I know I'm a year early on this but it's the doldrums of the off-season so why not create a depth chart ofour best players of the 2010's?
The rules are this: they had to have played at least one season between 2010 and 2018. You can pick Prince Amukamara because he played in 2010 but you can't pick Suh because he graduated in 2009. 1st team guys are listed together, followed by their backups on the 2nd team.
QB
1st: Adrian Martinez
2nd: Taylor Martinez
IB
1st: Ameer Abdullah
2nd: Rex Burkhead
FB
1st: Andy Janovich
2nd: Tyler Legate
WR
1st: Stanley Morgan Jr.
Quincy Enunwa
JD Spielman
2nd: Kenny Bell
Niles Paul
Jordan Westerkamp
TE
1st: Cethan Carter
2nd: Kyler Reed
OT
1st: Jeremiah Sirles
Alex Lewis
2nd: Brent Qvale
Jermarcus “Yoshi” Hardrick
OG
1st: Spencer Long
Ricky Henry
2nd: Keith Williams
Zach Sterup
C
1st: Justin Jackson
2nd: Mike Caputo
DE
1st: Randy Gregory
Eric Martin
2nd: Greg McMullen
Ross Dzuris
DT
1st: Jared Crick
Maliek Collins
2nd: Vincent Valentine
Baker Steinkuhler
OLB
1st: Lavonte David
Zaire Anderson
2nd: Sean Fisher
Luke Gifford
ILB
1st: Will Compton
Mo Barry
2nd: Trevor Roach
Josh Banderas
CB
1st: Prince Amukamara
Alfonzo Dennard
2nd: Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Dicaprio Bootle/Chris Jones
S
1st: Nate Gerry
Daimion Stafford
2nd: Aaron Williams
Corey Cooper
K
1st: Alex Henery
2nd: Brett Maher
P
1st: Sam Foltz
2nd: Brett Maher
QB: Deal with it. Adrian is the genuine article. He may leave Nebraska being uttered in the same breath as Frazier, Crouch, and Gill. Taylor had a scintillating freshman debut and rebounded well from a lingering injury to have a terrific 2012, but he was mistake-prone and didn’t have the same arm talent as Adrian.
RB: Rex is a folk hero in Nebraska and has had the better pro career but Ameer is the best running back Nebraska’s had since Ahman Green. The offense doesn’t use a Fullback anymore but Janovich has to be included on any best-of list. He was criminally underused in his time here.
WR: The best decade of wide receivers Nebraska has ever had, there were tough choices here. Stanley set the record book – he’s a shoe-in. Enunwa was such a tough blocker and a touchdown machine his senior year. JD will re-write the record book before he leaves. You could make an argument for my entire second string being first string.
TE: Pretty easy to go with Cethan and Kyler. Reed tapered off towards the end and Cethan never got to fulfill his potential but started all 4 years.
OT: Jeremiah Sirles started as a redshirt freshman in 2010 and again in 2012 and 2013. He’s now an NFL veteran of 5 years . I begrudgingly put Alex Lewis as my other bookend, as I didn’t love the guy’s behavior his senior year. But there’s no denying his talent. The son of Husker All-American Bill Lewis, he now starts for the Ravens. Qvale was maligned as a left tackle at Nebraska but has made his case in the league as a guard for the past 5 years. Tough pick for my fourth tackle between Hardrick, Nick Gates, and even Givens Price who bounced around the league a few years but ended up going with Hardrick.
OG: Ricky Henry was first-team all-conference in 2010, the first Husker to earn such distinction in nine years. Spencer Long earned second team AP All-American honors in 2012, the first offensive linemen to be placed on an All-American team since Toniu Fonoti in 2001. Nebraska native Sterup found his niche at guard and still plays in the league. Keith Williams was an underrated cog in the 2010 machine. He played with heart through injury. I wish he could’ve gotten a conference title ring.
C: Justin Jackson switched from DL to Center for his senior year and quickly shined in the role, paving the way for a prodigious rushing attack in 2012. Caputo was short but mobile and really played well in 2010 and 2011.
DE: This one was tough. Randy Gregory was obvious but, beyond him... Eric Martin switched from Linebacker and became the team’s best pass rusher in 2012. Ross Dzuris and Greg McMullen may get replaced by Ben Stille or Carlos Davis by the end of 2019.
DT: Crick was an All-American in 2010 and an easy choice. Collins was drafted in the 2nd round and currently starts for the Dallas Cowboys. Vincent Valentine was part of a tough rush defense in 2015. Baker should’ve been an OT.
LB: For most of the decade we had a 4-3 defensive alignment but I decided to make it 4 deep. Lavonte David is arguably the best player Nebraska had in the 2010’s. Will Compton was a 4 year starter and a heart-and-soul type of player. Mo Barry is just a berserker. He overruns plays sometimes but he goes all out every play. Trevor Roach actually outperformed Josh Banderas at MLB for part of 2014 and briefly caught on in the NFL. Gifford was talented but injury prone. Zaire Anderson plays for the Broncos.
CB: Prince and Dennard were the best CB tandem Nebraska’s had since Ralph Brown and Keyou Craver in 1999. Prince was All-American in 2010. Dennard earned DB of the Year in the Big Ten in 2011. Baptiste was a converted WR and JUCO transfer that made a good transition to CB. I was torn between Chris Jones and Bootle, who has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the Riley recruiting hauls. So I just included both.
S: Nate Gerry had a nose for the ball and could lay the wood. Ditto for Stafford, who was drafted in 2013. It feels like there’s been poor Safety play for a number of years now. Where have you gone, Mike Brown?
K/P: Henery left school in 2010 as the most accurate kicker in CFB history. Sam had an NFL future ahead of him. Brett Maher is a number two for both slots that most schools would love to have for number one.
