Position by Position Prediction Next Year

[Bigred511]

QB-Martinez was good and could take a step forward to be great. I also fill more comfortable having 2 scholarship QB as backups next year with Vedral and McCaffrey. Bunch did get some reps on his belt with 1 start so hopefully, he improves if his number is called.

RB-Devine had 7.5 yards per carry after 10 games and that will be missed. May be ok with 3 running back recruits, Washington returning and getting Miles Jones in the mix.

WR-I am most nervous about this spot. Losing Morgan a 1,000-yard receiver and broke several records hurts. Spielman can be a great #1 option and his presence was missed the last 2 games when he was injured. Only 2 WR recruits coming next year right now. Hopefully, We get another recruit and 1 of the 7 scholarship guys can take a big step forward. Warner and Williams have stepped up their game with good blocking and could use more YAC and TD's.

TE Stroll looked to be a solid #3 receiving option this year. I also thought Allen looked good in smaller sample size. Should be ok at this spot.

Oline-Seen a lot of improvement the 2nd half of the year. A 2nd year under Duvall strength program should help close the gap against Iowa and OSU. Losing the leadership of Foster and Farmer. Frost said he would convert Juergens to Center and thinks he can be another Dave Rimington. Boe Wilson and Jaimes have graded out well. Faniok the jury is out. Do have 4 Oline recruits coming. Hixson could be a hidden gem he has scored out well in practice and the games he played in small sample size. I think more consistency under Austin will help this unit.

DLine-Lose Freedom, Stoltenberg, and Newell. Stoltenberg may be the only big loss. Have 10 guys returning but haven't been impressed with the guys that have played. The weight room could help but not sure have enough speed. Maybe a new recruit can help. Desperately need a pass rusher.

Linebackers-Lose Young and Gifford. Gifford effort will be missed. Return 13 starters and seen some good things from Ferguson. Hoping a healthy Tannor and Honas will help this unit. Dixon looked great in spring ball but played limited snaps and took advantage of a redshirt to hopefully, help this unit with more development.

Safety-Lose Neal, Reed, and Williams. They all had their ups and downs. The safety position will look a lot different. We seen Jo Jo Domann create a couple of turnovers. Deontai Williams in limited snaps scored out high on the games he played. Cam Jones and CJ Smith redshirted this year and could be in the mix to contribute next year. We only have 1 safety recruit currently so hopefully the guys we have step up.

CB-Bootle and Jackson will be back. Both looked good in coverage but struggled with tackling. Hopefully, this gets addressed. Cameron Taylor looked good at times as he got his feet wet as a true freshman.

Punter-Armstrong proved to be an upgrade over Lightbourn. Disappointing to see a 3 year starter get benched over a walkon but a good story in the walkon program for Armstrong.

Kicker-Pickering was a true freshman this year. He proved to be a trusted kicker down the strength. I wish Huskers had his leg against Colorado or Northwestern but feel better about next year in the closer games.

 

[GretnaShawn]

QB- Martinez was great this season. After another off season with sexy Harry Potter, he could be really special. Also, having Vedral and McCaffrey will make for some actual depth.

RB- Ozigbo outperformed expectations by a large margin. He will be missed. There is an heir apparent in Mills that should take over his spot, but we should all take a lesson from this last batch of JUCOs, they aren’t always ready right away. Washington, like Martinez, was great and had the potential to be really special.

TE- Stoll looks good. Rafdal and Allen have potential (I’ve said this so many times- I would love to see Rafdal, Allen and Legron split out in a goal line package.) No losses, should be growth and improvement.

OL- Losing a lot of starts with Foster and Farmer graduating. If Benhardt is a day 1 starter like some think, Farniok could move inside to guard. If not, tackle is still thin (really young backups with the three incoming Freshman), but the starters are good to serviceable. The Wilson was solid. Bland (anybody hear how his FSU visit went?), Jurgens, young Farniok, Raridon (after he loses 30 lbs), and a few others offer good depth and a chance to compete. May be a step back. Since coaching is better, will probably be even or a step forward. The line really improved over the year.

DL- Depth may be a little worse. Hopefully Fair is a player. How much can the young guys improve? Duval hopefully makes them a Big 10 line. Not sure where this position group will be next season.

LB- Losing Gifford stinks. We need a pass rusher something terrible. Like 4 of them. Can Tannor be one of them? I don’t think Young will be a huge loss. Barry will be the anchor. Should be improved.

CB- Starters will be back. Thought they were going to be the weak link of the defense this season. They weren’t. They played better than expected. Showed a lot of growth through the season. Should be improved next season.

S- Lots of losses. They showed improvement throughout the season. Young guys show promise. Will probably be a step back next season.

 

[Redscarlet]

Derrick Young can be replaced and over ran gaps constantly.
Complained about him all season..

 

[WoodRiverJennings]

WR is the biggest question mark, IMO. I don't think there's anybody on the roster that can make up for the production of Stanley Morgan. I wasn't too impressed with the JuCo guys or Hunt. Maybe McQuitty will be healthy and able to help soften the blow of losing Morgan.

TE concerns me a bit. We don't have a true receiving threat there yet. They are all decent, but we need someone to step up and be a difference maker in the passing game.

