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Let's talk depth chart

Comment if you see a need for any change.

WR-X5Manning, Omar RS JR/TR15Betts, Zavier FR85Liewer, Wyatt RS SO
WR-Z89Martin, Oliver RS JR/TR88Falck, Levi GR/TR
WR-Y6Toure, Samori GR/TR4Brown, Alante FR12Nixon, Will FR
LT69Corcoran, Turner FR63Nouili, Nouredin SO/TR
LG57Piper, Ethan RS FR73Bando, Broc RS JR
OC51Jurgens, Cam RS SO75Hixson, Trent RS JR
RG70Sichterman, Matt RS JR74Banks, Brant RS FR
RT54Benhart, Bryce RS FR66Miller, Ezra RS FR/TR
TE11Allen, Austin RS JR83Vokolek, Travis RS JR/TR87Hickman, Chris RS FR
QB2Martinez, Adrian JR8Smothers, Logan FR10Haarberg, Heinrich FR18Masker, Matt RS SO
RB30Stepp, Markese RS SO/TR21Scott III, Marvin FR22Ervin Jr., Gabe FR28Morrison, Sevion FR00Yant, Jaquez FR
Defense
DE95Stille, Ben RS SR98Rogers, Casey RS SO82Feist, Colton RS SO63Buckley, Ru'Quan FR
NT93Daniels, Damion RS JR87Riley, Jordon RS JR/TR72Hutmacher, Nash FR
DE99Robinson, Ty RS FR97Thomas, Deontre RS JR52Newsom, Mosai RS FR
OLB44Nelson, Garrett SO2Tannor, Caleb JR00Payne, Pheldarius JR/TR38Jackson, Damian RS JR
ILB28Reimer, Luke SO41Snodgrass, Garrett RS FR22Mauga-Clements, Eteva RS JR/TR
ILB42Henrich, Nick RS FR31Kolarevic, Chris GR/TR
OLB/S13Domann, JoJo RS SR23Gifford, Isaac FR33Wright, Javin RS FR
CB5Taylor-Britt, Cam JR16Joseph, Nadab SO/TR
S8Williams, Deontai RS SR/TR4Farmer, Myles RS FR
S9Dismuke, Marquel RS SR21Pola-Gates, Noa RS FR
CB6Newsome, Quinton SO11Clark, Braxton RS SO1Johnson, Tyreke RS JR/TR
Special Teams
PT40Cerni, Daniel FR90Przystup, William RS SO/TR
PK33Culp, Connor GR/TR25Meyer, Kelen FR
KO92Franke, Brendan FR/TR25Meyer, Kelen FR33Culp, Connor GR/TR
LS94Mueller, Cade RS SO
H96Crawford, Tyler FR90Przystup, William RS SO/TR
PR5Taylor-Britt, Cam JR
KR4Brown, Alante FR
Reserves
INJ24Fidone II, Thomas FR3Honas, Will RS SR/TR
I'm expecting Sevion Morrison to be #1 or #2. OLB should be #1 Payne/or Tannor, #2 Gunnerson, #3 Butler
 
Purdue was the only game he was featured (lord knows why), he caught 5 balls & drew 2 separate 15-yard penalties on our final scoring drive (one on 2nd and 21 deep in our own territory) to put the game away

he was the reason AM & the offense didn't blow the game in the 4th quarter with typical ineptitude, having just allowed 14 unanswered to bring purdue within a touchdown

without those 30 yards in penalties, there's a real chance we cough that one up
Yes, good game, but even those stats don't make you an all conference WR. Could he be? Yes, but I don't view him anywhere near the level of an all conference guy yet. Part of that is also having it mentally in order to make your presence know and go back to the huddle to say look for me because I am destroying this guy every play. I'm not sold he brings it every play yet either.

With that said, I know the coaching isn't putting him at the forefront and also a having a QB that is horrible at making reads and hitting receivers doesn't help, but right now if you put Betts at Ohio St. or another program I don't know if he starts right now. That's not an all conference guy to me.
 
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Faulk is definitely much better than Warner and I am fine with him in two deep but by Big Ten standards he is not even average. You need athletes that are threats and he is not. Just another guy.
I'll take just another guy that gets open and when he gets his chances he catches the ball and moves the chains. Outside of Ohio State, no one has three absolute studs at wide receiver. You're lucky to have one or two and then a group after that which is pretty similar. People judge players by their ability to take it to the house. That's all well and fine, but I like some steady guys too who can pick up first downs and make blocks. If we got a bunch of guys who can beat him out, have at it.
 
Man the offensive line looks good and deep, finally.

Secondary looks good and should have some depth.

Receiver needs to prove it.

QB is flat scary if Adrian gets hurt, which is a high probability for at least 1-2 games it seems.

LB is still a question mark.
That sounds on the money to me sir.

