Nebraska vs. Minnesota Roster Comparison

[leodisflowers]

I've read a lot of Minnesota fan site articles as well as some others around the league showing why Nebraska is going to still suck, why it is a massive rebuild etc... I agree we need to build some depth, but just looking at the Minnesota starters vs. ours I think we have the edge. What is everyone else's thoughts? I just find it comical that everyone acts like our roster is a Colorado type **** roster. These guys just lacked coaching and development and that is here now. I'm not expecting competing for Conference Ship yet, but it's not like the West is a massive juggernaut. Ever single team has a ton of questions.

QB - Lean Nebraska. Simms has more starting experience and I really think Satterfield is great for Simms. Really working on his throwing and getting him ready to roll. We know what he can do with his feet. Athan K looks to be ok, but this is only his 6th start. Yes he worked NU last year, but this is a totally different team.
RB's - Nebraska. We've got tons of depth and they lose Ibrahim and Potts. Ibrahim is a massive loss.
TE - Neutral. They have a stud and we have an studs that are unproven as well as good depth.
OL - Neutral. I will believe it when I see it with Nebraska and their "improvement". Nebraska has more experience, but UM is proven and has a good system. UM is starting 3 new guys.
WR - Neutral. Both a little thin here with some talent. Chris Autman Bell might not be up to full speed yet and there are a lot of unproven guys.

DL - Neutral? I don't know much about their side. Nebraska starters are going to be solid, just lack depth. Same as the OL, I need to see TR bring it every time, but I actually think they are going to do some big things up front if they stay healthy. Polar Bear is my sleeper Big Ten 1st or 2nd Team guy.
LB - Nebraska has the edge here. Good depth and players. UM has a lot of new faces.
Secondary - Lean Nebraska. Both corners are really good and safeties are unproven but talented.

ST - Neutral. Nebraska has a really good punter and a freshman kicker that was automatic in HS.

 

[Hford]

QB is a toss up at best imo. Until I see it from Simms, I'm still not sure despite all the good reports from camp.

 

[inWV]

It will be fun to watch a game against Minnesota where NU is not sabotaging itself.

 

[HUSKERFAN66]

Simms=windstorm, peters

 

[Hford]

It will be fun to watch a game against Minnesota where NU is not sabotaging itself.

I'm drinking the Rhuleaid but even really good coaches can have ugly first outings. Can't wait for Thursday.

 

[GoGophers_NoBigRed]

Fair post. I'd say QB is hard to tell also. Most of us Gopher fans are excited to move on from Tanner Morgan though. He had little mobility or arm strength.

As for RB, we are excited about our transfer from Western Michigan, who can actually catch passes out of the backfield, something Mo didn't do.

As for our O-line, we love our LT and our center has experience but there are new pieces as you pointed out.

As for D-line, we have some young recruits coming along and solid depth, but I don't think we have a stud DT that you'd need to worry about.

We have one LB that we think will be pretty good.

We have one solid CB and one solid safety, our other CB should be pretty solid though, but again, that's projection.

I'm curious, how many new starters do you guys project from last year's team? I know QB is new for you, but how about overall of the 22 offense and defensive starters, how many are new?

Thanks!

 

[Huzkers25]

I've read a lot of Minnesota fan site articles as well as some others around the league showing why Nebraska is going to still suck, why it is a massive rebuild etc... I agree we need to build some depth, but just looking at the Minnesota starters vs. ours I think we have the edge. What is everyone else's thoughts? I just find it comical that everyone acts like our roster is a Colorado type **** roster. These guys just lacked coaching and development and that is here now. I'm not expecting competing for Conference Ship yet, but it's not like the West is a massive juggernaut. Ever single team has a ton of questions.

QB - Lean Nebraska. Simms has more starting experience and I really think Satterfield is great for Simms. Really working on his throwing and getting him ready to roll. We know what he can do with his feet. Athan K looks to be ok, but this is only his 6th start. Yes he worked NU last year, but this is a totally different team.
RB's - Nebraska. We've got tons of depth and they lose Ibrahim and Potts. Ibrahim is a massive loss.
TE - Neutral. They have a stud and we have an studs that are unproven as well as good depth.
OL - Neutral. I will believe it when I see it with Nebraska and their "improvement". Nebraska has more experience, but UM is proven and has a good system. UM is starting 3 new guys.
WR - Neutral. Both a little thin here with some talent. Chris Autman Bell might not be up to full speed yet and there are a lot of unproven guys.