On the defensive side, DL and LB should be improved. Daniels with another year of S&C could turn into an All-Conference type of guy. Fair should help out a lot at NT.Will be interesting to see how Dixon & JoJo progress. Will JoJo move to safety? Safety is probably my biggest concern with only D. Williams looking like solid starter material.

Special teams will be better. Armstrong was better than Lightbourn, but we need some improvement out of him as well. Pickering will be much improved.

 

[o_Hit]

Some big things going into next year. First, players will have their first full off season in Duval's program and will know what the process is and won't be learning it. Second, how well QBs progress year 2 in Frost's system.

Biggest fall backs. Replacing Stanley Morgan and all the SR safeties.

If we keep all our current commits, position by position.

QB - obviously will improve. I think Vedral can be a good backup. The time we saw him this year, he was on the field with all our backups vs the other teams starters. Unlike some, I have high hopes for McCaffrey.

RB - push. A year in the weight room, I'm excited to see what Washington can do. With his dynamic running and his receiving ability. He could rack up 1500 total yards of offense next year. I have high Hope's for Mills, but cautiously optimistic after Bell. Also excited to see the young RB's coming in. Curious to see what Bradley can contribute next year. Bradley could be a good compliment to Washington and Mills.

WR - push. Losing Morgan sucks, but I think Spielman was our best WR this year. If he wasn't hurt the last 2 and a half games, then he would have been our all around stat leader at WR. If the JUCO guys don't pick it up, they will get passed up by Hunt, Jones, or even true freshman Nance.

TE - improved. Return everyone.

OL - I will actually say slight improvement. Return 3 of the 5 starters. If the indication that we stopped recruiting JUCO tackles is that Benhart will start day 1, then they can move Farniok to left guard. Bland supposedly can start day one at center also


LT - Jaimes, Gaylord
LG - Farniok, Raridon
C - Bland, Jurgens
RG - Wilson, Hixon
RT - Benhart, Sichterman

DL - Improved. I have no idea have how Freedom was still listed a starter by year end. Guy will go down on the all-time practice squad team. Just didn't translate to actual field play. Stoltenberg wasn't the same after his injury. During the Iowa game I saw him gettingpushed back 3 yards every play 1 on 1. We need Fair to qualify and come in and start at NT. That is the main thing the DL was really missing this year. Need a guy to eat up blocks in the middle do the DE can push up the field. I look forward to seeing what Wildeman and Roger's can bring. I loved both of their films.

OLB - push. Someone needs to step up here. We have plenty of speed. Dixon, Thomas, Alston, and Tannor need to be big factors with Ferguson.

ILB - improved. everyone knows how I feel aboutYoung... lol. I think Honas will be a big improvement going into next year. I think both true freshman see the field a lot. Miller better step it up.

CB - Improved. Jackson and Bootle will take another step forward. Clark and Taylor will be greatcompliments. Butler and Lee will be veteran depth.

S - step back early, strength later in the season. Expect to see D Williams and Domann to be the starters. Cam Jones and CJ Smith will continue to progress. Jones may press Domann back to a nickel/3rd down OLB.

All of that, contributions from other freshmen, and the easier schedule I feel 8 wins should be the minimum expectation.

 

[HominidHusker]

Given that I think majority of seniors lost are replaceable, along with a long offseason of stability, culture, scheme, development... I’ll go kool aid and say we show improvement across the board with the up and coming talent and current veterans in the roster.

OL, defensive front 7, and overall leadership across the position groups make me the most nervous. Also hoping the WR’s have a few guys step up next year.

 

[Huskerfan2112]

QB- Martinez was great this season. After another off season with sexy Harry Potter, he could be really special. Also, having Vedral and McCaffrey will make for some actual depth.

RB- Ozigbo outperformed expectations by a large margin. He will be missed. There is an heir apparent in Mills that should take over his spot, but we should all take a lesson from this last batch of JUCOs, they aren’t always ready right away. Washington, like Martinez, was great and had the potential to be really special.

TE- Stoll looks good. Rafdal and Allen have potential (I’ve said this so many times- I would love to see Rafdal, Allen and Legron split out in a goal line package.) No losses, should be growth and improvement.

OL- Losing a lot of starts with Foster and Farmer graduating. If Benhardt is a day 1 starter like some think, Farniok could move inside to guard. If not, tackle is still thin (really young backups with the three incoming Freshman), but the starters are good to serviceable. The Wilson was solid. Bland (anybody hear how his FSU visit went?), Jurgens, young Farniok, Raridon (after he loses 30 lbs), and a few others offer good depth and a chance to compete. May be a step back. Since coaching is better, will probably be even or a step forward. The line really improved over the year.

DL- Depth may be a little worse. Hopefully Fair is a player. How much can the young guys improve? Duval hopefully makes them a Big 10 line. Not sure where this position group will be next season.

LB- Losing Gifford stinks. We need a pass rusher something terrible. Like 4 of them. Can Tannor be one of them? I don’t think Young will be a huge loss. Barry will be the anchor. Should be improved.