However, imo, a good & deep Oline is & should be our #1 priority (by a country mile). Well, except a good Dline is also a huge priority at #2. Real good chance we don't have to throw horizontal passes around everywhere anymore. :)

I bet if we can just somehow put together even a somewhat average special team this year we just might have some fun!
 
Yes, good game, but even those stats don't make you an all conference WR. Could he be? Yes, but I don't view him anywhere near the level of an all conference guy yet. Part of that is also having it mentally in order to make your presence know and go back to the huddle to say look for me because I am destroying this guy every play. I'm not sold he brings it every play yet either.

With that said, I know the coaching isn't putting him at the forefront and also a having a QB that is horrible at making reads and hitting receivers doesn't help, but right now if you put Betts at Ohio St. or another program I don't know if he starts right now. That's not an all conference guy to me.
fair enough.

I do think Betts walks on to any campus in the country and earns reps, however. his pedigree as a prospect was right in line with bama/clemson/osu guys, and he's got size to back it up.

that frost treats him with kid gloves is not a knock on him, IMO, and AM's inability to deliver the ball 10+ yards downfield is a hindrance.
 
Ervin was #1 out of spring and there is no evidence outside of Stepp getting a clean bill of health that changes that position.
Stepp has a clean bill of health now it appears. I don't know that Ervin was number one out of spring but he's going to play.
 
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Ozigbo would be the only exception to what you said. (I guess that was 3 years ago)

But your point stands about the development of players.. we need to see more of that across the board.
I mentioned 2 years of needing anybody to step up at WR and RB and nobody doing so. That was to exclude Ozigbo and Morgan in year 1, neither of which does Frost get credit for developing here.

I know some give Frost credit for developing Ozigbo due to a great finish. To which I would counter that if Frost deserves credit for developing Ozigbo, he should have realized that he was the best back before the season was half over, Greg Bell quit, and Maurice Washington fully displayed his lack of discipline. But he didn’t realize that, so I don’t give him credit. I would say that also underscores an apparent lack of identifying talent that wins football games.
 
I mentioned 2 years of needing anybody to step up at WR and RB and nobody doing so. That was to exclude Ozigbo and Morgan in year 1, neither of which does Frost get credit for developing here.

I know some give Frost credit for developing Ozigbo due to a great finish. To which I would counter that if Frost deserves credit for developing Ozigbo, he should have realized that he was the best back before the season was half over, Greg Bell quit, and Maurice Washington fully displayed his lack of discipline. But he didn’t realize that, so I don’t give him credit. I would say that also underscores an apparent lack of identifying talent that wins football games.
I don't know what he saw in Greg Bell. Dude is slow by D1 standards. I suspect he looks at a guy I like Maurice Washington who is uber talented and is just willing to overlook all of the bad that the kid brings to the table. Him scoring touchdowns and making big plays forgives all of the baggage. It doesn't. Washington and Bell being flakes opened the door for a Zigbo. People who say that character doesn't matter are woefully wrong. We rode Lawrence Phillips pretty far, but man did it end badly for him. Frost has been buying too many lottery tickets with guys that sustained major injuries or are low character. The chances he takes. When you're Alabama and Clemson, guys like that don't have a snowball chance in hell of being within a hundred miles of your facility.
 
I completely believe Nebraska will win ~8 games this year just on improvements in the WR’s. Once Martinez was comfortable with Stanley Morgan in 2018, the offense really clicked. Not being small or having walk ons starting at WR is going to be a big deal.

Also think those WR playing against one of the conferences best secondaries in practice will help come gameday.
 
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I completely believe Nebraska will win ~8 games this year just on improvements in the WR’s. Once Martinez was comfortable with Stanley Morgan in 2018, the offense really clicked. Not being small or having walk ons starting at WR is going to be a big deal.

Also think those WR playing against one of the conferences best secondaries in practice will help come gameday.

I'd be on that train if Special Teams is fixed as well. Special Teams has killed us.
 
I'd be on that train if Special Teams is fixed as well. Special Teams has killed us.
Did anyone notice that we have a kicker in the portal? Hopefully that means he didn't like what he saw in terms of competition. Sit tight, I've got to run to the kitchen and make up a pitcher of Kool-Aid
 
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Did anyone notice that we have a kicker in the portal? Hopefully that means he didn't like what he saw in terms of competition. Sit tight, I've got to run to the kitchen and make up a pitcher of Kool-Aid

Brutal competition. Special teams ready to carry us to a ranked season.
 
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Seems the info coming out on the RBs is that Stepp is healthy and is occupying one of the top two slots and that Ervin has not done anything to change his status for one of the top slots. Sevion is also repping with the top two units. I think the other three will battle to be the fourth guy. It's clear the staff is very impressed with Ervin in terms of being this ready to play as a true freshman.
 
