Finally! Football Season is Upon Us!
Finally, what we have waited all offseason for, the season starts this week in Lincoln and the Cornhuskers are primed to go. Let’s get in one last look at the new Fighting’ Diacos before the Red Wolves invade Memorial Stadium. Before we do the defensive preview, we will change things up a bit and put our season and this week’s score prediction first, in case you don’t want to read all the other stuff…
On with the Rewind:
As we finished up with our team review this fall, I hope you enjoyed the run down, even if it’s more in depth than our normal blogs. We will get back to the shorter stuff as the season gets going. As far as a season prediction, so many things ride on Tanner Lee, it’s hard to get a read on the season. I will say this, if Lee makes every start, Nebraska at worst will win 9 games. If Lee doesn’t make at least 10 starts, then 7 to 8 wins becomes a strong possibility. Let’s get this season going already!!
Score Prediction: _ Arkansas State @ Nebraska
The Vegas line has come down from as high as 19, all the way to 13.5 on some sources. That is a bit of a cause for concern, simply because sometimes Vegas knows things that normal fans do not. That being said, a night game at Nebraska simply is too much for most teams to overcome. Arkansas State has a great season last year and may come in with some confidence, but I have a feeling Nebraska is feeling pretty confident too. Tanner Lee will be locked and loaded and I expect Nebraska to put up some yards and points. I don’t know what to think of the defense, Arkansas State has some playmakers on offense and could give Nebraska fits as it works its way into the 3-4 for the first time. I think Nebraska scores early and often though, let’s go with 35-21, Huskers. Nebraska needs to win and come out without any major injuries, that will be a big success for week one. As always, GBR!!!
And now…the Defensive Preview:
Defensive Line:
Freedom Akinmoladun, Jr (Defensive End)
Khalil Davis, So (Defensive End)
Mick Stoltenberg, Jr (Nose Tackle)
Deontre Thomas, Fr (Nose Tackle)
Carlos Davis, So (Defensive End)
Ben Stille, RFr (Defensive End)
Damion Daniels, Fr (Nose Tackle)
Peyton Newell, Jr (Defensive End)
When defensive line coach John Parrella took over for Hank Hughes after the 2015 football season, one could only hope that a new era was dawning for Husker football. Hughes was hired based on Mark Banker’s recommendation when Mike Riley arrived in Lincoln, but Hughes wasn’t a good fit at Nebraska and he made little to no effort to recruit. I follow recruiting enough to know that a poor season of defensive line recruiting is almost a disaster in college football when you are trying to compete for a Power Five level championship. What I didn’t count on was the switch to a 3-4 defense that made a position group short on depth, now surprisingly strong.
We all know that games are won in the trenches and when Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine were at Nebraska, we all felt like we should dominate up front. We didn’t do that well, and part of the reason, in my opinion, was the defensive line coaching. Flip the script and in two years, we have a starting front of mostly juniors and sophomores, but I believe with Coach Parrella, this can and will be a strength of this team.
Stoltenberg is a mountain in the middle and while he may be a bit tall for a traditional nose tackle in the 3-4, I don’t have any doubt he will be able to absorb double teams and make life easier on linebackers. Behind him will be a true freshman in Deontre Thomas who has flashed in fall camp and basically made it impossible to redshirt him, because he has played so well. Another freshman, Damion Daniels should redshirt, but he is a load and if he has to play, should be able to at least provide a solid backup.
The ends may have the best player on the defense. Carlos Davis, by all accounts has had a tremendous fall camp and looks to be living up to the billing of a four star defensive tackle out of high school. Playing defensive end in this scheme should fit his skill set. I expect big things from Mr. Davis. On the other side, now veteran player Freedom Akinmoladun has set up shop and actually should benefit greatly from the new scheme. He wasn’t quick enough off the edge to be more than a strong side defensive end before. This defense should utilize him a little better, being inside of the tackles on certain plays. Both ends can move out in a switch to a 4-3 setup if need be and both could play inside if needed on the same sets.
At the backups, Ben Stille has really come on during camp and Khalil Davis (Carlos’s twin brother) should also benefit from playing time last year and another year with Coach Parrella.
HOT TAKE ALERT: This group is going to put players in the NFL in the next two to three years. I love Stoltenberg, and if he can stay healthy, I think he will be an All-Conference selection this year. Carlos Davis is a Sunday type of player and I think with Freedom moving to the 3-4 could be his ticket to playing pro football as well. This group is young and exciting, by the end of the season, I could see this group being the best unit on the defense.
Linebackers:
Chris Weber, Sr. (Inside)
Dedrick Young II, Jr. (Inside)
Marcus Newby, Sr. (Outside, Dog)
Luke Gifford, Jr. (Outside, Dog)
Alex Davis, So. (Outside, Cat)
Mohamed Barry, So. (Inside)
Sedrick King, Jr. (Outside, Cat)
Guy Thomas, Fr. (Outside, Cat)
Tyrin Ferguson, So. (Outside, Dog)
Avery Roberts, Fr. (Inside)
This group also should benefit from a change in scheme, but I wonder how quickly it will happen? By far what I would consider the deepest group on the defense, it may also be the most underwhelming. In the 3-4, the outside linebackers work on the strongside (Dog) and the weakside (Cat) positions. Nebraska has great depth at the Dog outside linebacker position, but not at the Cat linebacker spot. That linebacker position requires a great athlete, especially one that can get to the quarterback on passing downs.