CB- Starters will be back. Thought they were going to be the weak link of the defense this season. They weren’t. They played better than expected. Showed a lot of growth through the season. Should be improved next season.

S- Lots of losses. They showed improvement throughout the season. Young guys show promise. Will probably be a step back next season.

Sexy Harry Potter? LMAO

 

[Frost4NU]

All aboard the Miles Jones/Justin McGriff/Breon Dixon/Braxton Clark hype train!

 

[GretnaShawn]

Sexy Harry Potter? LMAO

This is sex appeal at its highest form. (If you’re at work or around impressionable young women, close the browser now.)

 

[Dean Pope]

Stanley Morgan had a great year. We'll miss his leadership too. But I think we'll be fine at receiver. I think Warner started for a reason-- he's good. He'll be one of those guys who you try to replace but never do. He just lacks that breakaway speed. I trust the staff will find & develop a couple others. The perimeter blocking really improved as the year went on. I expect that to continue.

The offensive line is always a concern, but I think it will take another step forward next year. Jurgens should start next year at center. He'll be good next year and outstanding after that. I would keep Farniak at right tackle and have Benhart compete with him. We need depth at tackle. As for the interior, there's a lot of options there. There should be fierce competition there.

The big concern, of course, is the defense-- really at all three levels. What they really need is a difference maker to emerge, an all-conference type of kid. Probably more than one. But for this defense to work, the line must get more push, the interior linebackers must be more physical, and we need more team speed everywhere else.

 

[EatsBugs]

QB - improved
RB - improved (Mills the real deal)
OL - slightly worse (lose Bland. Farmer and Foster (3yr starters) >> replacements)
WR - worse (hard to replace morgan)
TE - improved but need to improve blocking
DL - improved
LB - push / zero depth for a year
CB - improved (Taylor real deal)
S - worse (Reed, Williams, Neal >>> replacements)

5 position groups better
1 push
3 worse

Very challenging to replace multi-year starters (Farmer, Foster, Morgan, Gifford, Reed, Williams, Neal) with guys with very limited game experience. Initially, its a step back in those areas.

 

[WoodRiverJennings]

QB - improved
RB - improved (Mills the real deal)
OL - slightly worse (lose Bland. Farmer and Foster (3yr starters) >> replacements)
WR - worse (hard to replace morgan)
TE - improved but need to improve blocking
DL - improved
LB - push / zero depth for a year
CB - improved (Taylor real deal)
S - worse (Reed, Williams, Neal >>> replacements)

5 position groups better
1 push
3 worse

Very challenging to replace multi-year starters (Farmer, Foster, Morgan, Gifford, Reed, Williams, Neal) with guys with very limited game experience. Initially, its a step back in those areas.

You really think Bland flips to FSU?

 

[dinglefritz]

IMO, Raridon will start at guard for Foster. Bland at center maybe if we land him. Several options on the inside. Washington will be a year stronger at RB. Newcomers are going to play early at RB and WR. I expect some newcomers to play early and challenge for starting spots in our back 8 on defense. We'll be fine. Replacing our center is my NUMBER ONE concern. Center is right behind QB as one of the most important positions on the team IMO.

 

[DudznSudz]

My take:

QB: Improved, dramatically. Martinez is going to be the bets QB in the Big Ten one day. With another year of conditioning and training under his belt, he will minimize some of his "freshman" reactions to pressure and become a true threat. Vedral will back him up, and I too believe McCaffrey is going to be a star as Martinez moves on.

RB: It's tough to replace what Ozigbo finally accomplished, but we're going to have a nasty two-headed monster at RB next year; Mills looks like he's going to be a stud beastly back, and Washington is going to be our speed, finesse, and pass-catching back. Plus, we'll be using a lot of RB recruits as the Duck-R role, so expect to see this position get a little more diverse next year.

OL: I'm a little worried if we don't actually get Desmond Bland. If we do, I'm not worried at all and think that the OL gets better.

WR: Morgan was really something, and I'm not sure Spielman totally replaces him (height difference). We need Hunt and McQuitty to step up big here.

DL: This can only get better with Daniels getting stronger and adding Tony Fair. Both are true NT-style players in their build. The Davis twins will be seniors and monster DE's.

OLB: I mean, I know we have talent here, but we need to see some serious pass rushing. I'm not sure who is going to do it, I just want to see it get done.

ILB: Strength of the D again.

CB: Same dudes, one more year of conditioning and training. Should finally be very, very good.

S: Huge question mark, simply because we're losing three seniors and a grad transfer who knew the defensive scheme well.

Kicking: Will improve to our standards again.

 

[redfanusa]

Neither line is where it needs to be. I'd like to see the coaches shaking the trees for any JUCO big bodies or graduate transfers that might be able to actually push some guys around. I don't love JUCO OL because we haven't had great luck with them. I think many are just fat guys who have been able to sit on people at that level, but aren't athletic enough for Power Five ball. Still searching for that real 3-4 nose tackle. Might take a few years to grow one internally.

 

[Headcard]

Neither line is where it needs to be. I'd like to see the coaches shaking the trees for any JUCO big bodies or graduate transfers that might be able to actually push some guys around. I don't love JUCO OL because we haven't had great luck with them. I think many are just fat guys who have been able to sit on people at that level, but aren't athletic enough for Power Five ball. Still searching for that real 3-4 nose tackle. Might take a few years to grow one internally.

