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Where’s Carter Nelson?

3. If he's really good, he's not coming back for the 2028 season anyway.
This one is tough to say with NIL. It depends on a few factors. Most TE's are later round picks, if he really likes it here and is getting as much money as he would on a smaller rookie deal. He could be one of those guys who stay an extra year. There are two or three kids each year who stay an extra year. That Penn State TE is one of them this year.
 
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This one is tough to say with NIL. It depends on a few factors. Most TE's are later round picks, if he really likes it here and is getting as much money as he would on a smaller rookie deal. He could be one of those guys who stay an extra year. There are two or three kids each year who stay an extra year. That Penn State TE is one of them this year.
Nelson isn't a TE, he's a WR, and these kids are at a premium in the NFL draft.
 
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The ability to play football is limiting him. Great great athlete but not a difference making football player yet. I went to more than one East game when he was there where I didnt hear his name the entire game. A guy with that frame and that speed should have dominated Nebraska state football. He didn’t. At least one of the major newspapers didn’t even name his First Team All State. I hope he gets better. Again - great athlete.
Rhule has made a career out of finding those kind of athletes and turning them in to great players, but not all of the guys he took turned out. Malachai can be as good as he wants but it takes a HUGE amount of want to play P5 football no matter how talented you are.
 
The ability to play football is limiting him. Great great athlete but not a difference making football player yet. I went to more than one East game when he was there where I didnt hear his name the entire game. A guy with that frame and that speed should have dominated Nebraska state football. He didn’t. At least one of the major newspapers didn’t even name his First Team All State. I hope he gets better. Again - great athlete.
For those of us who watched his HS career (I watched almost every game), him disappearing at the D1 level is not very surprising.
 
Nelson isn't a TE, he's a WR, and these kids are at a premium in the NFL draft.
IF he grows up like many think he will, he'll be a hybrid TE in the NFL. IF he doesn't fill out his frame he's probably not a special WR in the NFL.
 
IF he grows up like many think he will, he'll be a hybrid TE in the NFL. IF he doesn't fill out his frame he's probably not a special WR in the NFL.
He'll be just like Pitts of the Falcons
 
Rhule has made a career out of finding those kind of athletes and turning them in to great players, but not all of the guys he took turned out. Malachai can be as good as he wants but it takes a HUGE amount of want to play P5 football no matter how talented you are.
Or maybe what Rhule is saying is accurate and he was going to miss half of the season with his shoulder, so they decided to wait until Game 9 to begin his RS season. People seem to forget that he did a lot more than most true freshmen last season, thinking that he should have been NFL Randy Moss right out of the gate.
 
I think that's unlikely.
Why, because he wasn't NFL Gronk on day one?

I think by next season, Nelson will be a dominant player, someone who because of his combination of size and speed will be almost impossible to cover.
 
I don't recall either IGC or Coleman being as bad at blocking as we've seen from the starters. They also were able to get open no less frequently. Again, we keep banging our head against the wall expecting the same damn thing which hasn't worked to work somehow, but of course it doesn't... Maybe it's time to try something different for once.
I'm over Banks, not quite completely out on Neyor yet.

I wish they'd insert Bullocks and Bonner in at WR... They're better at blocking at least. Seems like our offensive style wants to attack the perimeter more than down field (between an the screens and jet setup stuff). Blockers are needed in that case.
 
Pitts - 6’6”, 245lbs
Nelson - 6’4” 225lbs

Literally the same
Jesus, Nelson is 19 years old, Pitts is 24 and in the NFL now. Nelson is listed at 6' 5" - 230lbs on Huskers.com.

Pitts Rivals Profile

Kyle
Pitts

2018

TE


5.8

6'4"

224

Warminster, PA


Florida

Nelson's Rivals Profile

Carter
Nelson

2024

TE

5.9

6'5"

215

Ainsworth, NE

76

 
Jesus, Nelson is 19 years old, Pitts is 24 and in the NFL now. Nelson is listed at 6' 5" - 230lbs on Huskers.com.

