First off, let me say that, like many others, I am disappointed that Wandale Robinson did not commit to Nebraska yesterday. I’m no coach or talent evaluator, but his film and his statistics on the year do look exciting. It’s easy to imagine him in Scott Frost’s offense making big plays. He would have instantly become one of my favorite recruits—kind of like Adrian Martinez and Maurice Washington were last year. I don’t know what the facts are of course. There are a bunch of stories and a whole lot of spin. And it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. It’s recruiting and you win some and lose some.
But as I look at the offense and its future development, I am extraordinarily optimistic, even without Wandale Robinson. The future looks bright—especially for 2020, which is the year I personally am targeting—I’m hoping for continuous improvement throughout the rest of 2018 and 2019 of course, but 2020 is a year with a reasonable early schedule in which we could be 7-0 before the meat of the conference schedule, and with upperclassmen all over the offense. My crystal ball can be cloudy, and injuries, etc. certainly happen, but let’s take a look at the 2020 offense:
WR-X Open
WR-R Spielman (Sr)
LT Jaimes (Sr)
LG Wilson (Sr)
C Open—could be Bland (Sr), Jurgens (RSo), Farniok (RSo) or others
RG Farniok (Sr) or Hixson (Jr) or Bland (Sr) or other
RT Open ?--could be Farniok (Sr) or others, including Benhart (RFr)
TE Open, but many, many choices, including all 3 current TE, the two current freshmen (RSo) and Hickman (RFr)
QB Martinez (Jr)
RB Washington (Jr) and Mills (Sr)
WR-Y Open
Honestly, that’s pretty much the 2019 offense too, except that everybody is a year younger in 2019.
The single most important player in an offense, in my opinion, is the Quarterback. For obvious reasons maybe, but in Frost’s offense, he is the trigger man. He makes the decisions on where the ball goes and must do so quickly, confidently and accurately. That is why he needs to be a “fast blinker”. And Nebraska is fortunate. We have found THE GUY I believe, and he is only a Freshman. Barring injury, we have the single most important piece in place for the next 3 ½ years. He is not perfect yet, but he’s pretty good, and will continue to get better.
In my mind, the most important group (as opposed to single player) is the offensive line. And there, I see real progress in relationship to years past. Today, Nebraska’s offense is ranked T-18 in yards per game with 471.3 ypg. Yes, our scoring offense is only T-62 (29.8 ppg), but I believe that is due to mistakes early (turnovers and penalties) that are getting corrected. If you disagree, you might argue that our opponents the last 4-5 weeks were weaker defensively (36.2 ppg over the last 5—Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Minnesota and Bethune-Cookman for basically a half). I don’t see it that way, even though Michigan was the best defense we have seen, but time will tell. I see a very productive offense, which is young, especially on the offensive line where we start 1 true sophomore, and 2 redshirt sophomores.
Offensive lineman, in my view, generally shouldn’t be counted on for much until their 3rd year in the program. The way I see it, year 1 is a redshirt year. You only get the fall practices, and you learn the offense and work on technique, strength and conditioning. Year 2, your redshirt freshman year, you get a full spring and fall of practice and you are on the scout team, working against the veterans and starters every day. Year 3, you are a redshirt sophomore and should be a relatively finished product in terms of knowing the offense and being the right size, weight and strength. You should be no worse than 3rd team pushing for 2nd team—if you are not, it’s probably time to move on. Years 4 and 5 are for starting, or at a minimum being a quality second team player who can fill in for the starter without losing much. If and when we get 5 star or high 4 star kids whose bodies are already mature, and/or they can enroll in December instead of the fall, maybe the process can speed up a little. One of our biggest problems has been the lack of numbers and quality to allow for this gradual growth; how many times have we had to plug a freshman or redshirt freshman into the starting line-up because we didn’t have anyone better? Both Jaimes and Farniok had to go through this and its tough. JUCOs obviously need to move along a lot faster than this or they are not worth the scholarship. I think that is one of the reasons why Nebraska really wants December JUCOs at this point—they need to learn the offense in the spring to be able to have any real impact in the fall. I’m excited about Michael Lynn and Matthew Anderson too, but am not sure they will be ready until 2021, with Benhart maybe being ready sooner—or not.