Agree, but I think we may have more of a true NT next year between Danniels and the JUCO Fair, which would be huge.

 

[GretnaShawn]

IMO, Raridon will start at guard for Foster. Bland at center maybe if we land him. Several options on the inside. Washington will be a year stronger at RB. Newcomers are going to play early at RB and WR. I expect some newcomers to play early and challenge for starting spots in our back 8 on defense. We'll be fine. Replacing our center is my NUMBER ONE concern. Center is right behind QB as one of the most important positions on the team IMO.

Raridon has some work to do reshaping his body. He looked really overweight when he saw the field this year.

 

[dinglefritz]

Raridon has some work to do reshaping his body. He looked really overweight when he saw the field this year.

He looked pudgy but he is quick. Have you watched some of the best NFL O linemen? Lots of those guys aren't exactly trim and they do just fine. I'll take a pudgy looking guard who can move his feet over a 6-6 plodding ripped dude just about every day of the week. He'll get there with another year with Duval.

 

[inWV]

He looked pudgy but he is quick. Have you watched some of the best NFL O linemen? Lots of those guys aren't exactly trim and they do just fine. I'll take a pudgy looking guard who can move his feet over a 6-6 plodding ripped dude just about every day of the week. He'll get there with another year with Duval.

If Raridon can take another step and seize one of the starting spots, it's much easier to envision the line coming together. I wouldn't count out Cam Jurgens either.

 

[dinglefritz]

If Raridon can take another step and seize one of the starting spots, it's much easier to envision the line coming together. I wouldn't count out Cam Jurgens either.

I have a lot of faith in Austin being able to get guys ready to play and when faced with an opportunity to win a starting job I think we'll see some guys already on campus up their game this spring and summer. A year in the system is such a huge advantage for a guy already on campus over a new guy coming in.

 

[TennesseeHusker75]

With the loss of Stan I see the tight ends and hybrid WR/TE being used a lot more next year. It will also help in the run game with blocking. I am guessing I am the only one that thinks McQuitty can be a good receiver for Big Red.

 

[little a]

Derrick Young can be replaced and over ran gaps constantly.
Complained about him all season..

Young and Freedom just never improved IMHO over the years....

 

[Huskerwisdom]

Agree, but I think we may have more of a true NT next year between Danniels and the JUCO Fair, which would be huge.

Daniels is going to be very good, but I'm not expecting a ton of snaps from him so we'll need depth. Hopefully Fair is the real deal so that we have a good 2 deep there with some help from Davis as well.

 

[inWV]

With the loss of Stan I see the tight ends and hybrid WR/TE being used a lot more next year. It will also help in the run game with blocking. I am guessing I am the only one that thinks McQuitty can be a good receiver for Big Red.

The kid only had a stat line for Bethune Cookman. No catches. Would think Warner, Mike Williams, Miles Jones and the TEs will absorb the most of Stan's catches.

 

[Anon1727835823]

Does JoJo flip back to Safety, or does he take over for Gifford at OLB.

 

[ZJSARENOTFREE]

WR is the biggest question mark, IMO. I don't think there's anybody on the roster that can make up for the production of Stanley Morgan. I wasn't too impressed with the JuCo guys or Hunt. Maybe McQuitty will be healthy and able to help soften the blow of losing Morgan.

TE concerns me a bit. We don't have a true receiving threat there yet. They are all decent, but we need someone to step up and be a difference maker in the passing game.

On the defensive side, DL and LB should be improved. Daniels with another year of S&C could turn into an All-Conference type of guy. Fair should help out a lot at NT.Will be interesting to see how Dixon & JoJo progress. Will JoJo move to safety? Safety is probably my biggest concern with only D. Williams looking like solid starter material.

Special teams will be better. Armstrong was better than Lightbourn, but we need some improvement out of him as well. Pickering will be much improved.

I agree. We really need someone to step up for Stanley because it looked bad outside of him.

We also need some sort of pass rusher to step up. It'll be interesting to see how much weight Tannor can get on him to play a little tougher. Gifford was a great guy, but I'm not sure he was that great of an OLB. This position could be upgraded very easily if some of these youngsters step up. I also can't wait to see how our D is once we get a few more athletes out there. Yes, they have to get the mental part of the game, but guys like Colin Miller, Denontai, and others are all big time athlete upgrades, now just need to make sure they get it mentally. It'll also be nice to have some continuity so these men aren't having to learn and new scheme and can just play in something they are comfortable in.

 

[EatsBugs]

Daniels is going to be very good, but I'm not expecting a ton of snaps from him so we'll need depth. Hopefully Fair is the real deal so that we have a good 2 deep there with some help from Davis as well.

Daniels is much better than Fair

 

[Huskerwisdom]

Daniels is much better than Fair

that's my expectations. I am starting with the assumption that we get as many snaps from Daniels as we can. If we're lucky we'll get 50%, but I'll be happy enough with 33%

 

[TheBeav815]

OLB, G-C-G, WR are my major concerns. I think somebody steps up at RB. I was wrong about Wilbon his whole career but hopefully I'll be right about Bradley. I think he could turn into a NICE back for NU coming off a RS this year. I'm kinda off counting JUCO chickens after so many didn't hatch this year. We'll see about Mills, he'll need to learn the offense.