Pitts Rivals Profile

Kyle
Pitts

2018

TE

5.8

6'4"

224

Warminster, PA

Florida

Nelson's Rivals Profile

Carter
Nelson

2024

TE

5.9

6'5"

215

Ainsworth, NE

76

We just need Nelson to turn into another version of Johnny Mitchell or Junior Mitchell.
 
We just need Nelson to turn into another version of Johnny Mitchell or Junior Mitchell.
Since he's not a TE, that's not possible. Junior MILLER was bigger than any of them. It's funny, he was listed at 6'4", but in the huddle he was 2-3" taller than the 6'5" linemen.

Also Miller and Mitchell are not in the same league because Miller was a killer blocker and Mitchell never blocked a soul.
 
Since he's not a TE, that's not possible. Junior MILLER was bigger than any of them. It's funny, he was listed at 6'4", but in the huddle he was 2-3" taller than the 6'5" linemen.

Also Miller and Mitchell are not in the same league because Miller was a killer blocker and Mitchell never blocked a soul.
I don't want to bust your chops. You're a good poster but Nelson was recruited as a TE and has started at WR because of his lack of TE size at this point.
 
I'm over Banks, not quite completely out on Neyor yet.

I wish they'd insert Bullocks and Bonner in at WR... They're better at blocking at least. Seems like our offensive style wants to attack the perimeter more than down field (between an the screens and jet setup stuff). Blockers are needed in that case.
Unfortunately I don’t think Bullock is the answer. Outside of his double block against Purdue, he has been a large part of our perimeter blocking getting blown up on the pass plays at the LOS.
 
Unfortunately I don’t think Bullock is the answer. Outside of his double block against Purdue, he has been a large part of our perimeter blocking getting blown up on the pass plays at the LOS.
Agreed, Bullock is a mediocre blocker and a less than mediocre receiver. In addition to lacking experience, our receivers coach seems to lack any sort of creativity. Get Barney, Rhamir, and Lloyd out there at the same time. Get Nelson or HH out there at the same time as Fidone. Get Coleman ready to play. Stop beating the same dead horse with roster alignments that have proven not to work that well.
 
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I think the move is permanent.
I think he needs to put on 30-40 lbs to be a legit TE. I get the impression Rhule doesn't think it is worth bulking up an explosive athlete like that. Seen too many players bulk up and do nothing. Would rather leave him at WR.
 
I think he needs to put on 30-40 lbs to be a legit TE. I get the impression Rhule doesn't think it is worth bulking up an explosive athlete like that. Seen too many players bulk up and do nothing. Would rather leave him at WR.
With what TE's are tasked with in the current day, it's pretty much a distinction without a difference. There's a lot of formations now where a "tight end" splits out wide, and hard to see much of a difference between that and a slot receiver.
 
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Nelson isn't a TE, he's a WR, and these kids are at a premium in the NFL draft.
I disagree with all of that. He's a WR right now, but long term projects as a TE. And by "premium" comment, that would be Malik Nabers or Marvin Harrison, Jr. Elite athletes who have excelled against the best competition. If anyone else thought he was that great, he would already be getting tons of targets on a team that hasn't had a passing TD in a month.
 
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About burning redshirts, I don't think that is a major concern anymore if it is a good player.

Even if they don't log much for stats, you don't really plan around guy's sticking around a program for their whole career anymore. You get them developed and use them as much as you can when you have them.

In the perfect world you'd develop and redshirt most and by the senior years you have a great system guy, but most players would rather play here and there feeling like there is a future rather than sitting.
 
I disagree with all of that. He's a WR right now, but long term projects as a TE. And by "premium" comment, that would be Malik Nabers or Marvin Harrison, Jr. Elite athletes who have excelled against the best competition. If anyone else thought he was that great, he would already be getting tons of targets on a team that hasn't had a passing TD in a month.
He just got moved to WR. These other guys played there all of their lives and not in Ainsworth. I think you have to consider that this is the first season the kid has played above Nebraska Class D2 competition and there's a considerable transition.

Carter has more overall physical skills overall than any receiver we have recruited since Irving Fryar and he's going to be great. He's only been on campus since June. BTW, Harrison Jr. played sparingly too as a true freshman.

If we make it to a bowl game, I see him catching 6 balls in that game, preserving his redshirt, then it's off to the races.
 