On this roster, Nebraska doesn’t have anyone that stands out at the Cat spot. Alex Davis, certainly a very good athlete, but unproven on the field, seems to have the upper hand at this spot. His back up Sedrick King has been relatively unknown in his time in Lincoln. Guy Thomas, a true freshman, may be the most athletic of the bunch, but this position has so many keys and so many roles to play depending on formation, I just don’t see him getting much playing time unless it’s on certain passing downs.
This isn’t to say that Nebraska is bereft of talent at linebacker. In fact, at the Dog position, the depth is quite good. Luke Gifford had a coming out party during the spring game and Marcus Newby has proven his worth in game time action in the past. Those two will patrol that side of the field. Even third string Tyrin Ferguson should see some playing time and will certainly be a stalwart on special teams.
Inside linebacker also should be strong, if not all conference, maybe right on the cusp. Chris Weber was recently named one of the captains and he is going to start next to Dedrick Young who has been playing and starting since he was a freshman. They are being pushed by Mohamed Barry and true freshman Avery Roberts. Barry looks like he is going to be a really great player when he gets done in Lincoln and Roberts (who arrived last spring) was the highest rated defensive recruit in last year’s class and already is making waves.
HOT TAKE ALERT: Not so hot a take as it is reality, if Nebraska wants to become an elite Blackshirt defense again, they will have to develop or recruit the type of outside linebacker that keeps opposing coaches up at night. Nebraska has recruited ok at linebacker during Riley’s tenure, but they are missing that truly special player right now. Will they be able to develop that player from this current roster? Who knows, but they need to find a star to make this defense great.
Safety:
Joshua Kalu, Sr.
Aaron Williams, Jr.
Marquel Dismuke, RFr.
Antonio Reed, Jr.
Kieron Williams, Sr.
Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco raised some eyebrows earlier in fall practice when he said the Josh Kalu has a chance to be the best safety in the conference, possibly one of the best in the nation. After moving from cornerback to safety for his senior season, it was a bit of a surprise to hear such high praise, but it may be the perfect fit for Kalu. He was a solid cornerback, but certainly not all conference caliber, so if Kalu can make a major move to safety and help solidify the defensive backfield, the transition to the 3-4 may be a lot smoother than many anticipate.
Aaron Williams continues to be the vocal leader for the defense and returns at the other safety position. Williams is a very studious player and helps run the entire defense. Antonio Reed is one of my favorite players, he oozes potential. He should help with depth. Marquel Dismuke, really the player that started the Calibraska movement for players from California, has moved up to second string on the depth chart. He should start to push for playing time on defense, along with being a special teams player.
The biggest surprise from the depth chart released last Monday though was that Kieron Williams had been passed over by Dismuke. Kieron led Nebraska in interceptions last season, however he seems to be a boom or bust player. It stands to reason that some shakeup would happen with a change in schemes, but I wonder how long they will be able to hold him off the field if other guys struggle. I expect Kieron will continue to be a big special teams player, regardless of how much time he sees on the regular defense.
HOT TAKE ALERT: Kalu finds a spot that he can excel at. I’ve been high on his move to safety, even before it happened. When Chris Jones suffered a knee injury this summer, I was afraid they would move Kalu back to cornerback, but I feel like he has a better skill set at safety. The hot take…I can see Lamar Jackson making the same move in the future, despite being a starter at cornerback this season.
Cornerback:
Eric Lee, So.
Lamar Jackson, So.
Dicaprio Bootle, RFr.
Avery Anderson, So.
Chris Jones, Sr.
Jeremiah Stovall, So.
Tony Butler, RFr.
This was supposed to be Chris Jones season. He was supposed to lock down one side of the field and allow help side defense to come over and give Lamar Jackson protection if he needed it. When Jones hurt his knee this summer, the gas seemed to be let out of the balloon a little bit and we wondered what would happen without a potential all conference player in the lineup.
What happened next, was kind of unexpected. Other guys started to step up. Eric Lee, the touted recruit from Colorado, all of a sudden seems like he was shot out of a cannon. He has locked up the opposite side from Jackson. Speaking of Jackson, he had a really solid camp and will be a completely different player than the freshman that looked lost last season. Not only that, but Dicaprio Bootle (already an All-Name All Star) positioned himself to be a big time player in this defense and was given a Blackshirt!
The depth is going to be solid, if untested. On the flip side, walk on Jeremiah Stovall has worked his way up to second string. That came out of the blue for sure. Tony Butler moved over from safety to cornerback, almost like a trade for Kalu and has had a great fall camp as well. This group will probably be tested early and often, but I feel like they will be up for the challenge.
HOT TAKE ALERT: Chris Jones will be back before the October 7th game against Wisconsin. Jones has already progressed to walking without crutches and doing light workouts. Jones has a strong desire to come back and play his senior season and without any setbacks, I don’t see him using a redshirt year that he still has available. If Jones makes it back to even 95% by the end of the season, I expect this unit to be humming.
Quick Notes:
Donte Williams…Coach Williams has been doing work on the recruiting trail since coming to Lincoln, but I’m more excited to see what he does with the young cornerbacks. He has been lauded as a really strong up and coming coach, to go along with being one of the best recruiters in the country. If he is half as good at coaching them up, Nebraska should be in good shape.
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