But by 2020 we should have mostly seniors starting, including 3 guys who will be 3 year starters in Jaimes, Wilson, and Farniok, plus Bland would hopefully be a 2 year starter. Again, barring injury that is attractive, and if they are healthy and get passed up by somebody else, we are even better off. Quality depth should be in place too. My only real worry is center—we need a high-quality center with great athleticism, and, while I think there are potential options, we need to see somebody step up and claim that spot. I believe that is why Jurgens was moved. I don’t know how many of you watched UCF play Temple last night. In the second half, when UCF took control, their key running play was a play in which they pulled the center, who, I believe is a junior. Frost was not the coach of course, but you can see what he wants his center to do and you can see the athletic ability that position needs to have.
I’m actually least worried about the “skill” positions in a Scott Frost offense if you have the right QB. I’m 100% confident that we will have a collection of players who are fast, agile, elusive, with good hands and have the potential to take it to the house. Sure, Wandale Robinson is that kind of guy—that’s why we all wanted him. But in 2020 we will still have Spielman, Washington, and Miles Jones (who looked interesting to me in limited time against admittedly sub-par competition). Plus, I like Dedrick Mills to fill the Ozigbo slot in the offense. We add Darrien Chase, Ronald Thompkins, Rahmir Johnson, and Jaime Nance too, plus maybe others. It’s not hard to imagine one or more of those guys developing into a real playmaker and we have some guys on our current roster who still might. In short, I’m pretty sure Scott Frost will have playmakers with speed.
One other thing. I’m not sure why everybody focuses so much on position. How exactly is WR-R different from WR-Y and even RB? Oh, I know the technical answer. But practically. All 3 guys line up off the line of scrimmage. All 3 guys can go in motion and line up anywhere they want (assuming WR-X and TE are on the line). I get why WR-X is different and of course TE is very different. I also understand that Washington, and Spielman, and say Jones, have slightly different skills. But it sure looks to me that each can catch, and each can run, and any of them could line up in any of the 3 positions and be a threat that the defense has to honor and account for. So, practically, in a Scott Frost offense, what is the difference? This is heading toward a position-less offense, at least for skill positions. Kind of like basketball.
So, to Wandale Robinson. Wandale, you don’t know me and I don’t know you. I’m biased for Nebraska; I will freely admit that. I’ve been watching since Nebraska beat LSU in the Orange Bowl New Year’s night 1971 (the 1970 season). You will probably never read this. But it's my post, so I get to say this. I respect your decision. If Kentucky is the place for you, the place you think you can maximize your football skills, get a quality education, and prepare yourself for the next stage of your life, including potentially the NFL, then that is the place you should go. If you think Terry Wilson is the QB who will best get you the football, and the Kentucky offensive staff is the right group with the right scheme to allow your skills to show best, then that is the place you should go. I think you can be a terrific football player and I wish you well. I don’t think Scott Frost will ever promise a recruit playing time or a starting role; those are earned in practice and actual game performance. And I’m confident that you would earn that. And really, when you think about it, don’t you want to know that the other 10 guys you line up with had to earn their spots too, just like you did, instead of earning the spot through great high school tape and recruiting service rankings.
My biased opinion is that your best chance of being a star football player is at Nebraska, with Scott Frost’s offense, with Adrian Martinez as your trigger man, (in the same way that Mike Rozier and Irving Fryar needed Turner Gill, and that Ahman Green needed Tommie Frazier and then Scott Frost), and playing alongside guys like JD Spielman and Maurice Washington, so that opposing teams can’t just key on you. If you want to be like De’Anthony Thomas, Adrian Killins and Otis Anderson, then you want to play for Scott Frost and Nebraska. You want to play with #2, #10, and #28 because the best wants to play with the best.
To Nebraska’s coaching staff, who also won’t read this. Stay the course. Don’t promise playing time or starting spots to anybody. Make players earn them in practice, in the weight room, in the class room, and in games. Recruit hard, like you are doing. Target 4 star and 5 star players and other guys who fit your system. Win some, lose some, keep fighting. Don’t give up on Wandale Robinson until such time as he signs somewhere else. But don’t fret, this year, next year, and probably every year thereafter, there will be another guy or more likely guys, who will be a star in your offense.
To Nebraska fans, who have probably given up on reading this because it is too long. Enjoy this offense. We are getting better and it’s going to be exciting; sometimes it already is exciting. The pieces are being accumulated. We might move the ball tomorrow against Ohio St. or we might not. We still have a way to go to get to where we want to be. But the trend is clearly up.