My opinion on redshirts has been the same for the last 10-15 years. They are pointless.

In the world of recruiting at Nebraska, if a player needs to be redshirted in order to develop enough to play as a RS junior or RS senior, he doesn't need to occupy a scholarship at all. If a player is going to be good enough to play in the league, he won't be here 5 years anyway. If Nebraska needs to get depth at a position or 5 and wants that player to be an older player, then get that player through the portal. Let someone else redshirt him. Lastly, a team should be recruiting over every scholarship player year after year anyway. If you recruit the way you should be, a player should be playing as a sophomore or junior (2 or 3 years), again if they aren't on the 2 deep by then, then see like 1 of this paragraph.
 
My opinion on redshirts has been the same for the last 10-15 years. They are pointless.

In the world of recruiting at Nebraska, if a player needs to be redshirted in order to develop enough to play as a RS junior or RS senior, he doesn't need to occupy a scholarship at all. If a player is going to be good enough to play in the league, he won't be here 5 years anyway. If Nebraska needs to get depth at a position or 5 and wants that player to be an older player, then get that player through the portal. Let someone else redshirt him. Lastly, a team should be recruiting over every scholarship player year after year anyway. If you recruit the way you should be, a player should be playing as a sophomore or junior (2 or 3 years), again if they aren't on the 2 deep by then, then see like 1 of this paragraph.
What you just portrayed is the shittiest program in the world to play for. Jesus, you're suggesting that other teams develop your players for you and then you sop them up somehow to be backups on your team? What you're suggesting is the total Prime approach, a program that if it were in the B10 would now be 2-6 at best.

Let me see if I have this straight.

1. Recruit 10-15 three and done players who can start or be in the rotation as freshmen every year - Check.

2. Grab another 10-15 players every year who are of the character that they're willing to ditch the program who developed them (as well as their teammates and friends) for the honor of being a backup on your team - Check

Boy, that an awesome culture for an athletic program, and it's probably going to cost you about $50 million a year in "NIL" money. That assumes though that you're team is the only one doing it. If 20 other teams are doing it, then the pool of these three and done players shrinks pretty fast and your whole concept blows up.

Gosh, maybe we don't even need a weight room and training table!

You do realize that the pool of players who get drafted by the NFL after 3 years is pretty small (around 30 every year) and the competition for these kids is enormous.
 
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What you just portrayed is the shittiest program in the world to play for. Jesus, you're suggesting that other teams develop your players for you and then you sop them up somehow to be backups on your team? What you're suggesting is the total Prime approach, a program that if it were in the B10 would now be 2-6 at best.

Let me see if I have this straight.

1. Recruit 10-15 three and done players who can start or be in the rotation as freshmen every year - Check.

2. Grab another 10-15 players every year who are of the character that they're willing to ditch the program who developed them (as well as their teammates and friends) for the honor of being a backup on your team - Check

Boy, that an awesome culture for an athletic program, and it's probably going to cost you about $50 million a year in "NIL" money. That assumes though that you're team is the only one doing it. If 20 other teams are doing it, then the pool of these three and done players shrinks pretty fast and your whole concept blows up.

Gosh, maybe we don't even need a weight room and training table!

You do realize that the pool of players who get drafted by the NFL after 3 years is pretty small (around 30 every year) and the competition for these kids is enormous.
You should really read what was written. I wrote nothing about getting drafted after three years so that point is irrelevant.

You still recruit mostly high school kids and only rely on transfers like a Ben Scott or Neyor, Banks type to fit a specific recruiting misses or shortage.

For example if Coleman doesn't pan out, the next year you get a player like Barney, no reason to redshirt Coleman at all, in my opinion, he has 2 years from the end of the season to make a difference, there is no reason to give him a 3rd, because you will have 2 more recruiting classes to find a replacement recruits.

There is a huge difference between recruiting a bunch of 5 star players and simply recruiting players that can make a difference at Nebraska and get them to 9 wins a season.
 
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My opinion on redshirts has been the same for the last 10-15 years. They are pointless.

