When Scott Frost left title-winning UCF and decided to take over the Nebraska football team, he brought his entire staff with him. The reason behind this, as he and the staff have all said, is because they feel like more than just coworkers. The staff is like one big family. On Wednesday night, the Huskers' head man let it be known publicly for the first time that outside linebacker coach and special teams coordinator Jovann Dewitt has been battling a form of throat cancer for the last few months.

Jovan Dewitt working through treatment

The bad news is that the cancer and its treatment has been time and energy-sapping enough that Dewitt is going to have to take some time away from the team.

He, at the very least, won't be a full participant in spring practices, according to Frost. On the bright side, at the present time, the coach is apparently doing fairly well and the staff believes that Dewitt will eventually win the fight.

While Frost wouldn't go into details about the kind of cancer, for obvious reasons, he said Dewitt has told his friends that the prognosis is "pretty good." There appear to be at least some signs this is true. For one thing, while the Nebraska football staff won't be having his services for full participation, there wasn't any talk that he was going to miss spring practices altogether.

It's a safe bet that a staff that is as tight as the Huskers is, would be forcing one of their own to take more time off if it wasn't clear that he could handle working even part-time.

Frost also divulged that Jovan DeWitt has actually been working some kind of part-time for a little while now. As 247's Mike Schaefer pointed out, the Cornhuskers have had some Graduate Assistants out on the recruiting trail.

Nebraska football making allowances

When it became apparent that the Huskers had some GAs out recruiting, there were plenty of people who noted that was a bit out of the ordinary.

It turns out the Nebraska football team had gotten special dispensation from the NCAA to pull the linebackers coach home and allow the GAs to be out on the road.

Now the Cornhuskers will have to work towards and through spring practice and the spring game knowing one of their coaches isn't just battling on the field.

One thing that is clear, is that the Nebraska football coaching staff has gone out of their way to embrace Husker fans and Husker nation. That includes those who were brand new to the state last winter. Husker nation, in turn, will almost assuredly embrace and support coach Dewitt during his recovery.
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