DL - Neutral? I don't know much about their side. Nebraska starters are going to be solid, just lack depth. Same as the OL, I need to see TR bring it every time, but I actually think they are going to do some big things up front if they stay healthy. Polar Bear is my sleeper Big Ten 1st or 2nd Team guy.
LB - Nebraska has the edge here. Good depth and players. UM has a lot of new faces.
Secondary - Lean Nebraska. Both corners are really good and safeties are unproven but talented.

ST - Neutral. Nebraska has a really good punter and a freshman kicker that was automatic in HS.

Good analysis i agree with most of that however not giving the nod to MN OL is silly, they have won almost exclusively thanks to their big corn feed guys up front and pounding the rock/same as Wiskey. I doubt that has changed especially with Fleck being HC as long as he has.

 

[leodisflowers]

Good analysis i agree with most of that however not giving the nod to MN OL is silly, they have won almost exclusively thanks to their big corn feed guys up front and pounding the rock/same as Wiskey. I doubt that has changed especially with Fleck being HC as long as he has.

I agree, they are just starting 3 new guys. I just really hope our OL has turned the corner and can at least be serviceable.

 

[king_kong_]

Fair post. I'd say QB is hard to tell also. Most of us Gopher fans are excited to move on from Tanner Morgan though. He had little mobility or arm strength.

As for RB, we are excited about our transfer from Western Michigan, who can actually catch passes out of the backfield, something Mo didn't do.

As for our O-line, we love our LT and our center has experience but there are new pieces as you pointed out.

As for D-line, we have some young recruits coming along and solid depth, but I don't think we have a stud DT that you'd need to worry about.

We have one LB that we think will be pretty good.

We have one solid CB and one solid safety, our other CB should be pretty solid though, but again, that's projection.

I'm curious, how many new starters do you guys project from last year's team? I know QB is new for you, but how about overall of the 22 offense and defensive starters, how many are new?

Thanks!

morgan has to be the winningest qb in dirt rat history, no?

we've got 5 new starters on offense, 4 new starters on D

 

[SickOfPractice]

Fair post. I'd say QB is hard to tell also. Most of us Gopher fans are excited to move on from Tanner Morgan though. He had little mobility or arm strength.

As for RB, we are excited about our transfer from Western Michigan, who can actually catch passes out of the backfield, something Mo didn't do.

As for our O-line, we love our LT and our center has experience but there are new pieces as you pointed out.

As for D-line, we have some young recruits coming along and solid depth, but I don't think we have a stud DT that you'd need to worry about.

We have one LB that we think will be pretty good.

We have one solid CB and one solid safety, our other CB should be pretty solid though, but again, that's projection.

I'm curious, how many new starters do you guys project from last year's team? I know QB is new for you, but how about overall of the 22 offense and defensive starters, how many are new?

Thanks!

Thanks for the input, Gopher!

I'm a little disheveled right now so I can't answer your questions. Looking forward to Thursday night. May the best team win.

 

[GoGophers_NoBigRed]

morgan has to be the winningest qb in dirt rat history, no?

I figured I wouldn't be on here long before getting some stuff from you, lol

He probably is, but that's more coincidence than anything. Wasn't it like 20-0 Nebraska when you guys concussed him? I'm not sure he would have even led us to a field goal that game, if he wasn't knocked out. Only some homers really like the player.

Anywho, sounds like you guys have new starters on the lines as well?

 

[king_kong_]

I figured I wouldn't be on here long before getting some stuff from you, lol

He probably is, but that's more coincidence than anything. Wasn't it like 20-0 Nebraska when you guys concussed him? I'm not sure he would have even led us to a field goal that game, if he wasn't knocked out. Only some homers really like the player.

Anywho, sounds like you guys have new starters on the lines as well?

our center is a new starter for us, but not a new starter (started 12 games for ASU last year)

RG is also not a new starter. started games in 2021 but was ineligible last year for PEDs

on defense we have a new starter at nose who's played a lot and 2 new faces at RE

by far our best position grouping is the secondary. I expect to be 1on1 across the field all 60 minutes and challenging the greek kid to beat us deep while we blitz from all over.