Seems the info coming out on the RBs is that Stepp is healthy and is occupying one of the top two slots and that Ervin has not done anything to change his status for one of the top slots. Sevion is also repping with the top two units. I think the other three will battle to be the fourth guy. It's clear the staff is very impressed with Ervin in terms of being this ready to play as a true freshman.
RB is a position that if you’re going to eventually become a great player, you should be showing flashes of it early. I like that Ervin appears to be doing that. I have written off the guys that were available last year but showed next to nothing.
 
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Seems the info coming out on the RBs is that Stepp is healthy and is occupying one of the top two slots and that Ervin has not done anything to change his status for one of the top slots. Sevion is also repping with the top two units. I think the other three will battle to be the fourth guy. It's clear the staff is very impressed with Ervin in terms of being this ready to play as a true freshman.
My two guys for 2021 are Sevion and Gabe.
 
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Seems the info coming out on the RBs is that Stepp is healthy and is occupying one of the top two slots and that Ervin has not done anything to change his status for one of the top slots. Sevion is also repping with the top two units. I think the other three will battle to be the fourth guy. It's clear the staff is very impressed with Ervin in terms of being this ready to play as a true freshman.

BTN guys mentioned stepp (not quite 100%, but looked good first day of pads) and sevion. I think Irvin and Yant are going to play a lot. Scott looks to be the odd man out right now, but we'll see.
 
I'm checking out other starting units.

Wisconsin has 8 seniors starters on O
7 seniors starters on D
both the punter and placekicker are seniors

Can someone tell me the last time you saw that many seniors in a big ten starting lineup?

We are going to need a veteran swagger from our younger guys.
 
I don't know what he saw in Greg Bell. Dude is slow by D1 standards. I suspect he looks at a guy I like Maurice Washington who is uber talented and is just willing to overlook all of the bad that the kid brings to the table. Him scoring touchdowns and making big plays forgives all of the baggage. It doesn't. Washington and Bell being flakes opened the door for a Zigbo. People who say that character doesn't matter are woefully wrong. We rode Lawrence Phillips pretty far, but man did it end badly for him. Frost has been buying too many lottery tickets with guys that sustained major injuries or are low character. The chances he takes. When you're Alabama and Clemson, guys like that don't have a snowball chance in hell of being within a hundred miles of your facility.
The good news is that IF the backs on the roster are good enough to make Scott less than #3 on the depth chart, we've got some damned good backs. JMO. We've got talent IF we can open holes and IF we can get in to the right play pre-snap. I hate the "look at me" concept of audibling.
Maybe Scott could play LB? Large body that can run.
We'll need Scott at RB and that first game is a couple of weeks away. Scott is going to play this year. There's no way we'll get through a B1G season without RBs getting banged up.
 
Seems the info coming out on the RBs is that Stepp is healthy and is occupying one of the top two slots and that Ervin has not done anything to change his status for one of the top slots. Sevion is also repping with the top two units. I think the other three will battle to be the fourth guy. It's clear the staff is very impressed with Ervin in terms of being this ready to play as a true freshman.
I thought he showed extremely good burst in that spring game. Looked like he belonged.
 
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I would seem Sevion, Stepp and Ervin have separated from the others, with a fourth unnamed RB separating from the other two. Not selling my Yant stock yet, but I'm afraid he might be one of the two that need to get their shite in order. Word is that Rahmir is having a good camp, so he might be the fourth. I think Yant sticks around as a backup big back and possible goal line option. Someone may be a late entrant into the portal.
 
RB is a position that if you’re going to eventually become a great player, you should be showing flashes of it early. I like that Ervin appears to be doing that. I have written off the guys that were available last year but showed next to nothing.
Here is the deal for me. I think we've got 5 RBs who some teams could make 1000+ yard rushers. There should be no excuse for not having a solid RB based run game this year. Scott isn't getting any mention and I saw enough out of him when he was healthy last season to make me think he could be the guy on other teams. We've got the backs. Now can we get in to the right play at the LOS and can our WRs pose a threat?
 
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Besides Banks ... what other names from the original depth chart have lept into a starters role?

Just another reason I don't cheer when someone enters the portal. Just because someone is a non-starter doesn't mean they can't become one.
 
We look great on paper. I don't know if the same coaching staff and team can magically improve our special teams, turnovers, and penalties. Dawson at special teams gives me some hope for improvement, and just the complete obviousness of our need to improve special teams makes me think it has to be better.

For Illinois, I'm most curious about our running game. Can our OL open holes for actual running backs, and not rely on QB runs. I hope a week from Sunday we get a big article on one of: Stepp/Ervin/Morrison saying how they're the next great NU tailback.

On defense, I want to see if we can generate any kind of pass rush without blitzing.
 
Henrich has passed Kolarevic.
A healthy Henrich paired with Reimers will be one of the fastest, most talented ILB duo we've had in years. With our experienced DL in front, I think they could both have impressive years. I really think those two have as much NFL potential as just about anyone else on the D. They just have to prove they can stay healthy.
 
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