Stille is a dude at one DE spot, the Davis twins are good at DE and ok at nose. Daniels is a monster in the making but he needs help. Deontre Thomas returns next year, I've liked him all along. All kinds of bodies in this group and lots good-not-great guys for a 3-4.

OLB is Ferguson and ??? You hope Tannor can do something and has anyone seen Guy Thomas? Please check your milk cartons and call the number if you see him. Tannor got to be a situational pass rusher and looked like a boy trying to get through men going against OL.

Foster and Farmer will be missed a lot more than anyone seems to want to admit right now. There is some talent there but it's not like we had 7-8 guys we felt good about this year. Jurgens is a project at C, to think he comes in as a Rs-Fr who never played the position before and is going to start in the B1G is wishful thinking. He needs all the time he can get to get that leg right, build up his size and learn the position. Best case IMO is he is a guy who can rotate in late next season.

The failure of anyone not named Morgan or Spielman to step up at WR is a worry, especially when multiple JUCO guys came in. Kade Warner is a pleasant surprise but I haven't seen anything out of him that you go, "ooh wow!" He's a nice possession WR who runs a clean route, makes the grab and then gets tackled. The fact that he as a walk-on underclassman won the job over higher rated and older guys is nice for him and an indictment of the rest of them.

 

[inWV]

Wrt NU this year, the addition by subtraction happened before the season started and early in the season. So now it's just subtraction. But I think that is mitigated by another full year of strength&conditioning, development and coaching from the same staff. The read on Zig at the beginning of the season was that he might have to compete for scrap carries. That was 180 degrees wrong. I think some kids will step up. The schedule is much kinder and NU was pretty close in a lot of games even while playing poorly early in the season.
Stan is the hardest to replace.

 

[Gravitron]

It would be really nice if McGriff pans out and can add some production for next year (seems really skinny for TE and LeGrone was already converted to TE). We are all talking about replacing Morgan with a big bodied receiver. McGriff at 6 foot 6 and a year and a half under Duval will at least have the body. If Dominic Watt had qualified, I would be mentioning him here. That was a big loss.

 

[dinglefritz]

Does JoJo flip back to Safety, or does he take over for Gifford at OLB.

Jojo is too small to play OLB consistently against most B1G teams. We need somebody not only bigger than JoJo but also bigger than Gifford. Tough to find guys who can stuff the run, rush the passer but still cover. Imagine that. We need to get bigger and faster.

 

[red scowl]

Like the above posts does Farniok slide inside for Benhart, a true tackle.

OLB- Tyrin is gonna be great if he can stay healthy. Does Domann get bigger, or is he just a nickel OLB. Tannor was brought in as a pass rusher and I would think he'd be on the two deep. Breon Dixon, he needs to get bigger by at least 20 lbs. I read some tweets that appeared that he was discouraged. I hope he sticks it out and buckles down. He should play next year. He could maybe be another Farley, if he is as explosive as he looked in the spring game.

MLB Barry and Honas

DE alot of freshmen were hurt last year at this position. I'm curious to see who is behind Davis. We lost Freedom, but I think we won't lose a ton from his departure.

RB Mills coming out second to the field.

TE: I think may be a strength next year.

We need a guy with some some length to develop at wr.

 

[TheNewNU_rivals50820]

QB - Martinez should make a massive jump forward next year, I'm anticipating an A 1st Team All B1G selection. Guys generally make the biggest jump from year 1 to 2. Vedral and Bunch will give us good depth and McCafferey can put on the weight he desperately needs to, McCafferey would have made Gebbia look chunky.

RB - Washington will hopefully be beefed up to about 185 (he played at 170 this year) I'd like him at 205 but the plan is to take it slow on his development because they don't want him to lose a step. Dedrick Mills should be able to fit in nicely. I have less concerns with him than I did with Bell because Mills has played power 5 football before and done very well. I like them as a nice 1 2 punch. Mazour could play in some packages as well. I expect a lot of attrition from this group, I get the feeling Jaylin Bradley will probably be moving on to a JUCO. He didn't see a lick of playing time this year after having a good impact as a freshman.

WR - We are losing a lot of production with Stan graduating we definitely need some of the young guys to step up. With Stan and JD in the games at the same time they were match up nightmares. Once JD got dinged teams were able to double Stan. I was impressed with the improvement over the course of the year from this group. They looked awful the first 3 games. Lots of drops and no desire to block downfield. funny story actually, I was watching some old cut ups of Chip's offense back when he was at Oregon and was super impressed with how well the receivers blocked in the run game. I can remember thinking, 'Gee why didn't Frost hire that receiver coach? He's way better than Walters' Well it turns out Scott did hire that wr coach, it was Scott Frost. Stories aside I was impressed with the emergence of Warner but we need to add some play makers here. Walters has not shown an ability to recruit to the level Verduzco and Held can, although in fairness he did land Dominick Watt, he just fell through academically.

