Revving Up the Big Red Engines!
Tommy Armstrong is still Tommy, some throws are great, and others are really sketchy. When he runs though...look out. He looks like a LB out there and if they choose to let him run he will be really dangerous. He looks like a fourth year player that has spent a lot of time in the weight room. As Tommy goes, so go the Huskers, so let us hope we see the good Tommy a lot this year and not the Tommy that looks like he is playing a game of 500 out there.
On the flip side we better hope Tommy doesn't get hurt. Ryker Fyfe looked really rough at the first scrimmage, but seemed to bounce back the next week. Say what you will about Armstrong, but Fyfe just isn’t the dynamic play maker with his legs that Tommy can be and he doesn’t have near the arm strength. That being said, he should be an adequate backup, as long as he isn’t asked to carry the load.
Patrick O’Brien looks like he is going to be good down the line, but right now, he looks like a freshman. Hopefully he will be able to redshirt, because if he has to play a lot this season, it will be a long year.
And on the hyperbole train of the year, we will be playoff contenders next year if Tanner Lee plays anywhere near like he did when I was able to watch him. So much more accurate than anything we have ever had here. He was with the 3rd string and 2nd string guys, but every ball was catchable and on the money. Not going to lie, he would make Tommy sweat if he was eligible this year.
So on to the running backs... I have to eat my words on Tre Bryant, (full disclosure, I thought he would need to have a redshirt year) that kid is good. He is small, but he gets in the hole and moves the pile. Honestly I'd like to see some film, but the closest comparison I could give is Derek Brown. We just haven't had anyone quite like this kid in a while. He runs good inside and has a nice burst to get to the edge. If he continues to look like this, not only will he not redshirt he will steal carries from Terrell Newby.
Newby ran really good outside when I watched, but like always, he struggles inside. I don't know if he can put it together in time to do anything meaningful this year, but he ran with purpose today so that is encouraging.
Devine Ozigbo isn't the number one, he isn't flashy, but he does everything pretty well. He and Armstrong seem to work well on option and zone read. Could continue to be a nice weapon this season, hopefully taking off from his UCLA game last year.
Mikale Wilbon has some sparks, but nothing stood out when I watched him. He was just 4th string in my opinion, but he also didn't get any carries where he was given much of a chance to shine. If he is your fourth string running back, you are sitting in good shape. He would play a lot at about half the schools in the Big Ten.
The offensive line looked pretty rough the day I watched. They hadn’t really gelled when I watched them. Then to top it off, DJ Foster was hurt and will miss the season. His backup, Corey Whitaker also was banged up and will likely miss playing until the conference season starts. That means Boe Wilson a true freshman may start. That always gives me some hesitation, but he was recruited as a junk yard dog type and hopefully that’s what he is. The tackle position on the flip side is set up really well. Nick Gates and David Knevel look great. Their backups have little experience, but if these two can stay healthy, I really look for them to keep Armstrong upright and hopefully plow running lanes a lot this year.
Just throwing this in, besides Wilson, the freshman class looks really good. Nebraska fans expect the pipeline to be stocked with great players and it seems like this coaching staff is finally getting Nebraska back up to speed.
The tight ends start and end with Cethan Carter. Carter has NFL type potential. His backups, Sam Cotton and Trey Foster are okay, but neither is on par with Carter. The young backups have a long way to go as well. Carter needs to stay healthy for Nebraska to have a chance to win their division, but when he plays, wow, he is really good.
Sometimes at practice, you know some guys are going to have good days and others won’t, just the way practice works. Players that really stood out to me were Alonzo Moore, Derion Grim, and Stanley Morgan. You may ask why Brandon Reilly or Jordan Westerkamp didn’t stick out, but Jordan sat out and Reilly wasn’t featured. I wouldn’t worry about those two, they will still be the belles of the ball, but it was nice to see other featured players make plays and get after it!
Overall, the offense has some great pieces and I would tell you that this year will have some big ups, but again, depending on Armstrong, could have some valleys as well. We are as stacked at wide receiver as we have ever been and the running back position is very well stocked. A lack of experienced depth on the offensive line and a thin group of tight ends could be the Achilles heel. Either way, Nebraska’s offense should be in the top half of the conference. That will be better than it was last year, and that is all we can hope for at this time of year.
I will hit on the defense in my next blog. Until then, Go Big Red!
Ok, I'm not going save the best for last, because I wanted to share this, but Mick Stoltenberg was a monster yesterday. He gets off the ball so well, and he is so strong he was killing our 1s on the O line. Quite honestly he was the best player on the field yesterday out of everyone. He and Kevin Maurice were men out there and if we can spell them and keep them healthy all year, it gives me a lot of hope that we will be a good defense.
On the flip side of that, the DEs really weren't very good yesterday. It was more of a hold your ground kind of attack, just try and keep the lineman off the linebackers. Part of that could be that Gates and Knevel are pretty good, but I'm afraid we are going to have to dial up pressure from elsewhere again this year to get the QB.
Carlos Davis was on the 2nd team and his effort is so good. Bright future for that kid. I made a note of Logan Rath playing with the 2nd team. He played really well, good addition to the rotation.
Other backup lineman didn't really stand out. Neal and Alex Davis look so good physically, I have hope that Coach Parella can coach them up, but there is a long road ahead for the young'ns.
At linebacker there was really good stuff. Banderas made a great tackle on Ozighbo at the start of the scrimmage and he seemed to be around the ball a lot. I spent so much time watching the line, it was a little more difficult to keep up on the linebackers but they all seemed to cover very well in pass coverage.
Ty Ferguson had a good day and I thought that Marcus Newby played well too. They all shut down the inside runs, but as I said earlier it may have been the OLine as much as anything but you can tell the depth at LB is much better.
Luke Gifford is playing well too. Bray is fun to watch, he gets after his players on the sidelines and seems like a guy they all want to play for. All in all this should be a good group.
Finally the DBs. The starting corners were really aggressive, right at the point of PI on a lot of throws. To me, that's great though. You want to make the refs make the decision and Kalu and Jones are really good at pushing the envelope. Boaz Joseph and Eric Lee have really improved. It's a deep group, getting deeper. Bootle and Dismuke both ran well and you can tell they are going to be solid.
Lamar Jackson didn't stick out yesterday, but he also didn't look bad either. I will chalk this one up to just a single scrimmage. He got trucked pretty good by Tre Bryant, I bet he learns from that!
Safety play was good in the fact that they were awesome in run support and played the pass well. Not a lot of deep throws to judge from, at least for Gerry or Williams. Antonio Reed just seems to fly around out there, I love that kid.
Younger guys didn't stick out either, but I think we have some great athletes back there, and that gives me a lot of hope.
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