 

[leodisflowers]

I figured I wouldn't be on here long before getting some stuff from you, lol

He probably is, but that's more coincidence than anything. Wasn't it like 20-0 Nebraska when you guys concussed him? I'm not sure he would have even led us to a field goal that game, if he wasn't knocked out. Only some homers really like the player.

Anywho, sounds like you guys have new starters on the lines as well?

The Oline has the most returning starts on the team. Problem is they just haven't performed. Rhule is an OL developer so there is hope, but until that happens its up in the air. The most game experience is here.

QB - New Starters - Backups weren't good last year, but have received actual coaching
RB - Returning starter that is now 3rd string. Another RB that has played a significant number of snaps. Very solid
OL - Above
TE - New starters, but probably the most talented group we've had.

CB's - Both starters and both big time players
S - 1 starter back, but all kinds of talent
LBers - 2 returning starters and some talented newcomers
DL - 3 guys with starting experience with 1 of them having a significant amount.

 

[GoGophers_NoBigRed]

Good analysis i agree with most of that however not giving the nod to MN OL is silly, they have won almost exclusively thanks to their big corn feed guys up front and pounding the rock/same as Wiskey. I doubt that has changed especially with Fleck being HC as long as he has.

They will be big and probably experienced, unless some freshman shines somehow. Our RT from last year is probably our LG now, but he's like a 6th year guy. Center is like 5th year. Right side of our o-line will have some inexperience, but the size will be there.

 

[GoGophers_NoBigRed]

by far our best position grouping is the secondary. I expect to be 1on1 across the field all 60 minutes and challenging the greek kid to beat us deep while we blitz from all over.

Thanks for the info on the new position players.

The above is what Gopher fans are interested in as well. We're not sure if we're going to drop back a lot and get confused by the blitz (or lack thereof if they drop into coverage) or if we should just run the ball forward and push people around. Definitely going to be interesting!

With us having some new (and better) receivers and a mobile QB, and you guys disguising all kinds of blitzes that we have no tape on, should make for some awesome plays either way!

 

[Hford]

Thanks for the info on the new position players.

The above is what Gopher fans are interested in as well. We're not sure if we're going to drop back a lot and get confused by the blitz (or lack thereof if they drop into coverage) or if we should just run the ball forward and push people around. Definitely going to be interesting!

With us having some new (and better) receivers and a mobile QB, and you guys disguising all kinds of blitzes that we have no tape on, should make for some awesome plays either way!

Our DC was the DC at Syracuse last year so you'll have some idea, granted different personnel. I have no idea what to expect this game. First games are weird even with an experienced coach/team.

 

[Redscarlet]

I figured I wouldn't be on here long before getting some stuff from you, lol

He probably is, but that's more coincidence than anything. Wasn't it like 20-0 Nebraska when you guys concussed him? I'm not sure he would have even led us to a field goal that game, if he wasn't knocked out. Only some homers really like the player.

Anywho, sounds like you guys have new starters on the lines as well?

This is going to be a different team than Minnesota seen in the past with SF..Counting on a hard fought 60 minute game..

I thing Minnesota better at QB and wide receivers than they were last season, Minnesota has a good linebacker core and Tubin and Walley return from a good secondary.Fleck has two new offensive coordinator’s that they share and Fleck defenses are usually pretty spoudt..

If Nebraska can win the turnover battle and be sound in the kicking game I think they win this game..

 

[HUSKERFAN66]

This is going to be a different team than Minnesota seen in the past with SF..Counting on a hard fought 60 minute game..

I thing Minnesota better at QB and wide receivers than they were last season, Minnesota has a good linebacker core and Tubin and Walley return from a good secondary.Fleck has two new offensive coordinator’s that they share and Fleck defenses are usually pretty spoudt..

If Nebraska can win the turnover battle and be sound in the kicking game I think they win this game..

Well if it comes down to fg, I hope our freshman can continue his ways. In general our special teams should be better

 

[king_kong_]

Thanks for the info on the new position players.

The above is what Gopher fans are interested in as well. We're not sure if we're going to drop back a lot and get confused by the blitz (or lack thereof if they drop into coverage) or if we should just run the ball forward and push people around. Definitely going to be interesting!

