Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Nebraska Cornhuskers season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Nebraska Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 4-8 overall, 2-6 in Big Ten
Head Coach: Scott Frost, 2nd year, 4-8
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEBRASKA OFFENSE
– The thing was a whole lot of fun, but bad turnovers, worse penalties, and growing pains were too much of a problem over the 0-6 start. But the offense finished second in the Big Ten averaging 456 yards per game, and it settled into a good groove over the second half of the season. And now get ready for the Nebraska attack to be more consistent, more dangerous, and occasionally unstoppable.
– It’s all up to Adrian Martinez. He’s the signature star, the right fit for the attack, and the possible Heisman-caliber playmaker who’ll have to produce through slightly outsized expectations. Thrown out there as a true freshman, he completed 65% of his passes for 2,617 yards and 17 scores with eight picks, and he finished second on the team with 629 yards and eight scores.
That’s all cool, but he also took a whole lot of shots. Sophomore Noah Vedral came in from UCF and knows what he’s doing if something happens to the franchise. But …
– It would be nice if the running backs could handle more of the work and keep Martinez from having to run 140 times. Georgia Tech transfer Dedrick Mills was a fantastic get for the program as an instant fill-in for 1,082-yard, 12 touchdown back Devine Ozigbo.
Sophomore Maurice Washington is a speedy option who averaged close to six yards per carry, but he’s got a whole slew of off-the-field issues to deal with. With Washington a massive question mark, the pressure is on true freshman Rahmir Johnson from New Jersey to slide into the mix out of the box.
– Leading receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. is done, but JD Spielman is a good No. 1 target coming off a 66-catch, eight touchdown season, and 6-4, 260-pound TE Jack Stoll has all-star talent as a safety valve.
The backs will catch, and plenty of good young players – including Wan’Dale Robinson and James Nance – along with a few JUCO transfers should be ready to be a part of the attack right away. However, if Spielman isn’t amazing, this could be a weak link until the right rotation is found.
– The skills guys are going to be good … can anyone block? The front five had a few too many penalty issues early on, and it allowed a ton of sacks and tackles for loss, but it started to improve. It’s a Big Ten-looking O line that’s set on the right side and gets back Brenden Jaimes at left tackle. It’s still a developing group that needs a few of the younger options to make a push in fall camp, but expect an improvement.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEBRASKA DEFENSE
– The offense should be sharper, better, and more explosive. Early on, it’ll have to be considering the new parts needing to rise up on the defensive side with five of the top six tacklers gone.
However, the talent level and speed are undergoing an upgrade, and there are some fantastic parts to work around after finishing 12th in the Big Ten allowing 434 yards and 31 points per game. It all starts with …
– The defensive line in the 3-4 should be stronger against the run. 6-3, 320-pound senior Darrion Daniels is transferring in from Oklahoma State and should own the nose as one of the Big Ten’s top tackles. Behind him is “little” brother Damion, a 340-pound sophomore who got his feet wet.
The ends are more like tackles, but 290-pound junior Ben Stille, 310-pound Khalil Davis and twin brother 325-pound Carlos Davis will rotate at one spot.
– The linebackers have decent options around leading tackler Mohamed Barry, who came up with 112 tackles from his spot on the inside. There’s speed in the rotation at one outside spot – 225-pound junior JoJo Domann has a world of pass rushing upside. He’ll work on the other side of 6-5, 255-pound Alex Davis, a senior who has yet to breakout, but has hybrid pass rusher size.
– The Huskers are solid at corner and need new options at safety. The pass defense was okay at times, and it should be fine on the outside with the return of junior Dicaprio Bootle and 6-3, 215-pound senior Lamar Jackson. There’s great size and a whole slew of young options to play around with in the rotation.
JUCO transfer Deontai Williams and junior Marquel Dismuke are solid-sized tacklers taking over the safety gigs, but they have to settle in their roles and the depth needs to be developed.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP NEBRASKA PLAYERS
Best Nebraska Offensive Player
QB Adrian Martinez, Soph.
Scott Frost got to go hand pick the guy to run his offense, and it all worked out just fine in the true freshman season. Now Martinez is expected to take this thing into hyperdrive after completing 65% of his passes for 2,617 yards and 17 scores with eight picks. Dynamic, he ran for 629 yards and eight scores, too.
At 6-2 and 220 pounds he’s got the size and the build to take a pounding, but the more he can grow into a passer and let everyone else handle the work, the better.
2. WR JD Spielman, Jr.
3. RB Dedrick Mills, Jr.
4. OT Brenden Jaimes, Jr.
5. OG Boe Wilson, Jr.
Best Nebraska Defensive Player
DT Darrion Daniels, Sr.