TE - You want to hear something crazy? Mike Riley thought Jack Stoll would make a better college Tight End than Noah Fant. That alone should get a man fired. Stoll was awful to begin the year, couldn't block to save his life. Luckily for him both Austin Allen and Kurt Rafdal are worse blockers than him. Bitterness about Fant aside, there's a lot to like with this group. Austin Allen and Rafdal can both be NFL tight ends and I expect both of them to pass Stoll by next year. Stoll is solid but athletically he's not on the same level. Look out for McGriff going forward as well. I originally thought it was a stupid decision to move Jurgens inside to OL but there are a lot of young guys in front of him that are much better fits for this offense.

OL - Sweet Jesus what a difference having a good O line coach makes. Really impressed with the improvement from this group. Greg Austin moved mountains this year, replacing Conrad with Farmer and sliding in Boe Wilson at guard made a world of difference. We probably win that Colorado game if they had made the switch sooner. God Conrad was awful. Gerald and Tanner will be missed, but Gerald easily had to be the most penalized player on our team. Sounds like the plan is to put Bland at Center, will they work on Jurgens for the long term and put either Raridon or slide Will Farniok into Left guard if we can land a JUCO tackle or Benhart is as good as advertised. Looking into the recruiting targets. Scott wants to give Barry Alvarez a run for his money on having the biggest offensive line in college football.

DL - This group had a ton of depth this year, mostly because Riley recruited to a 4-3 for 2 and a half years but he did land one huge piece in Damion Daniels. He needs to get a little stronger but having Daniels in the middle with the Davis twins at the ends next year will be an improvement. I have a lot of admiration for Stoltenberg but he was 3-4 DE playing Nose because we had no one to play it last year. If he gets a shot in the league it'll be at DE in a 3-4 scheme. Freedom did a nice job for being a converted TE and had a good career all things considered. It's too bad Stille isn't just a step faster because he was easily our best pass rusher on the line. Speaking of which we need pass rushers yesterday. Hopefully Scott can pull a rabbit out of the hat and grab Chester Graves from IWCC but Saban is calling so it looks bleak. There is no bigger need on this team right now than a pass rusher and we have to address this before signing day.

LB - If there was a position group where we just don't have the horses it's linebacker. With the exception of Mo Barry we don't have anybody that can play in a 3-4. That's one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of this defense because outside linebackers that can get after the quarterback and defend in the passing game are nearly impossible to find. Hell NFL teams struggle to find those guys. Dedrick Young got a lot of flack that wasn't really deserved, the kid was a running back out of Arizona that never played much linebacker before getting to Lincoln, all things considered he did a nice job and I can assure you Colin Miller and Weinmaster were much much worse. Tyrin Ferguson is a hoss, I'd like to see him moved inside to Buck but we are so damn thin at Will and Sam that he's probably gonna have to stay there. Honas was just getting his feet under him after struggling quite a bit early in the year before getting hurt, hopefully he bounces back and has a big time senior campaign. Heinrich Nelson and Hannah are probably going to get early looks next year. I like what DeWitt and Ruud have coming in. Linebackers are HARD to find but I think we've got the coaches to go out and get us some good ones.

CB - Word on the street is that Lamar Jackson is leaning heavy on declaring for the NFL draft, yes you heard me correctly. Best of luck to him if decides to leave, A team could take a flyer on him as a project. He was decent in press coverage and has NFL size and speed. He just doesn't have any interest in tackling. Cam Taylor I think could fill that role should Lamar forego his senior season. DiCaprio Bootle has the potential to be the best corner we've had since Alphonso Dennard, teams had no interest in throwing at him and wanted to take their shots against Lamar. Chinander and Fisher like big corners and safetys. You probably won't see another corner under 6 foot going forward.

Safety - We are losing a lot at Safety, Antonio Reed, Aaron Williams, and Tre Neal. None of these guys were world beaters but we are going to be tested a lot on the back end next year. I like what Deonte Williams showed me and Marquel Dismuke and JoJo Domann showed flashes. This group has plenty of potential it would just be nice to retain a DB coach for awhile.

 

[red scowl]

QB - Martinez should make a massive jump forward next year, I'm anticipating an A 1st Team All B1G selection. Guys generally make the biggest jump from year 1 to 2. Vedral and Bunch will give us good depth and McCafferey can put on the weight he desperately needs to, McCafferey would have made Gebbia look chunky.

RB - Washington will hopefully be beefed up to about 185 (he played at 170 this year) I'd like him at 205 but the plan is to take it slow on his development because they don't want him to lose a step. Dedrick Mills should be able to fit in nicely. I have less concerns with him than I did with Bell because Mills has played power 5 football before and done very well. I like them as a nice 1 2 punch. Mazour could play in some packages as well. I expect a lot of attrition from this group, I get the feeling Jaylin Bradley will probably be moving on to a JUCO. He didn't see a lick of playing time this year after having a good impact as a freshman.