With us having some new (and better) receivers and a mobile QB, and you guys disguising all kinds of blitzes that we have no tape on, should make for some awesome plays either way!

we will not be dropping back into coverage

our corners are all-league caliber and we have plenty of guys able to go 1on1 in the slot

I expect a lot of single-high safety man defense with a focus on creating pressure/confusion with 8

 

[mgbreeze]

Good post. I'm not going to get too into the weeds from a position-by-position perspective. I'll just believe with 100% certainty until the day I die that Nebraska had 6-6 talent at a minimum every year Frost was here. Epic levels of incompetent leadershp. Bielema was 5-7 year 1 at Illinois, Fleck 5-7 year 1 at Minny, Allen 5-7 year 1 at Indiana, Brohm 7-6 year 1 at Purdue.... we have the talent to be .500+ and I'll be pissed if we don't comfortably reach that level. It feels like incompetence left town last fall and I expect the weekly faceplants to end.

Nebraska has been making basic football look harder than it is. I don't see Rhule rolling out a stupid team.

 

[inWV]

Good post. I'm not going to get too into the weeds from a position-by-position perspective. I'll just believe with 100% certainty until the day I die that Nebraska had 6-6 talent at a minimum every year Frost was here. Epic levels of incompetent leadershp. Bielema was 5-7 year 1 at Illinois, Fleck 5-7 year 1 at Minny, Allen 5-7 year 1 at Indiana, Brohm 7-6 year 1 at Purdue.... we have the talent to be .500+ and I'll be pissed if we don't comfortably reach that level. It feels like incompetence left town last fall and I expect the weekly faceplants to end.

Nebraska has been making basic football look harder than it is. I don't see Rhule rolling out a stupid team.

Looking back over the 5 years of Frost (and a little Mickey), a unifying theme is the team not really being ready to start the season and losing to teams they had not business losing to and then rounding into early season form somewhere in the middle of the conference slate. They played better later in the year, but by that time the damage had been done. The trend was negative. By the end, NU struggled to beat the bottom feeders and pretty much lost to the others.

 

[BleedRed89]

Given our recent performance in the trenches, I have a hard time justifying the OL/DL as a push. I think those are very obvious Minnesota leans until proven otherwise.

 

[JabroniBlvd]

QB: Athan has some talent but was really spotty last year. Inconsistent passer but is a capable runner if need be.

RB: Transfer Sean Tyler had b2b 1,000 yard seasons but at a non-p5 school. I think the offensive game plan changes because Mo always moved the chains on short yards situations - Tyler is a Rahmir type back size wise.

WR/TE: Spann-Ford is a solid 6th year tight end. Daniel Jackson is a solid target at wideout. 7th year Bell when healthy is good. Crooms was another good non-P5 transfer.

OL: They did lose 3 veteran starters, but Fleck claims that there won't be a drop-off. He name drops their LT as the one of the best unknown players in the nation.

DL: They do have some good size up front and will be tough to push around. They do however lack a pass rush in the past few seasons.

LB: Lindenberg has been productive but other than him I feel they will struggle some here.

DB: They had two DBs drafted so are looking to fill some holes. They do bring back one of the best safeties in the B10 though. Fleck seems to really this like unit in interviews.

 

[rgrachek]

Fair post. I'd say QB is hard to tell also. Most of us Gopher fans are excited to move on from Tanner Morgan though. He had little mobility or arm strength.

As for RB, we are excited about our transfer from Western Michigan, who can actually catch passes out of the backfield, something Mo didn't do.

As for our O-line, we love our LT and our center has experience but there are new pieces as you pointed out.

As for D-line, we have some young recruits coming along and solid depth, but I don't think we have a stud DT that you'd need to worry about.

We have one LB that we think will be pretty good.

We have one solid CB and one solid safety, our other CB should be pretty solid though, but again, that's projection.

I'm curious, how many new starters do you guys project from last year's team? I know QB is new for you, but how about overall of the 22 offense and defensive starters, how many are new?

Thanks!

Number of Nebraska starters who have starting experience - 20 out of 25 (including K, P, LS). 19 if the freshmen kicker beats out last year's starter. Nebraska also has 8 guys with starting experience who are not starting or not playing because of injury.

 

[salsa red]

I give MN the edge in OL, ST, LB and WR. Also being in the same system for years helps them too.

 

[jteten]

Gimme all the Rhule-aid!

 

[NebChicago]

Minnesota Gay-phers!

 

[Scat_Back]

Minny has the edge at WR but we have the edge in the secondary so that may even out. I’ll take Jeff over Athan for the win

 

[RedJensen]

Also, our coach isn’t a total douchebag so that’s gotta be worth something.