What does everyone else think?
The rules are this: they had to have played at least one season between 2010 and 2018. You can pick Prince Amukamara because he played in 2010 but you can't pick Suh because he graduated in 2009. 1st team guys are listed together, followed by their backups on the 2nd team.
QB
1st: Adrian Martinez
2nd: Taylor Martinez
IB
1st: Ameer Abdullah
2nd: Rex Burkhead
FB
1st: Andy Janovich
2nd: Tyler Legate
WR
1st: Stanley Morgan Jr.
Quincy Enunwa
JD Spielman
2nd: Kenny Bell
Niles Paul
Jordan Westerkamp
TE
1st: Cethan Carter
2nd: Kyler Reed
OT
1st: Jeremiah Sirles
Alex Lewis
2nd: Brent Qvale
Jermarcus “Yoshi” Hardrick
OG
1st: Spencer Long
Ricky Henry
2nd: Keith Williams
Zach Sterup
C
1st: Justin Jackson
2nd: Mike Caputo
DE
1st: Randy Gregory
Eric Martin
2nd: Greg McMullen
Ross Dzuris
DT
1st: Jared Crick
Maliek Collins
2nd: Vincent Valentine
Baker Steinkuhler
OLB
1st: Lavonte David
Zaire Anderson
2nd: Sean Fisher
Luke Gifford
ILB
1st: Will Compton
Mo Barry
2nd: Trevor Roach
Josh Banderas
CB
1st: Prince Amukamara
Alfonzo Dennard
2nd: Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Dicaprio Bootle/Chris Jones
S
1st: Nate Gerry
Daimion Stafford
2nd: Aaron Williams
Corey Cooper
K
1st: Alex Henery
2nd: Brett Maher
P
1st: Sam Foltz
2nd: Brett Maher
QB: Deal with it. Adrian is the genuine article. He may leave Nebraska being uttered in the same breath as Frazier, Crouch, and Gill. Taylor had a scintillating freshman debut and rebounded well from a lingering injury to have a terrific 2012, but he was mistake-prone and didn’t have the same arm talent as Adrian.
RB: Rex is a folk hero in Nebraska and has had the better pro career but Ameer is the best running back Nebraska’s had since Ahman Green. The offense doesn’t use a Fullback anymore but Janovich has to be included on any best-of list. He was criminally underused in his time here.
WR: The best decade of wide receivers Nebraska has ever had, there were tough choices here. Stanley set the record book – he’s a shoe-in. Enunwa was such a tough blocker and a touchdown machine his senior year. JD will re-write the record book before he leaves. You could make an argument for my entire second string being first string.
TE: Pretty easy to go with Cethan and Kyler. Reed tapered off towards the end and Cethan never got to fulfill his potential but started all 4 years.
OT: Jeremiah Sirles started as a redshirt freshman in 2010 and again in 2012 and 2013. He’s now an NFL veteran of 5 years . I begrudgingly put Alex Lewis as my other bookend, as I didn’t love the guy’s behavior his senior year. But there’s no denying his talent. The son of Husker All-American Bill Lewis, he now starts for the Ravens. Qvale was maligned as a left tackle at Nebraska but has made his case in the league as a guard for the past 5 years. Tough pick for my fourth tackle between Hardrick, Nick Gates, and even Givens Price who bounced around the league a few years but ended up going with Hardrick.
OG: Ricky Henry was first-team all-conference in 2010, the first Husker to earn such distinction in nine years. Spencer Long earned second team AP All-American honors in 2012, the first offensive linemen to be placed on an All-American team since Toniu Fonoti in 2001. Nebraska native Sterup found his niche at guard and still plays in the league. Keith Williams was an underrated cog in the 2010 machine. He played with heart through injury. I wish he could’ve gotten a conference title ring.
C: Justin Jackson switched from DL to Center for his senior year and quickly shined in the role, paving the way for a prodigious rushing attack in 2012. Caputo was short but mobile and really played well in 2010 and 2011.
DE: This one was tough. Randy Gregory was obvious but, beyond him... Eric Martin switched from Linebacker and became the team’s best pass rusher in 2012. Ross Dzuris and Greg McMullen may get replaced by Ben Stille or Carlos Davis by the end of 2019.
DT: Crick was an All-American in 2010 and an easy choice. Collins was drafted in the 2nd round and currently starts for the Dallas Cowboys. Vincent Valentine was part of a tough rush defense in 2015. Baker should’ve been an OT.
LB: For most of the decade we had a 4-3 defensive alignment but I decided to make it 4 deep. Lavonte David is arguably the best player Nebraska had in the 2010’s. Will Compton was a 4 year starter and a heart-and-soul type of player. Mo Barry is just a berserker. He overruns plays sometimes but he goes all out every play. Trevor Roach actually outperformed Josh Banderas at MLB for part of 2014 and briefly caught on in the NFL. Gifford was talented but injury prone. Zaire Anderson plays for the Broncos.
CB: Prince and Dennard were the best CB tandem Nebraska’s had since Ralph Brown and Keyou Craver in 1999. Prince was All-American in 2010. Dennard earned DB of the Year in the Big Ten in 2011. Baptiste was a converted WR and JUCO transfer that made a good transition to CB. I was torn between Chris Jones and Bootle, who has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the Riley recruiting hauls. So I just included both.
S: Nate Gerry had a nose for the ball and could lay the wood. Ditto for Stafford, who was drafted in 2013. It feels like there’s been poor Safety play for a number of years now. Where have you gone, Mike Brown?
K/P: Henery left school in 2010 as the most accurate kicker in CFB history. Sam had an NFL future ahead of him. Brett Maher is a number two for both slots that most schools would love to have for number one.
What does everyone else think?