have a 15-tackle game in three seasons. Dismuke also broke up a pass vs. Penn State and recorded one tackle for loss.
Dismuke posted four tackles against Illinois, and he made a career-high seven solo tackles and a career-high two tackles for loss against Iowa. In the win at Purdue, Dismuke had three solo tackles, including a two-yard tackle for loss. Dismuke made five tackles and broke up a pass against Minnesota, and he had three tackles in the Huskers’ season-ending road win at Rutgers.
The play of Dismuke and the rest of the Husker secondary helped Nebraska limit four of eight opponents to fewer than 200 yards passing.
2019 (Junior)
Dismuke started every game at safety in his junior season, totaling a career-high 67 tackles, the most of any member of the Husker secondary and tied for third on the team overall.
He made four tackles in the season opener against South Alabama, including his first career TFL. The next week at Colorado, Dismuke totaled six solo tackles. He had seven tackles at Illinois while recording the first three pass breakups of his career. With Nebraska leading by four, Dismuke broke up passes on third and fourth down on the Illini’s final drive to preserve the win.
Dismuke made eight tackles against Ohio State and seven tackles against Northwestern before totaling a then-career-high 10 tackles at Minnesota. Dismuke tied for the team lead with six tackles against Indiana and added seven tackles at Purdue, giving him at least six tackles in each of the first six Big Ten games. Dismuke registered two tackles against Wisconsin and had one tackle, a fumble recovery and a breakup at Maryland. He tied for the team lead with six tackles against Iowa.
In addition to being a productive run-stopping safety, Dismuke helped the Huskers hold six opponents to fewer than 170 passing yards in 2019, including three under 100 yards. Dismuke’s play helped Nebraska allow its fewest passing yards per game (200.8) since the 2012 season.
2018 (Sophomore)
Dismuke appeared in seven games as a sophomore in 2018, seeing time on both defense and special teams. Dismuke totaled nine tackles, including four special teams tackles. Dismuke made his season debut against Troy and posted two tackles at No. 19 Michigan the next week. Dismuke added tackles on kickoff coverage against both Purdue and No. 16 Wisconsin. He totaled a season-high three tackles - all solo stops on defense - at Northwestern. He was a force on special teams in the Huskers’ win over Illinois, making a pair of tackles on kickoff coverage and blocking a punt that resulted in a safety. Dismuke’s block marked the first blocked punt by a Husker since 2015. Dismuke concluded his sophomore season with a tackle on kickoff coverage at Iowa.
2017 (Redshirt Freshman)
Dismuke appeared in all 12 games and made one start as a contributor in the Husker secondary and on special teams. Dismuke did not record a tackle in the first five games, but he did recover a fumbled punt to set up Nebraska’s first touchdown against Northern Illinois. Dismuke made his first career tackles against No. 9 Wisconsin, finishing with a season-high nine tackles against the Badgers. He added six tackles against No. 9 Ohio State the next week before totaling three stops at Purdue.
Dismuke tallied seven tackles in his first career start against Northwestern, then had six total tackles and a career-high five solo stops at Minnesota. Each of Dismuke’s 34 tackles came over the final seven games of the season, including four games with six or more tackles. Thirty-one of his tackles came at safety, and he added three tackles on special teams.
2016 (Redshirt)
Dismuke redshirted and worked on the scout team in his first season in Lincoln.
Before Nebraska (Calabasas HS)
Dismuke had a standout prep career at Calabasas High School in California, and was regarded as one of the top defensive back prospects in the state after his play for Coach Casey Clausen.
Dismuke provided a dominant defensive presence for Calabasas in 2015, registering 66 tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. He also had four interceptions, returning one of the picks for 67 yards, while posting a team-high 11 pass breakups. The outstanding play of Dismuke helped the Coyotes to a 13-2 record. Calabasas won the Southern Section Canyon Division and was the CIF Southern Section West Division playoff winner. Calabasas eventually lost in the Division II-A state title game.
Dismuke starred for Compton Dominguez High School as a junior in 2014, helping Coach Keith Donerson’s team to a 7-4 record and a trip to the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Dismuke was one of the top defenders for Dominguez High and also played a key role in the return game.
Dismuke was ranked as the No. 4 safety in the country by ESPN, the 14th-best prospect in California and the No. 133 overall prospect in the ESPN300. He was also ranked among the top 20 safeties in the country by Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247 Sports, which ranked him as the No. 247 overall prospect in the United States, while Scout.com had him No. 254 overall.
Dismuke only visited Nebraska, but had dozens of offers including Arizona State, California, LSU, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Utah and Washington State.
Personal
Marquel is the son of Nicole Samuel, and he was born on March 10, 1998. He earned his degree as a criminology and criminal justice major in August of 2020. Dismuke has volunteered his time with the Nebraska Football Road Race, Day of Service and local hospital visits.