Nebraska Cornhuskers 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: In retrospect, I was wrong about one thing regarding Nebraska football last fall. I thought they'd finish 4th in the Big 10 West. They finished 5th. I took a ton of heat for my Huskers preview from Nebraska fan last season, but when it all panned out, I was correct on several points. Despite the transfer of Tanner Lee to Lincoln, they still lacked a QB. Mike Riley was indeed on his way out the door, and was a massive mistake hire to begin with for this program. I could go on all day, but I won't for the sake of time, as this is hardly the lone program I will be previewing this summer. Now that I have dealt with that, I will give massive credit for the hiring of Bill Moos as AD, and the subsequent homecoming hiring of Scott Frost as head coach of the football program. Frost has been destined to return to the program at some point, and of the available candidates, he was the lone candidate that made any sense to hire. He understands the culture, and understands what it takes to win in the environment in Lincoln. He also has to understand, immediately, that this is not the Big 12 anymore, and the overall competition is a different animal in the Big 10. I do believe in Frost long term, but this may be an adjustment year to start getting pieces in place, so aiming for a bowl bid should be the max expectation here in 2018. Still, love the hire, and I expect an uptick in talent that he will bring into the program over anything that Riley had done before.
Breakdown Offense: The run game, which has historically been the bread and butter of Nebraska football for decades, completely tanked last season, ranking just 119th nationally in yards per game at 107.5 yards per game. If you want to win at Nebraska, you need to run the football effectively, and even dominantly. That obviously did not happen with Riley's offense last fall. Frost will fix it.
The rushing total was the worst at Nebraska since 2005, and Frost is hoping that JC transfer Greg Bell is the guy who fixes the issue. It's been quite some time since Nebraska has seen a front line, big time rusher (2014), and the hope is that Bell could be the guy that changes things. Devin Ozigbo led the team with just 493 yards last fall, and he should be the backup to Bell this fall. He averaged just 3.82 yards per carry and 49.3 yards per game last fall. Tre Bryant and Mikale Wilbon will battle for the RB3 job in camp. Bryant has some big play skill, as he averaged 5.86 yards per carry last season.
The main struggle for Frost will be finding a QB in the bunch that he has to pick from. Tristan Gebbia looks to battle Adrian Martinez, and Andrew Bunch is in the mix as well. Not one of these guys has attempted a pass as a Husker. How this situation settles out will dictate a good part of the season.
There is some good news at WR, as Stanley Morgan and JD Spielman both return. Morgan led the team with 61 receptions for 986 yards and 10 scores, while averaging 16.16 yards per catch last fall. Spielman finished right behind him with 55 catches for 880 yards and 2 scores, averaging 15.09 yards per grab. Tyjon Lindsay, who caught 12 passes as a freshman, is the 3rd receiver heading into the fall. Bryan Reimers, Mike Williams, and Jaevon McQuitty are the backups, but have little in the way of experience.
Jack Stoll is the lone returning TE who caught a pass last season, and he should step into the starting job this fall. Austin Allen is also in the mix, with Kurt Rafdal and Matt Snyder looking for reps as well.
The line returns 8 players who started one game last fall, but 3 return who finished the season as a starter in Brendan Jaimes (LT), Gerlad Foster (LG), and Tanner Farmer (RG). Matt Farniok looks like a potential starter at RT, while Michael Decker and Cole Conrad could battle in fall camp for the Center job. Christian Gaylord and Matt Sichterman are the backups at Tackle. Boe Wilson and John Raridon are the reserves at OG. Will Farniok is another reserve at C.
Breakdown Defense: There is some excellent news up front for Nebraska, as the line returns all 3 starters. Carlos Davis and Freedom Akinmoladun will start once again at DE, while Mick Stoltenberg is back in the middle at DT. The bad news is that this group totaled just 7 TFLs on the year in 2017, and more, much more, will be needed from this unit in 2018, as the Huskers ranked 114th nationally against the run, allowing 214.8 yards per game. Khalil Davis and DaiShon Neal are the reserves at DE, while Damion Daniels provides help at DT.
The LB corps returns 2 starters in Luke Gifford and Dedrick Young. Gifford will start at OLB, with Young playing inside. Young finished 2nd on the team with 80 tackles last season, while Gifford had just 39 on the season. Mohammed Berry is slated to compete with big time JC transfer Will Honas at the open ILB spot, while Collin Miller and Alex Davis will compete for the open spot outside. Tyrin Ferguson and Avery Roberts bring additional depth.
Antonio Reed (SS) and Aaron Williams (FS) both return, but both missed 2 games each last fall as well. The Huskers will need to keep them healthy this fall, because depth and ability at CB may be lacking, and the Huskers could be beaten by the deep ball. Williams tied for the team lead with 2 INTs last fall, and totaled 48 tackles. Reed totaled 42 tackles, but did not do much against the pass. Deontai Williams and Marquel Dismuke are the backups.
Lamar Jackson is back to start at CB this fall, but totaled just 3 PBUs last season as a sophomore. DiCaprio Bootle shuld join him, taking up the open spot at CB. He played in 12 games last season, and recorded 15 tackles. Tony Butler, Ethan Cox, and Eric Lee, Jr. are the backups, but overall, the CB position is incredibly thin.
Breakdown Special Teams: Drew Brown was a bright spot for the Huskers at PK last fall, hitting 12/14 FG attempts, but he has moved on now. The job likely falls to Barret Pickering, who is a freshman this season.
Caleb Lighthorn is back at Punter, and averaged 42.14 yards per punt last fall.
Spielman is a solid option on kick returns, and averaged 24.78 yards per return with one score last season. The PR job is open heading into camp.
Final Analysis: Nebraska has some work to do after the mess that was the Mike Riley era has ended. Frost is a top tier coach who did wonders at UCF, and has a proven track record as an OC before that, and will work hard to fix what has been broken, but fixing the program may take some time, and there a lot of questions to be answered. Patience is the word of the day in Lincoln, as Frost gets everything put back together. Remember, it did not take very long for him to take the UCF program from winless to undefeated. That may be a tough ask to change things that quickly in the Big 10, but the fix is definitely coming.
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