From 2/25 of this year 247Sports
ANDREW WARD
You could mention Avery Roberts in the same sentence with Ward. Both are inside backers entering their second year in the program, a couple players Nebraska could really use to push competition for the likes of a few of their older peers like Mohamed Barry, Dedrick Young, and newcomer Will Honas.
Ideally we'd both be talking about Roberts and Ward as both being redshirt freshmen. But only Ward is that. Roberts is a sophomore, his redshirt burned for almost exclusively special teams work. But I highlight Ward here because he's one of those prospects some will forget about. And based off a few conversations I've had with players on last year's team, including the sharp-minded Chris Weber, Ward is someone worth watching.
6COMMENTS
His want to learn stuck out. After piling up 122 tackles as a senior at Muskegon (Michigan) High School in 2016, he arrived to Lincoln with pretty good size too, standing 6-1, 200 pounds. No question some offseason work will only help Ward as he tries to develop into that type of inside backer who can stand up in a league like the Big Ten.
Ward has a personal story of overcoming some difficult personal circumstances, so he's scaled much bigger odds than climbing a depth chart. He has already shown a determination just to be where he is right now. Don't bet against those kind of guys when it comes to putting in work during months like these.