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| Tanner Lee is ready to be the Huskers Field General! |
It’s hot in Nebraska, the corn is growing, swimming pools are full and we haven’t had anything about the football team to talk about other than recruiting since the spring game…so let’s have a look at the skill positions on offense and see if we can provide the hottest of takes!
Quarterback:
Tanner Lee, Jr.
Patrick O’Brien, RFr
Tristan Gebbia, Fr
Last time we saw these three, they all were having pretty successful afternoons in Memorial Stadium. While O’Brien and Gebbia looked like the future is bright, Tanner Lee is providing the now, and was named the starter going into the summer. Part of this was by design, to give Lee a chance to prove his leadership during summer workouts, but the other part was Lee had earned it.
I know the 3 or 4 of you that read our blog know this already, but I’ve been spouting off about Lee since I first went to a practice scrimmage last August. He made since departed Derrion Grim look like he was going to be all conference during that scrimmage. My first thought was, man this guy is accurate. My second thought was, Husker fans haven’t seen anything like this in my lifetime.
Lee didn’t disappoint this spring either. He showed that he can be accurate and that he can throw the deep ball with accuracy as well as a screen pass or a wheel route to a running back. You can’t help but get excited watching him play. Most people that are being conservative about Lee, keep saying that he won’t have the time to sit back and pick other defenses apart, but even the most pessimistic among Husker fans has to admit, the hyperbole surrounding Lee has to make you think he will be pretty decent.
A quote from Christopher Heady from land of 10 when asking a scout at the Manning Passing Academy this summer said “Lamar Jackson, Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold are great, but Tanner Lee to me was my favorite guy.”
Not that I am discounting the other quarterbacks at the camp, but when you hear that kind of thing from a scout, you have to think that Lee could be pretty special when it’s all said and done. I expect that if given a decent amount of time this year Lee will set a lot of single season records. This has to get Husker Nation excited!
HOT TAKE ALERT: Updated from the first week of practice, but Tristan Gebbia is going to push Patrick O’Brien for the back-up QB spot. O’Brien has all the tools you look for a in a pro-style QB, but Gebbia has the “it” factor and may not redshirt this year. I will make up my mind after watching a scrimmage this fall, but Gebbia is already making the move to force the coaches into possibly playing him.
Running Back:
Tre Bryant, So
Devine Ozigbo, Jr
Mikale Wilbon, Jr
Austin Rose, Jr
Jaylin Bradley, Fr.
If you went based on statistics from last season, not one returning running back stands out from the 2017 season. In probably the truest race of the season for playing time, the returning backs all have a lot of promise that will need to be delivered on.
One thing that we know, with Tommy Armstrong on the team, opposing coaches would load up at the line of scrimmage, because they knew that Armstrong’s biggest threat was with his legs and this in turn clogged up running lanes for running backs. In third and long situations, teams weren’t as apt to let everyone go into coverage and therefore, kept any surprise draws from being a factor as well. Terrell Newby was the leading rusher for Nebraska last season. He rushed for 879 yards on 4.6 yards per rush. On paper, duplicating those numbers won’t be super difficult and actually should be easier to accomplish if Tanner Lee’s passing ability opens up the offense for the Huskers.
What does all that mean? Well it means that the three headed monster shouldn’t have much trouble duplicating the 4.6 yards per carry that Newby led the team with last season. It also means that someone is going to have to step up and carry the mail.
Tre Bryant to me is the most talented running back of this group overall, but he isn’t very big and running up the middle might wear him down by the end of the year. Ozigbo is work horse type and from all accounts is in great shape after having an up and down sophomore year. Mikale Wilbon is one of my favorites of the group, he has great open field moves and is really fast. All three are very talented at catching the ball as well. It will be a three headed monster this season. I expect that all will have their moments in the sun, but I don’t know if any of them will break from the pack and become a bell cow that totes the ball 20 times every game. It could be a great thing that they all play a lot, or it could become a factor that none of them are good enough to be a difference maker against teams like Wisconsin or Ohio State.
HOT TAKE ALERT: I think Bryant will end up being the leading rusher on the team when it’s all said and done, but I expect Ozigbo to start most of the games. I also don’t think that they will redshirt Jaylin Bradley and I think he will be a major part of the offense in 2019, as he may be the most overall complete running back in practice by then.
Wide Receivers:
Stanley Morgan Jr., Jr.
De’Mornay Pierson-El, Sr.
Tyjon Lindsey, Fr.
JD Spielman, RFr.
Keyan Williams, Jr.
Bryan Reimers, Jr.
