This post will discuss Nebraska's offense. Shawn Watson is the offensive coordinator, this will be his fourth year with Nebraska and third year as offensive coordinator.
QB - The uncertainty at the Quarterback position is one of the biggest question marks on the team. Zac Lee is anticipated to take over for Joe Ganz. It is hard to imagine Zac Lee (0 starts at Nebraska) being as effective as Ganz, however Ganz only had three starts before starting all of last year. It will be interesting to see if Cody Green is redshirted this season or getting playing time as the year goes on. Latravis Washington is also in the QB mix.
RB - This is one of the strongest positions for the Huskers. Last year Roy Helu Jr. led the team in rushing (803 yards, 6.4 ypr) and had over 100 yards rushing in three of the last four regular season games. Quentin Castille finished the season with 467 yards (4.4 ypr) including 125 against Clemson in the Gator bowl.
WR/TE - The other question mark offensively is who will catch the ball besides TE Mike McNeill? Nate Swift and Todd Peterson combined for 125 receptions for 1,727 yards last year as seniors. On top of that Nebraska only returns 43.3% of last years receiving yards (1,584/3,650). Wide receivers Menelik Holt (30 rec, 355 yards last year), Niles Paul (23 rec, 214 yards LY), Chris Brooks (2 rec, 27 yards LY), and Curenski Gilleylen (2 rec, 11 yards LY) will have great chances for major playing time if all/any take advantage of their opportunity. Tight ends Mike McNeill (32 rec, 442 yards LY) and Dreu Young (9 rec, 140 yards LY) will also play a vital role offensively.
Offensive Line - The Huskers return 61 career starts on the offensive line which ranks 6th in the Big XII (1. Oklahoma State/Texas 91 career starts, 12. Kansas 26). Nebraska's offensive line is arguably the strongest offensive unit although the running backs are a very close second. Five players on the o-line have at least 7 career starts, Jacob Hickman, Keith Williams, Andy Christensen, Jaivorio Burkes, and Mike Smith. Expect DJ Jones Jr. and Marcel Jones to get plenty of playing time and possibly start as well. The offensive line helped the rushing game improve to 4.5 ypr, the highest total since 4.7 ypr in 2004. Last year Nebraska got sacked 21 times, three more times than the previous year.
Kicker - Alex Henery Jr. What else needs to be said besides he kicked a team record 57 yarder to push Nebraska past Colorado last year? Well he also made 18/21 field goals (two of the three misses were 50+ yards).
What can be expected this year? I have a hard time believing Nebraska will be as potent with the ball this year as last year. Nebraska's lack of experience at quarterback and at the receiver position will most likely result in fewer passing yards. However, Nebraska's running game should be just as productive if not more so than 2008. If Nebraska can win the time of possession like last year(NU: 34:01 a game, Opp: 25:59), this year's offense will still be successful even if the total yards and points are down this year.
My next post will be on Nebraska's defense for the upcoming season.
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It should be interesting to see how much we miss Marlon Lucky this year. He was a bit of a scapegoat at times, but I think we'll really appreciate the talent he had now that he's gone.
ReplyDeletejimfred82 - Thanks for the comment and great point about Marlon Lucky. He actually tied for the team lead with 125 rushing attempts last year, was second in rushing yards with 517 (4.1 ypr), had the fifth most receptions (26), and fifth highest receiving yards (288).
ReplyDeleteThe good news is Roy Helu Jr. is an effective receiving running back as well. Last year he had 25 receptions for 266 yards.