2020 Starting Lineup

[Marcus]

There are still some positions that are up in the air but I think we can make some pretty strong assumptions about who is going to start this year.

QB: Martinez - 3rd year as a starter.
RB: Mills - 2nd year as a starter.
TE: Stoll - 3rd year as a starter.
LT: Jaimes - 4th year as a starter.
LG: Wilson - 3rd year as a starter. Was injured last year.
C: Jurgens - 2nd year as a starter.
RG: Farniok - 3rd year as a starter. Playing his natural position for the first time.
RT: Benhart - 1st year as a starter.
WR: Robinson - 2nd year as a starter.
WR: Manning - 1st year as a starter.
WR: ?

OL is the strength of the team. Callahan mentioned that those 5 were the guys playing on the first team in practice. That's 4 multi-year starters and 1 redshirt freshman. The right tackle is generally more of a run blocker, and that's Benhart's specialty. So we should have a pretty solid offensive line this year and we will probably run the ball a lot, especially with a heavy hitter like Mills, who could run for close to a 1,000 yards this year. We also have a bunch of experienced tight ends, so I would imagine that we will see a lot of 2 tight end sets. Plus Martinez should play much better this year behind a better offensive line and there should not be any snap issues.

The only uncertainty is at WR. Robinson is obviously a starter, but the other two spots are up for grabs. Manning will probably take one of the spots, and the other spot will go to either Warner or Brown. Last year we really missed having Stanley Morgan opposite JD. We didn't really have any kind of down-field threat at WR. Manning changes that - we have probably never had a big bodied deep threat WR like him before. With Manning stretching the field those swing passes might actually work, which adds another wrinkle to our offense. Add in a speedster like Brown and an experienced receiver like Warner and we could have a pretty decent group of WRs this year.

CB: Bootle - 3rd year as a starter.
CB: Taylor-Britt - 2nd year as a starter.
S: Dismuke - 2nd year as a starter.
S: Williams - 2nd year as a starter. Played in 2018, and was supposed to start in 2019 but was injured in the first game.
ILB: Miller - 2nd year as a starter. Played ILB for the first time last year.
ILB: Honas - 1st year as a starter. Played heavily last year but was coming off an injury.
OLB: Domann - 2nd year as a starter. Played a lot last year but was coming off an injury.
OLB: Tannor or Nelson. Tannor is a 2nd year starter. Nelson played a lot last year as a freshman.
DE: Stille - Has started in the past. Lots of experience.
DE: ?
NT: ?

The secondary is set. Lots of experience there and lots of depth. There's also the JUCO Joseph to think about.

It has been mentioned that the ILB group in practice right now is Miller, Honas, Henrich, and Reimer. That's a pretty good group. Miller and Honas both have a lot of experience.

The OLB's will be Domann, Tannor, and Nelson. Who starts opposite Domann will probably depend on who we play. Tannor will start against OSU, while Nelson will start against run-heavy Wisconsin.

Stille will definitely man one of the DE spots. The other spot will probably go to Robinson, but Thomas has a lot of experience and could be the other starting DE for a few games at least. The starting NT for the first game will probably be Daniels, who has a lot of experience, but Green and Riley will play a lot. Green was highly recruited out of JUCO and he has transformed his body over the past year, so hopefully he lives up to his potential and takes over the NT spot. Overall there will probably be a lot more rotation this year than in the past.

_______

Overall we have a pretty experienced team this year on both sides of the ball. We also have a lot of depth. This is probably the most depth that Nebraska has had on its roster since the early Pelini years. We also have a kicker this year, a punter, and a dedicated special teams coach, which should help a lot.

I know that being pessimistic is en vogue for Husker fans but I really do believe that we could go 6-2 this year. OSU and PSU will beat us. But the other 6 games are all winnable. We have an experienced and talented team this year. We are also in year three of Frost's offense and Chinander's defense. Not to mention year three of Duval's strength and conditioning program. There has to be a payoff at some point.

And given how much BS Nebraska has had to put up with over the last month, I think that if Frost & Company are going to take the leap, this is the year to do it.

 

[RMR]

Nice post. I hate that we are in a place where we have to use the word winnable instead of probable talking about wins. I would like to see that change.

 

[Marcus]

Nice post. I hate that we are in a place where we have to use the word winnable instead of probable talking about wins. I would like to see that change.

Agreed. It speaks to how shaky this program has been. Everyone talks about how schools like Wisconsin and Iowa are able to develop players and win year in and year out. A lot of that comes down to having a culture and having the same offensive and defensive systems every year and a consistent strength and conditioning program. We haven't had any of that over the decade, but I think that has changed and we will see it on the field this year.

 

[eyesonNU]

I appreciate the work on your post Marcus.

 

[Costa Rica Red]

Hear, here.

The 'Huskers actually have some depth this year, and it's only gonna get better with no one leaving after this year unless they want to. There are enough question marks this year to temper my enthusiasm. Can't wait to see 'em play though, hope all goes according to Hoyle.

 

[Red Said Ted]

@Marcus
Good post.

Imagine how potent that wide receiver group would be if JD Spielman didn’t abandon his team. As it is, there’s still a lot of talent there, just not as proven yet.

I think Robinson will be the starting NT by the way. But you’re correct that we’ll use a pretty heavy rotation.

I think Riemer might be the best inside linebacker on the team. I’ll be interested to see how that develops.

Penn State is beatable as well. They are not OSU. It’s tough to think anyone in the league has a good shot against OSU this season. They are a step above right now.

Again, good post.

 

[Marcus]

I added Manning to the obvious starter list because, on second thought, it is really obvious that he going to be a starter. It sounds like he is abusing our CBs in practice right now. And we obviously didn't bring here to sit on the sideline.

 

[BigRedOhio]

LB position is still a big concern. We have some guys back, but I still don't think he have near enough talent there.

 

[Marcus]

@Marcus
Good post.

Imagine how potent that wide receiver group would be if JD Spielman didn’t abandon his team. As it is, there’s still a lot of talent there, just not as proven yet.

I think Robinson will be the starting NT by the way. But you’re correct that we’ll use a pretty heavy rotation.

I think Riemer might be the best inside linebacker on the team. I’ll be interested to see how that develops.

Penn State is beatable as well. They are not OSU. It’s tough to think anyone in the league has a good shot against OSU this season. They are a step above right now.

Again, good post.

Ya it sounds like Robinson has been playing a lot of NT. We need him to be a dude.

 

[RMR]

Agreed. It speaks to how shaky this program has been. Everyone talks about how schools like Wisconsin and Iowa are able to develop players and win year in and year out. A lot of that comes down to having a culture and having the same offensive and defensive systems every year and a consistent strength and conditioning program. We haven't had any of that over the decade, but I think that has changed and we will see it on the field this year.

Shaky is a good way to state it. It also captures our sense that we can screw up even a favorable situation. And have many times. The changes you and I hope manifest will help for sure. Another factor will be demanding performance. Sitting those who don't. Period. All positions.