CornNation.com: Season Preview

 
Big Red Preview
Offense
Many defensive coordinators lost sleep a season ago trying to prepare for Nebraska's high powered offense. Tim Beck retained his position after Bo Pelini went Hollywood on everyone. Coach Jeanneret will allow Beck's mad scientist mind run wild and encouraged him to place some more power in the offense to really attack opposing defenses.


QB 1 -- Taylor Martinez
This is Martinez' swan song through the collegiate ranks. Can he make it to the NFL? Who cares, he's entering elite history this coming season being on pace to join Colin Kaepernick as the only NCAA QB to record 9,000 career passing yards and 3,000 career rushing yards. The only other QB to accomplish such a feat.  He may not have an elite arm, but T-Magic gets things done. His elite athleticism easily masks an average arm. Sit back and watch the ride.


QB Depth
Redshirt Freshman Tommie Armstrong is heir apparent. He will get another year of season, flashing a livelier arm, but a step less athleticism than Martinez. Freshman Johnny "Tebow" Stanton is expected to redshirt to allow his torn ACL to heal further leaving Nebraska with only 1 true backup QB.


RB 1 -- Ameer Abdullah
It's almost unfair to list just one lead RB as Nebraska will use a stable of them to control the tempo of the game.  Abudllah stepped in admirably last year after losing Rex Burkhead early. The experience certainly did him well as he's viewed as a top 3 RB in the B1G.


RB Depth
Imani Cross is only 19, but he's a grown ass I-MAN-i. This brute will control short yardage scenarios. Freshmen Newby and Taylor will have to draw straws to see who red-shirts and who gets to pick up a few carries as a 3rd guy. At FB Janovich is a former wrestler. Don't let his size fool you, he will pin you.


WR 1 -- Kenny Bell
Throw to the Fro. Repeat.  This speed demon is poised to be Nebraska's first 1,000 yard receiver this coming year. Nebraska likes to spread it around, but it's too hard to ignore the talent.


WR Depth
This is both an experienced unit with a lot of youth behind it. Enunwa and Turner have plenty of starts while Westerkamp, Allen, Moore, and round out a huge youth movement that will keep the WR corp stocked for years.  At TE the group is less than flashy. But sturdy blockers and reliable with their hands, the unit cannot be ignored.


OLine 1 -- Spencer Long
Long is an All American talent anchoring the line at RG. Expect long to hear his name called in April.


OLine Depth
Like the WR, (and the whole damn team) this unit has experienced starters with 4 seniors at Tackle, and a ton of youth mainly inside. "The Pipeline" may be getting restored as this is the most talented unit in years.


X-FACTOR -- WR/RB/QB Jamal Turner
Turner was recruited to be a QB. Martinez beat him out day 1 and Turner turned to WR. With the electric skillset Turner brings to the table, the new Huskers coach is turning him into his "gadget" player. Turner is the emergency QB and a spare HB already showing he knows the offense in and out. Watch Turner move all over the field in unpredictable moments.


Defense
This unit was a disaster a year ago. The talent was there, but the execution was lacking. A ridiculous youth movement is underway this year, but the talent level matches, or exceeds many positions. It will all come down to execution, and whether the inexperienced units can gel and handle the big boys of college football.


D-End 1 -- Randy Gregory
#44 was a late arrival to camp. The defensive line has been a sore spot for Nebraska. Gregory is expected to be the remedy who can rack up the sacks.


DE Depth
Jason Ankrah anchors the line as a Senior. He's never flashed, despite being a highly rated recruit. Time for him to put up or shut up.The rest of the unit with Curry, Mixon, McMullen, and Natter will be expected to learn fast and produce when asked all of a sudden.


DT 1 -- Vincent Valentine
DT 1 isn't even listed as a starting linemen. Why he's so important is what he represents in Nebraska's transition to B1G football. Valentine is a mammoth expected to be the type of big boy to eat up blocks and stifle opposing running games. Can he earn his time as a redshirt Freshman?


DT Depth
With one senior, this group is being force fed at the cafeteria trying to beef them up. But the depth is there to be a good unit for a long time. 


LB 1 -- Michael Rose
Rose is the future. He's been all in since his commitment to Big Red helping recruit and learning the playbook his redhshirt year. This summer he was calling the defense at MLB, but will shift outside to strongside LB. Rose isn't a great athlete, but he makes incredible plays nobody else can.


LB Depth
Zaire Anderson displayed all-american talent in three games last year while playing on a torn ACL. Imagine what he can do when healthy? Santos is the loan starter with legitimate experience. Afalava is faster than most corners on the team. Love and Newby have starting talent as backups.


CB 1 -- Ciante Evans
Evans has been around seemingly forever. He's an NFL talent that lays it all out during games. Expect him to lock up the opposing team's best receiver.