WR - We are losing a lot of production with Stan graduating we definitely need some of the young guys to step up. With Stan and JD in the games at the same time they were match up nightmares. Once JD got dinged teams were able to double Stan. I was impressed with the improvement over the course of the year from this group. They looked awful the first 3 games. Lots of drops and no desire to block downfield. funny story actually, I was watching some old cut ups of Chip's offense back when he was at Oregon and was super impressed with how well the receivers blocked in the run game. I can remember thinking, 'Gee why didn't Frost hire that receiver coach? He's way better than Walters' Well it turns out Scott did hire that wr coach, it was Scott Frost. Stories aside I was impressed with the emergence of Warner but we need to add some play makers here. Walters has not shown an ability to recruit to the level Verduzco and Held can, although in fairness he did land Dominick Watt, he just fell through academically.

TE - You want to hear something crazy? Mike Riley thought Jack Stoll would make a better college Tight End than Noah Fant. That alone should get a man fired. Stoll was awful to begin the year, couldn't block to save his life. Luckily for him both Austin Allen and Kurt Rafdal are worse blockers than him. Bitterness about Fant aside, there's a lot to like with this group. Austin Allen and Rafdal can both be NFL tight ends and I expect both of them to pass Stoll by next year. Stoll is solid but athletically he's not on the same level. Look out for McGriff going forward as well. I originally thought it was a stupid decision to move Jurgens inside to OL but there are a lot of young guys in front of him that are much better fits for this offense.

OL - Sweet Jesus what a difference having a good O line coach makes. Really impressed with the improvement from this group. Greg Austin moved mountains this year, replacing Conrad with Farmer and sliding in Boe Wilson at guard made a world of difference. We probably win that Colorado game if they had made the switch sooner. God Conrad was awful. Gerald and Tanner will be missed, but Gerald easily had to be the most penalized player on our team. Sounds like the plan is to put Bland at Center, will they work on Jurgens for the long term and put either Raridon or slide Will Farniok into Left guard if we can land a JUCO tackle or Benhart is as good as advertised. Looking into the recruiting targets. Scott wants to give Barry Alvarez a run for his money on having the biggest offensive line in college football.

DL - This group had a ton of depth this year, mostly because Riley recruited to a 4-3 for 2 and a half years but he did land one huge piece in Damion Daniels. He needs to get a little stronger but having Daniels in the middle with the Davis twins at the ends next year will be an improvement. I have a lot of admiration for Stoltenberg but he was 3-4 DE playing Nose because we had no one to play it last year. If he gets a shot in the league it'll be at DE in a 3-4 scheme. Freedom did a nice job for being a converted TE and had a good career all things considered. It's too bad Stille isn't just a step faster because he was easily our best pass rusher on the line. Speaking of which we need pass rushers yesterday. Hopefully Scott can pull a rabbit out of the hat and grab Chester Graves from IWCC but Saban is calling so it looks bleak. There is no bigger need on this team right now than a pass rusher and we have to address this before signing day.

LB - If there was a position group where we just don't have the horses it's linebacker. With the exception of Mo Barry we don't have anybody that can play in a 3-4. That's one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of this defense because outside linebackers that can get after the quarterback and defend in the passing game are nearly impossible to find. Hell NFL teams struggle to find those guys. Dedrick Young got a lot of flack that wasn't really deserved, the kid was a running back out of Arizona that never played much linebacker before getting to Lincoln, all things considered he did a nice job and I can assure you Colin Miller and Weinmaster were much much worse. Tyrin Ferguson is a hoss, I'd like to see him moved inside to Buck but we are so damn thin at Will and Sam that he's probably gonna have to stay there. Honas was just getting his feet under him after struggling quite a bit early in the year before getting hurt, hopefully he bounces back and has a big time senior campaign. Heinrich Nelson and Hannah are probably going to get early looks next year. I like what DeWitt and Ruud have coming in. Linebackers are HARD to find but I think we've got the coaches to go out and get us some good ones.

CB - Word on the street is that Lamar Jackson is leaning heavy on declaring for the NFL draft, yes you heard me correctly. Best of luck to him if decides to leave, A team could take a flyer on him as a project. He was decent in press coverage and has NFL size and speed. He just doesn't have any interest in tackling. Cam Taylor I think could fill that role should Lamar forego his senior season. DiCaprio Bootle has the potential to be the best corner we've had since Alphonso Dennard, teams had no interest in throwing at him and wanted to take their shots against Lamar. Chinander and Fisher like big corners and safetys. You probably won't see another corner under 6 foot going forward.

Safety - We are losing a lot at Safety, Antonio Reed, Aaron Williams, and Tre Neal. None of these guys were world beaters but we are going to be tested a lot on the back end next year. I like what Deonte Williams showed me and Marquel Dismuke and JoJo Domann showed flashes. This group has plenty of potential it would just be nice to retain a DB coach for awhile.

I appreciate Lamar because he has character working through the set backs and working for his spot. That being said I would like to have Cam thrown into the fire and Braxton or another dude show up in the two deep. I want this for the second year because in the third year is when I think **** gets serious as far as competing for the B1G championship.

As great as Reed was against MSU he was horrible against Iowa and many other teams. I didn't like our safety play much this year. Deontai will be a better player than all of them imo. The other safety I don't know.

I like the 3-4. It's more flexible than the 4-3. And linebackers still have coverage responsibilities in the 4-3.