 

[salsa red]

Did any of you guys notice PJ hired the Syracuse interim DC that took over when White left?

 

[GoGophers_NoBigRed]

QB: Athan has some talent but was really spotty last year. Inconsistent passer but is a capable runner if need be.

RB: Transfer Sean Tyler had b2b 1,000 yard seasons but at a non-p5 school. I think the offensive game plan changes because Mo always moved the chains on short yards situations - Tyler is a Rahmir type back size wise.

WR/TE: Spann-Ford is a solid 6th year tight end. Daniel Jackson is a solid target at wideout. 7th year Bell when healthy is good. Crooms was another good non-P5 transfer.

OL: They did lose 3 veteran starters, but Fleck claims that there won't be a drop-off. He name drops their LT as the one of the best unknown players in the nation.

DL: They do have some good size up front and will be tough to push around. They do however lack a pass rush in the past few seasons.

LB: Lindenberg has been productive but other than him I feel they will struggle some here.

DB: They had two DBs drafted so are looking to fill some holes. They do bring back one of the best safeties in the B10 though. Fleck seems to really this like unit in interviews.

Dude, I gotta say that's impressive for a non-Gopher fan. I bet 25% of the fans at the game don't know the players as well as you do.

 

[GoGophers_NoBigRed]

we will not be dropping back into coverage

our corners are all-league caliber and we have plenty of guys able to go 1on1 in the slot

I expect a lot of single-high safety man defense with a focus on creating pressure/confusion with 8

Interesting. We got the impression that some DBs would come near the LOS and then drop back or blitz. Now I'm really excited to see how it plays out. For the record, I love defense and so it'll be fun to see this new wrinkle!

 

[Redscarlet]

Did any of you guys notice PJ hired the Syracuse interim DC that took over when White left?

Hired him for what?

Joe Rossi been the D.Coordinator for 6 years..

: Found it his name is Nick Monroe he co directed Syracuse secondary for 5 seasons..

 

[king_kong_]

Interesting. We got the impression that some DBs would come near the LOS and then drop back or blitz. Now I'm really excited to see how it plays out. For the record, I love defense and so it'll be fun to see this new wrinkle!

Our corners will (or should) be in press coverage all game

Your team has nobody on the outside or in the pocket deserving of any respect

 

[salsa red]

Hired him for what?

Joe Rossi been the D.Coordinator for 6 years..

: Found it his name is Nick Monroe he co directed Syracuse secondary for 5 seasons..

Should give MN an idea of what Tony White likes to do

 

[Hford]

QB is a toss up at best imo. Until I see it from Simms, I'm still not sure despite all the good reports from camp.

I was right and frankly both guys sucked in the passing game. Sims just isn't a quick blinker. Never has been.

 

[nu2u]

QB - Lean Nebraska. Simms has more starting experience and I really think Satterfield is great for Simms. Really working on his throwing and getting him ready to roll

All that work on his throwing is worthless if he makes poor decisions. Sims has a long history of poor decisions resulting in turnovers. Multiple turnovers are game killers in this conference.

To counter this, it looks like they are planning to let him run 15-20 times per game. Better defenses than Minnesota are going to put him on a stretcher.

 

[leodisflowers]

All that work on his throwing is worthless if he makes poor decisions. Sims has a long history of poor decisions resulting in turnovers. Multiple turnovers are game killers in this conference.

To counter this, it looks like they are planning to let him run 15-20 times per game. Better defenses than Minnesota are going to put him on a stretcher.

I threw a dart at a board at the time. Sims didn't impress at all, but AK for Minnesota sucks too. I stand corrected on Sims. He had a bad first game, but hopefully he can get better over time.

 

[king_kong_]

I threw a dart at a board at the time. Sims didn't impress at all, but AK for Minnesota sucks too. I stand corrected on Sims. He had a bad first game, but hopefully he can get better over time.

First game?

Wasn’t this like his 30th start?

 

[leodisflowers]

First game?

Wasn’t this like his 30th start?

Different team and system. I get it. This is a NU vs. Minny comparison. I said it. Sims looks bad. The QB lean isn't towards him, but AK for them sucked as well. They both suck. I'm with you going forward. Just go full zone read and QB run game and run his *** to the ground. If he gets hurt, oh well. He can't throw.