TLDR
Their two best returning players are WRs Stanley Morgan and JD Spielman. Morgan was listed at 5’10” coming out of HS but he’s listed at 6’1” on the roster, idk he doesn’t look small but he’s certainly not Shenault/Winfree/Ento size. Spielman is 5’9” and a great route runner. Thinking this could be a game for Ronnie Blackmon to come in clutch. Outside of those two, they have 3 other 5’9” guys starting or in the two deep and the only big WR is a 6’5” white guy lol. Their fans loved their DUI coach and wanted to keep him if Troy Walters didn’t come along, and I guess Frost’s staff laughed at that because they’ve been frustrated in camp with the lack of size he recruited.
It’s really hard to gauge their camp reports because they have gone overdrive on the sunshine. 247 had an article in camp headlined (paraphrasing) “defense forces 7 TOs; offense has similarly great day,” I kid you not. They had an article on Tre Bryant looking better than ever and finally being 100% healthy, then he medically retired two weeks later. They had an article on Ole Miss transfer, Buff Backer type Breon Dixon being a complete game changer for them, then two weeks later he’s not even listed on the depth chart and will probably redshirt because he’s 203lbs as a converted safety.
Their OL is big but they’ve underperformed. They looked relatively decent run blocking last year so maybe Frost will unleash them and they’ll be a problem. But they have no depth. Their best returning lineman was their center who medically retired, forcing their decent 6th man into the bunch and making that a weakness for them now. Their tackles have a bright future but I guess they still struggle from time to time as they’re both true sophomores.
Adrian Martinez pissed Frost off a bunch in camp but I guess he also made a lot of plays. Gebbia LOVED Nebraska and their stupid fans and it’s weird that he so hastily transferred. I would assume out of frustration with the decision. Frost emphatically stressed how important being a quick thinker (vs quick runner) is in his offense and by all accounts, Gebbia was miles ahead in that department. They had a little sticker chart for plays made and Gebbia was allegedly on top. Idk we will see, Martinez definitely has the frame and playmaking to scare me. He holds the ball funny tho and he had 2 fumbles in that “7 TO” camp report.
Their DL is their best defensive unit until I see otherwise. Stoltenberg is their NT and he’s a big 5th year senior. He has injury issues tho and it sounds like he misses a lot of practice as a precautionary measure because he’s the only NT they fully trust. They switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 last year and they don’t truly have the line they want yet but they’re still probably decent here. I guess Ben Stille is a monster DE for them and they’re hoping Freedom Akinmoladun finally puts it all together.
Their LBs were slow last year but maybe that’s just poor coaching. They return both Barry and Young at ILB with a JUCO player and converted OLB behind them. Camp reports insist this is a deep and good group but I need to see it first. At OLB they struggled mightily last year at getting pressure. A fall camp arrival true freshman named Caleb Tannor made the two deep and it sounds like he’s physically ready to play but he’s listed at 6’2”, 210lbs so. Luke Gifford played hard last year so their fans love him but he doesn’t look all that special to me.
Safety is interesting to me. Tre Neal was a backup at UCF last year and chose to transfer with the staff. Their writers made it sound (back then) like he was going to be a backup at Nebraska as well, but that he’d be vital in helping everyone learn the new defense and he’d contribute on special teams. But he’s a starter. Idk if that should worry us or not. I’ve mentioned their corners before but the gist of it is that they have two true freshmen, fall camp arrivals in both two deep spots, a spring converted safety as a starter, and someone who hasn’t been very good as the #1.
Special teams loses their beastly kicker for a true freshman. Could be something to watch for. The only criticism of Frost that I’ve seen their fans make is with UCF’s special teams so we will see. For once, we might have an advantage here!
TLDR We’re gonna ****ing win!