I don’t have the same conviction about the defense yet. That is another essay I suppose, and I don’t yet know what my conclusion is. But I feel that progress on defense is the difference between winning a conference championship in 2020 and not.
But as I look at the offense and its future development, I am extraordinarily optimistic, even without Wandale Robinson. The future looks bright—especially for 2020, which is the year I personally am targeting—I’m hoping for continuous improvement throughout the rest of 2018 and 2019 of course, but 2020 is a year with a reasonable early schedule in which we could be 7-0 before the meat of the conference schedule, and with upperclassmen all over the offense. My crystal ball can be cloudy, and injuries, etc. certainly happen, but let’s take a look at the 2020 offense:
WR-X Open
WR-R Spielman (Sr)
LT Jaimes (Sr)
LG Wilson (Sr)
C Open—could be Bland (Sr), Jurgens (RSo), Farniok (RSo) or others
RG Farniok (Sr) or Hixson (Jr) or Bland (Sr) or other
RT Open ?--could be Farniok (Sr) or others, including Benhart (RFr)
TE Open, but many, many choices, including all 3 current TE, the two current freshmen (RSo) and Hickman (RFr)
QB Martinez (Jr)
RB Washington (Jr) and Mills (Sr)
WR-Y Open
Honestly, that’s pretty much the 2019 offense too, except that everybody is a year younger in 2019.
The single most important player in an offense, in my opinion, is the Quarterback. For obvious reasons maybe, but in Frost’s offense, he is the trigger man. He makes the decisions on where the ball goes and must do so quickly, confidently and accurately. That is why he needs to be a “fast blinker”. And Nebraska is fortunate. We have found THE GUY I believe, and he is only a Freshman. Barring injury, we have the single most important piece in place for the next 3 ½ years. He is not perfect yet, but he’s pretty good, and will continue to get better.
In my mind, the most important group (as opposed to single player) is the offensive line. And there, I see real progress in relationship to years past. Today, Nebraska’s offense is ranked T-18 in yards per game with 471.3 ypg. Yes, our scoring offense is only T-62 (29.8 ppg), but I believe that is due to mistakes early (turnovers and penalties) that are getting corrected. If you disagree, you might argue that our opponents the last 4-5 weeks were weaker defensively (36.2 ppg over the last 5—Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Minnesota and Bethune-Cookman for basically a half). I don’t see it that way, even though Michigan was the best defense we have seen, but time will tell. I see a very productive offense, which is young, especially on the offensive line where we start 1 true sophomore, and 2 redshirt sophomores.
Offensive lineman, in my view, generally shouldn’t be counted on for much until their 3rd year in the program. The way I see it, year 1 is a redshirt year. You only get the fall practices, and you learn the offense and work on technique, strength and conditioning. Year 2, your redshirt freshman year, you get a full spring and fall of practice and you are on the scout team, working against the veterans and starters every day. Year 3, you are a redshirt sophomore and should be a relatively finished product in terms of knowing the offense and being the right size, weight and strength. You should be no worse than 3rd team pushing for 2nd team—if you are not, it’s probably time to move on. Years 4 and 5 are for starting, or at a minimum being a quality second team player who can fill in for the starter without losing much. If and when we get 5 star or high 4 star kids whose bodies are already mature, and/or they can enroll in December instead of the fall, maybe the process can speed up a little. One of our biggest problems has been the lack of numbers and quality to allow for this gradual growth; how many times have we had to plug a freshman or redshirt freshman into the starting line-up because we didn’t have anyone better? Both Jaimes and Farniok had to go through this and its tough. JUCOs obviously need to move along a lot faster than this or they are not worth the scholarship. I think that is one of the reasons why Nebraska really wants December JUCOs at this point—they need to learn the offense in the spring to be able to have any real impact in the fall. I’m excited about Michael Lynn and Matthew Anderson too, but am not sure they will be ready until 2021, with Benhart maybe being ready sooner—or not.
But by 2020 we should have mostly seniors starting, including 3 guys who will be 3 year starters in Jaimes, Wilson, and Farniok, plus Bland would hopefully be a 2 year starter. Again, barring injury that is attractive, and if they are healthy and get passed up by somebody else, we are even better off. Quality depth should be in place too. My only real worry is center—we need a high-quality center with great athleticism, and, while I think there are potential options, we need to see somebody step up and claim that spot. I believe that is why Jurgens was moved. I don’t know how many of you watched UCF play Temple last night. In the second half, when UCF took control, their key running play was a play in which they pulled the center, who, I believe is a junior. Frost was not the coach of course, but you can see what he wants his center to do and you can see the athletic ability that position needs to have.
