14 Questions We Hope Get Answered at Nebraska’s Spring Game

1: Will anybody separate themselves in the quarterback room?

We all know who is uno numero. Matt Masker.

Right?

Well it’s him or Adrian Martinez.

But after the presumed number one quarterback (Martinez of course just to be clear in case somebody can’t take a joke) it appears determining the back-up quarterback will be a race between Andrew Bunch, Noah Vedral and Luke McCaffrey.

I highly doubt we will see many snaps from Martinez on Saturday which is entirely fine with me. Here’s hoping Frost gives Bunch, Vedral and McCaffrey as many snaps as possible on Saturday so Nebraska fans can take sides and argue among each other about who should be the back-up.

We need this.

Please Coach Frost.

In all seriousness unless McCaffrey is simply so athletic and intelligent that he may force Coach Frost and Coach Verduzco’s hands, the race is probably between Bunch and Vedral. Many can probably remember the interception thrown by Vedral in the spring game last year. He looked pretty bad. But Coach Verduzco actually said he thought it was a mistake to let Vedral play in the spring game because he was simply thrown to the wolves.

Fast forward a year and I think we will finally be able to see Vedral in a better position to succeed.

When it comes to Bunch, he decided to take his name out of the transfer portal to try and make the best of his remaining time here at Nebraska.

On Sunday we hope to be able to see enough of each quarterback so we can pick sides for a debate that can get us through the summer.

2: Who besides J.D. Spielman is going to contribute at wide receiver?

This is starting to make me nervous.

The only name outside of J.D. Spielman that has been popping up from spring practices at this point is Andre Hunt. The redshirt freshman appears to have taken the void that Stanley Morgan left behind and turned it into potential playing time in the fall.

The coaches have continued to name him as a guy who has made strides and has been impressing the coaches.

As far as the other wide receivers? Not much. Yes, names like Kade Warner, Mike Williams, Jaron Woodyard, Jaevon McQuitty have been mentioned from time to time, but nothing like Andre Hunt. So that either means Hunt is going to be a future star or the rest of the guys simply are not getting it done.

Or it could be somewhere in the middle, but our society is not too keen on nuance.

I, for one, am expecting a Jamie Nance 83 yard bomb over the top of the defense.

3: With only two scholarship running backs participating in the spring game, is a red-shirt freshman walk-on from Omaha going to steal the show?

At the beginning of spring ball it was talked about how this was a great opportunity for both Jaylin Bradley and Wyatt Mazour. The legal trouble for Maurice Washington made the only returning contributor from 2018 into a limited participant.

So we heard how Jaylin Bradley was in better shape and this may be his only opportunity to make some headway. So while we were hearing good things about the Bellevue West product, we were actually hearing more about another player from the Omaha metro area.

Brody Belt.

Who?

Brody Belt is a redshirt freshman running from Millard West who has received the most praise from the coaching staff this spring.

That is either a great thing and Belt is going to be great contributor this coming fall, or it is an unfortunate thing that he may be outplaying the other two scholarship running backs currently on the roster.

Of all the Nebraska offensive skill players I am probably most interested in seeing what Brody Belt looks like on Saturday. Is he going to be a revelation for husker football fans or will Bradley and Mazour steal the show from the little known walk-on?

4: How is the staff going to use Wandale Robinson?

He’s not playing. So we aren’t going to learn anything on Saturday!

However we will get to see Miles Jones in his Duck R’ role.

5: Is Alex Davis going to show off his alleged increased productivity?

“Increase productivity” sounds rather strange to write for a college football article. However, it feels perfect when wondering about Alex Davis. Why is that? The senior started four games in 2018 and had five total tackles. That is impressive in a weird way.

Good news however is that the staff has been saying that Davis has really made a jump from 2018 since he feels more comfortable in the defense. He has been playing faster. He has been around the ball.

Alex Davis may be the most important playing on the defense in 2019. If he is the player that he can be then that should solidify the all-too-important outside linebacker position.

6: Is Darrion Daniels going to stand out among the interior defensive linemen?

I hope so.

The 2019 Nebraska defense sure hopes so.

Before the arrival of Darrion, Nebraska already had some large humans on the defensive line. He showed up and he stood out. He is a large human being.

The reports coming out of camp sound like the defensive line has been dominating the interior offensive line in practice which has lead to the some of their “losses.”

I would be happy to see that on Saturday.

If he stands out then he will become the best thing to visit Nebraska since the southwest chicken quesadilla at Amigos.*

*Amigos no longer has the Southwest Chicken Quesadilla and I’ve tried to get it back. They responded that they have the Southwest Chicken Rollup or the Southwest Chicken Burrito instead. But it ain’t the same. Not even close. Be better Amigos.

7: Will Maurice Washington play?

No. Coach Frost confirmed this on Wednesday. But I have been building my list of questions for this article for a couple weeks now and the backspace key does not work on my computer.

8: Is Garrett Nelson actually running with the twos?

I admittedly have a bias against Nebraska kids and I consciously fight it all the time. I played on some traveling basketball teams when I was in junior high and high school and whenever we would play a team from out of state, I always assumed we were going to lose because there has to be better talent outside of our state. We won most of the time but I have never been able to shake that bias.

Which brings me to Garrett Nelson. There are reports that he has been running with the second unit at outside linebacker. My first immediate reaction was, “that can’t be right.” We do have to remember he should actually still be walking the halls of Scottsbluff High School and now it looks like he might be legitimately competing for playing time next fall.

I am excited to see him run around and make plays, if anything so I can use it tell myself how stupid that bias is so I can finally rid myself of it’s stench.

9: How will Cameron Jurgens look?

A common joke at Corn Nation is...”but does he play offensive line?” The answer in this case is yes.

Cameron Jurgens is one of reportedly four players that are competing for the center position. The other three being Hunter Miller, Will Farniok and AJ Forbes. Jurgens stands out to many because he has been called one of the best athletes on the entire team regardless of position.

So when one of your best athletes on the team plays on the offensive line then you take notice. If he can take a hold of the center job and excel then Nebraska football should be sitting in a great position going forward for the next four years.

I personally want to see him go up against Darrion Daniels in this game at some point.

10: Can we get a commit or two this weekend?

Right now the 2020 class stands at two commitments. Nebraska received a huge commitment in the form of instate target, Zavier Betts last week. Sometimes in recruiting there is momentum for a class and hopefully that ball can get rolling.

Keep an eye on Jamar Sekona.

11: Is Katerian Legrone the prototype tight end for the future and what does that look like?

It is already pretty clear that Jack Stoll is the best tight end on the team. He is a great blocker but is still trying to develop into a better pass catcher. He is probably not what this staff is looking for in a tight end.

I think what we should see going into the future is a tight end like Katerian Legrone. He was originally committed to Central Florida while Scott Frost was there, and ended up following Frost and the coaching staff to Nebraska.

So with Stoll out I hope we get to see what the future looks like at the tight end position.

12: Where will Cam Taylor NOT play on defense?

Defensive tackle? Outside linebacker?

If there is a player outside of Darrion Daniels that the coaches couldn’t stop talking about then it is Cam Taylor. They gush about his ability as a football player and as a leader.

Also, he is very versatile and can play multiple positions on the field. The coaches continued to be impressed by his ability to learn the playbook and want to put him all over the field.

So will we see Cam Taylor at safety? Probably.

How about cornerback? Probably.

Nickel? Probably.

Inside linebacker? We will have to wait and see.

14: Who is going to end up being the spring game star?

There is always one.

My guess is Brody Belt.

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Regardless, enjoy the spring game!