Nebraska football has 8 scholarship spots that will be going to the deserving walk-ons, but what if they were given a special waiver that said they could cherry pick those 8 spots with any 8 current college football players from any teams, offense or defense, and they would all be able to play this coming season. What 8 positions would you add to? If you want to add the players names and what team they were from feel fre.
On offense, I'd for sure add an OT as current quality depth needs to be supplemented. I'd add another playmaker at WR and depth may be an issue as the year progresses. And even though we have a nice stable of RB's to choose from, I'd pick a RB that is the starter and commands the majority of carries every game. With the 4th pick on offense I'm torn between another interior lineman or another WR. It all starts up front and a solid OL couldn't hurt, but maybe there's enough depth there that I'd pick another WR. I'd keep the current QB trio and the TE group as there are 3 good options at QB and I feel two guys will emerge from the TE group and playing the tall true freshman is an option.
On defense, I'd start up front with at least one DL and I'm leaning toward NG. Stoltenberg is going to be a beast, but after him there isn't a clear #2. The NG would fit the mold for what Diaco is looking for at the position. Then of course I'd pick a OLB for the Cat. Somebody that can get that much needed pressure on the QB. Someone that gives opposing OC's a lot to think about and has their OT's struggling to keep their QB safe. The last two spots I'd add DB's, one CB and one S, this would help negate the injuries and compliment the talent already back there. I'd leave the ILB's as is as there are a number of good options already and the best two will rise to the top. DE I'd leave as is, with there being a number of good options already on the roster, Freedom, Davis twins, Neal, freshman Thomas, Stille, and I'm forgetting someone.
I didn't list any players names or teams that I'd be picking from as I didn't do any research and just winged the thread for fun. The idea came to me when it was mentioned there were 8 scholarships available going into the season and I thought what if Nebradka had scored big on all 8 spots. Would these 8 players be enough to have a major impact on the team or would it be minor? If it's a major impact I'd really like to see the staff break the yearly habit of under signing in each class. I don't mean adding project players or gambling on stretch player, I mean stepping up recruiting and stepping up the quality and quantity of recruits that will come to Nebraska. Those 8 empty scholarships, if filled by the right recruits, could be major additions to the team this season.
The downside to it would be less walk-ons earning a scholarship. There are walk-ones every year that busted their butts and deserve a scholarship and just adding the incentive to work towards that goal has Nebraska boys working that much harder. So there is a balance that needs to be found, filling scholarship openings with the best recruits available and rewarding a walk-on with a scholarship. If NU was able to oversign by 3, with quality recruits each class, and the 85 allowed scholarships were filled by top tier recruits each year, would that be deemed too detrimental to the walk-on program or is that something the staff would just have to deal with (having a completely filled roster of highly sought after recruits)?
On offense, I'd for sure add an OT as current quality depth needs to be supplemented. I'd add another playmaker at WR and depth may be an issue as the year progresses. And even though we have a nice stable of RB's to choose from, I'd pick a RB that is the starter and commands the majority of carries every game. With the 4th pick on offense I'm torn between another interior lineman or another WR. It all starts up front and a solid OL couldn't hurt, but maybe there's enough depth there that I'd pick another WR. I'd keep the current QB trio and the TE group as there are 3 good options at QB and I feel two guys will emerge from the TE group and playing the tall true freshman is an option.
On defense, I'd start up front with at least one DL and I'm leaning toward NG. Stoltenberg is going to be a beast, but after him there isn't a clear #2. The NG would fit the mold for what Diaco is looking for at the position. Then of course I'd pick a OLB for the Cat. Somebody that can get that much needed pressure on the QB. Someone that gives opposing OC's a lot to think about and has their OT's struggling to keep their QB safe. The last two spots I'd add DB's, one CB and one S, this would help negate the injuries and compliment the talent already back there. I'd leave the ILB's as is as there are a number of good options already and the best two will rise to the top. DE I'd leave as is, with there being a number of good options already on the roster, Freedom, Davis twins, Neal, freshman Thomas, Stille, and I'm forgetting someone.
I didn't list any players names or teams that I'd be picking from as I didn't do any research and just winged the thread for fun. The idea came to me when it was mentioned there were 8 scholarships available going into the season and I thought what if Nebradka had scored big on all 8 spots. Would these 8 players be enough to have a major impact on the team or would it be minor? If it's a major impact I'd really like to see the staff break the yearly habit of under signing in each class. I don't mean adding project players or gambling on stretch player, I mean stepping up recruiting and stepping up the quality and quantity of recruits that will come to Nebraska. Those 8 empty scholarships, if filled by the right recruits, could be major additions to the team this season.
The downside to it would be less walk-ons earning a scholarship. There are walk-ones every year that busted their butts and deserve a scholarship and just adding the incentive to work towards that goal has Nebraska boys working that much harder. So there is a balance that needs to be found, filling scholarship openings with the best recruits available and rewarding a walk-on with a scholarship. If NU was able to oversign by 3, with quality recruits each class, and the 85 allowed scholarships were filled by top tier recruits each year, would that be deemed too detrimental to the walk-on program or is that something the staff would just have to deal with (having a completely filled roster of highly sought after recruits)?