 

[dinglefritz]

Like the above posts does Farniok slide inside for Benhart, a true tackle.

OLB- Tyrin is gonna be great if he can stay healthy. Does Domann get bigger, or is he just a nickel OLB. Tannor was brought in as a pass rusher and I would think he'd be on the two deep. Breon Dixon, he needs to get bigger by at least 20 lbs. I read some tweets that appeared that he was discouraged. I hope he sticks it out and buckles down. He should play next year. He could maybe be another Farley, if he is as explosive as he looked in the spring game.

MLB Barry and Honas

DE alot of freshmen were hurt last year at this position. I'm curious to see who is behind Davis. We lost Freedom, but I think we won't lose a ton from his departure.

RB Mills coming out second to the field.

TE: I think may be a strength next year.

We need a guy with some some length to develop at wr.

Farniok has gotten steadily better as the season wore on. I think it will be tough for a true freshman to come in and make him move inside. We'll see.

 

[inWV]

Jojo is a big boy for a safety, bigger than Nate as a Senior. A while back someone posted that he may be a tad slow to play true safety and would play more of a hybrid role. Would seem D. Williams and Dismuke are next up at safety if the staff doesn't think Jojo is an regular down kind of guy at the position.

 

[dinglefritz]

Jojo is a big boy for a safety, bigger than Nate as a Senior. A while back someone posted that he may be a tad slow to play true safety and would play more of a hybrid role. Would seem D. Williams and Dismuke are next up at safety if the staff doesn't think Jojo is an regular down kind of guy at the position.

Travis loves JoJo at safety. I don't know if he's fast enough or not but he's as fast as Tre Neal I think and about the same size. A DB we keep forgetting about is Braxton Clark. He's going to be a player for us somewhere. Collin Miller is a big dude at linebacker who can play outside and rush the passer. I think we'll find guys to fill the roles we need filled.

 

[red scowl]

Farniok has gotten steadily better as the season wore on. I think it will be tough for a true freshman to come in and make him move inside. We'll see.

I agree, and Raridon at guard. Our line has improved alot.

 

[Scrunge68]

QB- Martinez was very good...Couple of things he needs to shore up. Ball security for one and seemed to get a lot of passes knocked down. Not sure some of this wasn't on the O-Lines fault with not fully engaging the rushers. But expect him to continue to improve. Backup will be a slight upgrade but still not comfortable if he goes down for any length of time.

RB- Ozigbo will be missed the way he played the last 2/3 of the season. Mills has the potential to alleviate some of this if he plays like he did as a freshman or better. Washington with a year of nutrition and strength training will only be better. Going to say this position is basically a push.

TE- Stoll got better. Allen and Rafdal should continue to develop and improve. No real change from last year but another year of experience.

WR - This one has me a little worried. Right now we don't have a replacement for Morgan. A bigger body receiver that can win a battle with the ball in the air. JD is great in his role and I think Warner is serviceable for what we ask him to do. A possession receiver who is a good blocker and runs good routes. Williams, Woodyard are both a little small and starting that small of a receiver corp has me worried. Maybe the grad transfer market will fix this issue.

OL- Losing Farmer will hurt at the Center position. He played really well once he went to it full time. Was pleasantly surprised. I expect Benhart to start even though he is young. He already has the Big 10 body though I am sure he will need to improve on his strength. Just think with the recruitment of the JUCO OT dropping that they expect him to start. If he does and is serviceable I like the move of Farniok inside and Bland at Center with Wilson the other guard. Lot has to fall into place for this to happen. But did really enjoy seeing the line get better throughout the year under Austin.

DL- Another worry as I just don't see that we have recruited anyone to fill the pass rushing role that we so lack. Still stuck with 4-3 DL players filling in a 3-4 system. Hopefully Daniels will get into better shape and Fair can come in. Don't think any of our player losses really hurt from a talent standpoint but Stoltenberg's leadership will be missed.

LB- Gifford went full tilt all the time and was a pretty good coverage backer and one of our better pass rushers in a pinch (not saying much). I don't hate on Young as much as most on here but think Honas if he comes back fully from the knee will be as good or better. Barry makes some errors but at least goes at everything full tilt and hopefully will continue to get better. OL Ferguson is decent but nothing proven behind him. Dixon is to small and better fit for the role Domann filled this year than a true outside backer. Not expecting any of the recruits to come in and set the world on fire here either.

CB- Were a surprise for the most part. Bootle needs to work on getting his head around on coverage but think they both exceeded expectations (I didn't have much for Jackson) and will get better next year. Taylor should provide some depth on at least one side.

S- Lots of losses here but I think they will be for the good in the long run. Neal was under talented but knew the defense. Hopefully that won't be needed quite as much with everyone in the same system with the same coaches for another year. Williams lacked athleticism of and it showed in coverage. Reed was a crapshoot as to what you got game to game. I think you will see Williams who played well at times and Domann (health?) improve the safety position with some young back ups.

K - Pickering had me worried but was very solid by the end of the year. Amazing what working with Kris Brown did to his game

P - Armstrong was an upgrade over Lightbourns performance and did a steady job for most of the year.