This is a wee bit of a projection, but all of the tools and skills are there to be fantastic. All of a sudden, Nebraska got the transfer to gum up the works on the defensive interior. The 6-3, 320-pounder comes in from Oklahoma State to be an instant force on the nose.
Banged up last season, he wasn’t able to do too much for OSU, but he’s a veteran who has enough quickness to get behind the line, and the strength to be an anchor.
2. LB Mohamed Barry, Sr.
3. CB Dicaprio Bootle, Jr.
4. DT Damion Daniels, Soph.
5. LB JoJoe Domann, Jr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Nebraska Offense
Limit the turnovers and the penalties. The running backs and receivers have to come together – and they will. The line has to be better in pass protection, Adrian Martinez has to be sharper on third downs, and the scoring has to be consistent – don’t worry about any of that.
What was the problem early on last year? There were too many crushing turnovers, and there wasn’t a penalty in a key spot the O – particularly the line – didn’t get hit with.
Not all of the flags were on the offensive side, but overall, the Huskers ended up committing ten sins or more in each of the first five games, and nine in the crushing loss to Northwestern in the 0-6 start. They didn’t get flagged more than seven times in the last six games and went 4-2.
The offense turned the ball over 13 times in the six losses, and nine times in the final six. The O tightened up.
Biggest Key To The Nebraska Defense
The run defense needs to show up. There’s no real excuse not to be better with good beef among the front three, good beef among the linebacking corps, and good-sized tacklers in the secondary. No, size doesn’t always matter when it comes to stuffing the run, but it’s a start. Having the tackles is part of the puzzle, and the Huskers should have that now.
Last season, the defense allowed almost 200 yards per game, gave up five yards per carry, and got hit for 29 touchdowns including thee or more six times. It was all an improvement over the 2017 version of the run D, but it still needs to be tougher.
Key Player To A Successful Season
WR JD Spielman, Jr.
Of course it’s Adrian Martinez, but backup QB Noah Vedral is good enough to step in and shine if needed. The running back situation is a wee bit light unless Georgia Tech transfer Dedrick Mills rocks right out of the box, but the receiving corps is very, very thin – but it’ll be good with a little bit of time.
The Huskers have size and talent at receiver, but the O is counting on a whole lot of youth and inexperience. That means it’s up to the 5-9, 185-pound Spielman to grow into a true No. 1 target with Stanley Morgan Jr. done. Spielman caught 66 passes for 818 yards and eight scores despite missing the final two games of the year.
Key Game To The Nebraska Season
Northwestern, Oct. 5
The Huskers started out 0-5, but they were really, really close to being at worst 2-3. They just didn’t know how to win.
That all appeared to change in Evanston against Northwestern, holding a 31-21 lead with just over two minutes to play in a seemingly breakthrough performance. The Wildcats spoiled the fun with a touchdown with 12 seconds to go to tie it, and won in overtime. This is when it all has to come full circle.
Nebraska will win a game or three before the defending Big Ten West champ comes to Lincoln, but pulling this off after losing three of the last four in the series would be a little extra sweet.
– Nebraska Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Nebraska Fun Stats
– Penalties: Nebraska 92 for 850 yards – Opponents 78 for 681 yards
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:16 – Nebraska 27:44
– Nebraska Turnover Margin: 1st 6 Games:-7 – 2nd 6 Game: +5
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. NEBRASKA WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
This is still going to be a process.
It’s going to take at least another year for Scott Frost to build up the overall talent level, and it might take a little while longer for the schemes to start to kick in, but the starting 22 should be terrific, and Adrian Martinez should go off and put up phenomenal numbers.
However, there are still concerns at running back and receiver – at least in terms of proven depth – the lines have to be better, and there’s still a whole lot of cleaning up to do on third downs, penalties, special teams, and overall consistency.
But the offense that started to kick it in over the second half of last season will be even more dangerous, and the defense will get better and better as the season goes on.
Yeah, some are going to want a miracle like UCF’s “national championship” in Frost’s second season in Orlando, but those Knights didn’t have to play the 2019 Nebraska schedule.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 8
Okay, it’s not that brutal, especially considering the biggest boys – Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa – have to come to Lincoln.
The road trip to Colorado is more dangerous than some might believe, and going to Purdue and Maryland won’t be light and breezy, but there’s no Michigan State, no Michigan, and no Penn State to deal with.
Expect at least one maddening loss when the machine breaks down, and the slate full of body punches should add up.
Even so, the Huskers will be in the West title chase deep into November, they’ll be more entertaining, and the program will appear to be one year away from being what Big Red fans have been waiting for.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