CB Depth
This unit has 4 seniors about to leave. With only 1 Junior, 1 Sophomore, and 1 Freshman. Experience is high and youth is limited. Expect the team to stock up this year on more CBs. Without elite speed, this unit does carry decent size to match up with the bigs of B1G.


Safety 1 -- Harvey Jackson
Jackson has the most talent of anyone in the secondary. But can he replace the solid production by the thumper Daimion Stafford?  Early indications out of camp are yes.


Safety Depth
With the move to a more multiple defense, the safeties are going to need a lot of depth and athleticism. Enter Nathan Gerry a track star from South Dakota (don't laugh) and Drake Martinez the brother of T-Magic. While they build depth, Corey Cooper has starting experience and brings production.


X-FACTOR -- LB Zaire Anderson 
Zaire is expected to be the Lavonte David of this defense. That's how highly coaches think of this guy. Just let that sink in a bit.


Special Teams
Let's not talk about the weakest part of the team... fine.


K -- Maro Bondi
A Jersey Shore wannabe in the cornfields of Lincoln? The guy does have a cannon for a leg though.


P -- Sam Foltz
This freshman is...unproven.


Returner -- Everyone
The returner for Nebraska has been pretty weak for a long while now. Even putting studs like Turner, Bell, and Abdullah back have yielded little results. Abdullah is the best of the bunch, but can the Huskers risk him?  Look for recruiting to bolster the unit.


X-FACTOR -- Anyone who can return kicks
It's that poor.

Week	Opponent	User	Results
Week 1	at #25 Texas		27-24
Week 2	Colorado		7-45
Week 3	#20 UCLA	k10trinh	21-41
Week 4	at #25 Vanderbilt		34-24
Week 5	-- Bye Week --
Week 6	Illinois	Animosity1oAK	14-59
Week 7	at Purdue		34-24
Week 8	-- Bye Week --
Week 9	at Minnesota
Week 10	Northwestern
Week 11	at #19 Michigan
Week 12	vs Michigan State	SquirrelHunter
Week 13	at Penn State	illmatic_216
Week 14	Iowa	SteelPitt16
B1G Championship	TBA
Bowl Game	TBA

Pre-Season Analysis
What a challenge Nebraska faces this coming season. NCAA punching bag Mark Emmert was replaced by the multi-talented SteelPitt who is pulling double duty as a coach. Pitt worked hard to eliminate the throwaway games to give fans a season chock full of thrills week in and week out.  What Nebraska got was a gauntlet.

Hearkening back to past Big 12 rivalries, Pitt took the small fries out and replaced them with big fish Texas and Colorado. Colorado would still be considered a small fry though, that program is just awful. A top 25 matchup to open the season means Nebraska will have to be on point and ready to go because they can't make up ground late in the season like some teams.

It's a toss up whether Nebraska can get past Texas. With pending battles against top 25 UCLA and Vanderbilt Nebraska should count its blessing should they finish non-conference 2-2 or 3-1.

The Big Ten slate was seemingly easy before the displacement of Emmert. What transpired this summer is the mutation of a Frankenstein schedule.  Starting off with what would appear to be winnable games early in the schedule, Illinois is usered by a veteran coach, and for anyone that has seen BK_Buckeye struggle versus Purdue, Nebraska has to travel there. After those trap games, the Huskers can take a breath against Minnesota, but what follows is a rivalry gauntlet versus Northwestern and Michigan and three straight user showdowns with accomplished league veterans that have NCAA titles and Madden titles among themselves. Squirrel is always a contender, whereas illmatic will be adjusting to the NCAA game. The Heroes Game though is circled and bold on Husker calendars. Nobody can doubt what Pitt has accomplished with his NCAA teams, and giving them the black and yellow should only bolster his team's chemistry.

Bo Pelini was thought to be on the hot seat for 9 and 10 win seasons. First year coach Jeanneret would be lucky to see the B1G championship game and a respectable bowl game. The schedule is that tough now...

2013-14 Key Losses (* denotes Team Need)
*QB Taylor Martinez
*FB CJ Zimmerer
RG Spencer Long
*CB Ciante Evans
*CB Andrew Green
*CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
*CB Mohammed Seisay


And that's it...
 
Synopsis
The list above is an abridged version. There are many seniors leaving this program. And while Spencer Long is probably the best player on the team, the Huskers boast great depth along the offensive line and have little need to stress recruiting the position with limited resources. Martinez has his heir apparents, but expect the coaches to target 2 or 3 different guys of varying skillsets to bolster the QB depth. Fullback is only a minor need as Janovich will be getting the starters reps early.  Cornerback will be the most stressful position to recruit this coming season. Replacing 4 guys with starting experience will likely mean a drop off next year as the few underclassmen available will be begging for reps.

Updated with release of new schedule.