I’m actually least worried about the “skill” positions in a Scott Frost offense if you have the right QB. I’m 100% confident that we will have a collection of players who are fast, agile, elusive, with good hands and have the potential to take it to the house. Sure, Wandale Robinson is that kind of guy—that’s why we all wanted him. But in 2020 we will still have Spielman, Washington, and Miles Jones (who looked interesting to me in limited time against admittedly sub-par competition). Plus, I like Dedrick Mills to fill the Ozigbo slot in the offense. We add Darrien Chase, Ronald Thompkins, Rahmir Johnson, and Jaime Nance too, plus maybe others. It’s not hard to imagine one or more of those guys developing into a real playmaker and we have some guys on our current roster who still might. In short, I’m pretty sure Scott Frost will have playmakers with speed.
One other thing. I’m not sure why everybody focuses so much on position. How exactly is WR-R different from WR-Y and even RB? Oh, I know the technical answer. But practically. All 3 guys line up off the line of scrimmage. All 3 guys can go in motion and line up anywhere they want (assuming WR-X and TE are on the line). I get why WR-X is different and of course TE is very different. I also understand that Washington, and Spielman, and say Jones, have slightly different skills. But it sure looks to me that each can catch, and each can run, and any of them could line up in any of the 3 positions and be a threat that the defense has to honor and account for. So, practically, in a Scott Frost offense, what is the difference? This is heading toward a position-less offense, at least for skill positions. Kind of like basketball.
So, to Wandale Robinson. Wandale, you don’t know me and I don’t know you. I’m biased for Nebraska; I will freely admit that. I’ve been watching since Nebraska beat LSU in the Orange Bowl New Year’s night 1971 (the 1970 season). You will probably never read this. But it's my post, so I get to say this. I respect your decision. If Kentucky is the place for you, the place you think you can maximize your football skills, get a quality education, and prepare yourself for the next stage of your life, including potentially the NFL, then that is the place you should go. If you think Terry Wilson is the QB who will best get you the football, and the Kentucky offensive staff is the right group with the right scheme to allow your skills to show best, then that is the place you should go. I think you can be a terrific football player and I wish you well. I don’t think Scott Frost will ever promise a recruit playing time or a starting role; those are earned in practice and actual game performance. And I’m confident that you would earn that. And really, when you think about it, don’t you want to know that the other 10 guys you line up with had to earn their spots too, just like you did, instead of earning the spot through great high school tape and recruiting service rankings.
My biased opinion is that your best chance of being a star football player is at Nebraska, with Scott Frost’s offense, with Adrian Martinez as your trigger man, (in the same way that Mike Rozier and Irving Fryar needed Turner Gill, and that Ahman Green needed Tommie Frazier and then Scott Frost), and playing alongside guys like JD Spielman and Maurice Washington, so that opposing teams can’t just key on you. If you want to be like De’Anthony Thomas, Adrian Killins and Otis Anderson, then you want to play for Scott Frost and Nebraska. You want to play with #2, #10, and #28 because the best wants to play with the best.
To Nebraska’s coaching staff, who also won’t read this. Stay the course. Don’t promise playing time or starting spots to anybody. Make players earn them in practice, in the weight room, in the class room, and in games. Recruit hard, like you are doing. Target 4 star and 5 star players and other guys who fit your system. Win some, lose some, keep fighting. Don’t give up on Wandale Robinson until such time as he signs somewhere else. But don’t fret, this year, next year, and probably every year thereafter, there will be another guy or more likely guys, who will be a star in your offense.
To Nebraska fans, who have probably given up on reading this because it is too long. Enjoy this offense. We are getting better and it’s going to be exciting; sometimes it already is exciting. The pieces are being accumulated. We might move the ball tomorrow against Ohio St. or we might not. We still have a way to go to get to where we want to be. But the trend is clearly up.
I don’t have the same conviction about the defense yet. That is another essay I suppose, and I don’t yet know what my conclusion is. But I feel that progress on defense is the difference between winning a conference championship in 2020 and not.