In the world of recruiting at Nebraska, if a player needs to be redshirted in order to develop enough to play as a RS junior or RS senior, he doesn't need to occupy a scholarship at all. If a player is going to be good enough to play in the league, he won't be here 5 years anyway. If Nebraska needs to get depth at a position or 5 and wants that player to be an older player, then get that player through the portal. Let someone else redshirt him. Lastly, a team should be recruiting over every scholarship player year after year anyway. If you recruit the way you should be, a player should be playing as a sophomore or junior (2 or 3 years), again if they aren't on the 2 deep by then, then see like 1 of this paragraph.
I think that applies more to skill players. On the lines, a coach may recruit a kid who is athletic for their size, but needs more robustness and coaching to be able to excel at the position.
 
I think that applies more to skill players. On the lines, a coach may recruit a kid who is athletic for their size, but needs more robustness and coaching to be able to excel at the position.
Maybe, but the premise is still the same, next year's starting OL is going to be/ Jrs and Soph, and that is assuming Lutovsky isn't beat out by someone. On the DL with the exception of Jeudy and Butler if they return, the 2 deep is going to be all Soph and Juniors. Now you have 2 classes to bring in high school players and get them up to speed. IF a OL or DL isn't playing until their 4th year, then you haven't done a good enough job recruiting linemen, in my opinion.
 
You should really read what was written. I wrote nothing about getting drafted after three years so that point is irrelevant.

You still recruit mostly high school kids and only rely on transfers like a Ben Scott or Neyor, Banks type to fit a specific recruiting misses or shortage.

For example if Coleman doesn't pan out, the next year you get a player like Barney, no reason to redshirt Coleman at all, in my opinion, he has 2 years from the end of the season to make a difference, there is no reason to give him a 3rd, because you will have 2 more recruiting classes to find a replacement recruits.

There is a huge difference between recruiting a bunch of 5 star players and simply recruiting players that can make a difference at Nebraska and get them to 9 wins a season.
I did read what you wrote, and you're response ^^^ is equally crazy and pretty much the opposite of what you said initially.

You don't "give up" on Coleman. He's a unique talent and a great kid, a rare athlete. It sounds like you're butt hurt that he wasn't NFL Randy Moss as a true freshman. The kid has been hurt, and it was WAY better to redshirt him and have him play when he's healthy. Sure, try to recruit over him from a talent standpoint. I challenge you.

You obviously don't see the value in having older more mature players, unless they're transfers. You also seem to think that all players peak out at 21, which is silly.

I have some unfortunate news for you. Nebraska will never be able to recruit a plethora of 5 star recruits, nor were they able to do that in the 70s, 80s, 90s. We'll get some key big time recruits from time to time, but we will NEVER be able to draw a class with 20 four and 5 star players. Nebraska's just not that popular nationwide and never has been among most HS players. We won a different way up to the early 2000s and despite the efforts of Rhule to revisit that, that has all but been scrapped.

From a recruiting rankings standpoint, Miami 1994, Florida 1995, and Tennessee 1997/1999 all had recruiting classes during that time that were better than ours based on the rankings. So did OU 1971.
 
I did read what you wrote, and you're response ^^^ is equally crazy and pretty much the opposite of what you said initially.

You don't "give up" on Coleman. He's a unique talent and a great kid, a rare athlete. It sounds like you're butt hurt that he wasn't NFL Randy Moss as a true freshman. The kid has been hurt, and it was WAY better to redshirt him and have him play when he's healthy. Sure, try to recruit over him from a talent standpoint. I challenge you.

You obviously don't see the value in having older more mature players, unless they're transfers. You also seem to think that all players peak out at 21, which is silly.

I have some unfortunate news for you. Nebraska will never be able to recruit a plethora of 5 star recruits, nor were they able to do that in the 70s, 80s, 90s. We'll get some key big time recruits from time to time, but we will NEVER be able to draw a class with 20 four and 5 star players. Nebraska's just not that popular nationwide and never has been among most HS players. We won a different way up to the early 2000s and despite the efforts of Rhule to revisit that, that has all but been scrapped.