Gabe Rahn, Sr.
If you are quarterback Tanner Lee, you have to love a group that starts with Morgan and Pierson-El. These two are both big time capable talents and have proven during their Husker careers to make big plays, big catches and win the hearts of Huskers fans everywhere. What you don’t like if you are Tanner Lee, is that behind those two guys are a bunch of young fellas and walk-ons that you will have to look in your program to identify once the season starts.
Nebraska has been a bit snake bitten the last two years at the wide receiver spot, either through injuries or shaky recruiting issues. The Huskers seemed to have gotten over the recruiting problem, bringing in three highly touted wide receivers for this fall, but due to injury (Jaevon McQuitty) or lack of self-control (Keyshawn Johnson Jr.) all that is left in fall camp is Tyjon Lindsey. Lindsey is the highest ranked recruit to come to Nebraska in about 8 seasons though, so all is not lost. Lindsey should be a regular rotation player by conference season. He is as explosive of an athlete as we have seen in Lincoln in quite some time.
JD Spielman should be a nice addition after a redshirt season and transfer Keyan Williams should also help give the position some much needed depth. It should also be noted that walk on depth will be a nice benefit at this spot as Bryan Reimers returns after a couple of huge plays last season and Gabe Rahn looks to get some playing time as well, that might not have been available before fall camp. Conor Young is another walk-on that could see some playing time this season as well.
When it’s all said and done, I expect this crew will probably outperform what we may have expected from them. Wide receiver coach Keith Williams is known for getting the most out of his players and having an accurate set of quarterbacks should make the receivers jobs that much easier.
HOT TAKE ALERT: Tyjon Lindsey will be the third leading receiving yardage leader on the team this fall if he stays healthy, but an even hotter take, Stanley Morgan will become the first Husker wide receiver ever to go over a 1,000 yards in receiving this fall for NU. I expect Morgan will be all but uncoverable against the lesser teams in conference and I expect him to rack up some pretty big yardage against teams that may be beaten up in the secondary as the season rolls along.
Tight Ends:
Tyler Hoppes, Sr.
Matt Snyder, So.
Jack Stoll, RFr.
David Engelhaupt, RFr.
Kurt Rafdal, Fr.
Austin Allen, Fr.
We have been fortunate to have an NFL caliber player at tight end the last couple of seasons in Cethan Carter, but due to injury and just flat out not throwing to him, we never got to see much of the promise that Carter seemed to possess. His career at Nebraska just never got off into the stardom that many had hoped.
This year however, there is a player that I think will put up numbers that we don’t normally see at the tight end position and that is Tyler Hoppes. Hoppes is a transfer from Wayne State and simply put, he probably has better hands that Carter did. Add that to a quarterback that likes to look at the tight end, in an offense that focuses on getting the ball to that spot and viola, you have Hoppes who will be a major part of the offense this fall.
Hoppes will be backed up by a group of young unproven players though. I expect to see some catches from Matt Snyder and Jack Stoll as well, but I don’t expect them to combine for more than 20 total. The last three recruiting classes have brought in a wealth of talent, but they are all young and have a lot to prove this fall.
HOT TAKE ALERT: Kurt Rafdal will be right behind Hoppes in touchdown catches this season. Rafdal and Austin Allen (freshman) are both HUGE people and will be hard to cover in the red zone. I’m going to flip a coin and say the little bit thicker Rafdal will catch three to five touchdowns this year. It could be Allen, but I’m betting on one of the true freshman to be a play maker for the Huskers right out the chute.
Quick Notes:
New Coaches… Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco and new defensive backs coach Donte Williams have both hit the ground running with their respective spots this fall. It looks as though Coach Riley’s hires in the offseason have been big hits around campus and in Williams case, off campus as well as he has been dynamite on the recruiting trail since he got here.
Under the radar… Nebraska hasn’t been picked by many, if any at all, to win the Big Ten west. With the combination of a new defensive coordinator, new quarterback, running back, wide receivers and tight ends, many think the Nebraska offense won’t be much to contend with. I will argue right now, that this offense will shine with Lee. The defense, will improve this season by the end of the year. It may not be lights out at Oregon or even by Wisconsin, but by the time we play Iowa, I expect it to be humming.
Let’s get this season going! I don’t know about you, but fall camp does this to me every year….after about a week, I want the games to start! Preseason NFL games are even getting my attention. The long layoff is finally over!
On with the Rewind:
Our Next Blog will review the defense and the offensive line!! Enjoy the rest of your summer and for all of the people that read our blog….GBR!!
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