From a recruiting rankings standpoint, Miami 1994, Florida 1995, and Tennessee 1997/1999 all had recruiting classes during that time that were better than ours based on the rankings. So did OU 1971.
No one is giving up on Coleman, you just don't need 5 years to see what he can do on a football field.

Again no one is saying you need all the 5 star kids. You are inserting your own words into my posts.
 
I did read what you wrote, and you're response ^^^ is equally crazy and pretty much the opposite of what you said initially.

You don't "give up" on Coleman. He's a unique talent and a great kid, a rare athlete. It sounds like you're butt hurt that he wasn't NFL Randy Moss as a true freshman. The kid has been hurt, and it was WAY better to redshirt him and have him play when he's healthy. Sure, try to recruit over him from a talent standpoint. I challenge you.

You obviously don't see the value in having older more mature players, unless they're transfers. You also seem to think that all players peak out at 21, which is silly.

I have some unfortunate news for you. Nebraska will never be able to recruit a plethora of 5 star recruits, nor were they able to do that in the 70s, 80s, 90s. We'll get some key big time recruits from time to time, but we will NEVER be able to draw a class with 20 four and 5 star players. Nebraska's just not that popular nationwide and never has been among most HS players. We won a different way up to the early 2000s and despite the efforts of Rhule to revisit that, that has all but been scrapped.

From a recruiting rankings standpoint, Miami 1994, Florida 1995, and Tennessee 1997/1999 all had recruiting classes during that time that were better than ours based on the rankings. So did OU 1971.
I’m not saying give up on Coleman. But it’s not normal for someone to get a lot of playing time as a true freshman, and then be a declared redshirt without a significant injury before the season even starts. Even more strange when he is a rare athlete. Something is amiss.
 
I’m not saying give up on Coleman. But it’s not normal for someone to get a lot of playing time as a true freshman, and then be a declared redshirt without a significant injury before the season even starts. Even more strange when he is a rare athlete. Something is amiss.
His lack of playing at all is definitely concerning, but the extreme lack of depth was why he played so much last year. Didn't Doss start a game or 2 and now he's at corner? We have to build a better roster so we aren't put in those positions anymore.
 
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His lack of playing at all is definitely concerning, but the extreme lack of depth was why he played so much last year. Didn't Doss start a game or 2 and now he's at corner? We have to build a better roster so we aren't put in those positions anymore.
We’ve stayed extremely healthy so far this year

Have to be up there with least amount of starter’s minutes missed in the entire country

Knock on wood, hope that continues
 
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His lack of playing at all is definitely concerning, but the extreme lack of depth was why he played so much last year. Didn't Doss start a game or 2 and now he's at corner? We have to build a better roster so we aren't put in those positions anymore.
I didn't really understand that move either. WR is a much bigger need than corner. We don't need to be in a rush to move guys away from our biggest need. That said, a more experienced WR coach probably puts up a fight against that and also gets his guys ready to play, not redshirting in year 2.
 
I’m not saying give up on Coleman. But it’s not normal for someone to get a lot of playing time as a true freshman, and then be a declared redshirt without a significant injury before the season even starts. Even more strange when he is a rare athlete. Something is amiss.
Coleman got to campus in June of 2023 and was forced into action because of massive injuries to our WRs. He would have redshirted in 2023 if not for that and probably wouldn't have gotten injured.

In 2024, up to mid-season, he still wasn't quite healed yet, and Rhule made a decision to hold him out until he's 100% so he stands a good chance of not aggravating the injury, beginning this whole process over again.

This is in contrast to what Bo Pelini did with Taylor Martinez in 2010. He should have shut him down after the Missouri game, but rather he created a chronic injury situation that eventually cost him his senior year.
 
The decision to redshirt Coleman wasn’t so much about injury. He is a WR returning with game experience, after a year of tutelage with your staff, who has a special combination of size/atheticism. He shouldn’t redshirt before the season unless he has a season ending injury. But he had more of a nagging injury that was hampering his progress.

There was also talk about a great WR room, and how the portal arrivals were going be big part of the production. Coleman wasn’t progressing. Whatever injury he had seemed like a convenient excuse to hide him for year so he can hopefully work himself back in.

I hope Coleman is a stud WR for us in 2025, 2026. But I am not counting on it.
 
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