5 Burning Questions for Cornhuskers This Spring

Nebraska came into the 2011 season with high expectations. The Cornhuskers started the season winning six of their first seven games. The season did not end well, with the Cornhuskers losing three of their last five games.

The 2012 season will bring another year of high expectations for Nebraska and their fans.

Nebraska will play a more difficult schedule in 2012. Their non-conference schedule includes games against Conference USA Champions Southern Mississippi (12-2 in 2011), Arkansas State (10-3 in 2011) and UCLA.

The Big Ten Conference schedule for Nebraska will not be easy in 2012, either. Nebraska plays home games against Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State, while they play on the road against Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa.

If Nebraska wants to have a successful season in 2012, it begins with successful spring practices and a good spring game.

Here are five burning questions Nebraska must answer in the spring.

Will Taylor Martinez Lose His Job?

Taylor Martinez has played well at times for the Cornhuskers, but he has not shown the leadership to take Nebraska to the Big Ten Championship game.

Will head coach Bo Pelini continue to stick with Martinez and hope that he matures into one of the great quarterbacks in Nebraska football history, or should there be a change made at the quarterback position?

Nebraska has a group of young, talented quarterbacks on their roster, including Brion Carnes and Tommy Armstrong.

Carnes was the backup to Martinez last season. He only saw limited playing time for the Cornhuskers.

Armstrong was highly recruited out of Texas. He may be the most talented of the three quarterbacks on the team.

Nebraska must give Carnes and Armstrong a chance to win the starting job from Martinez. If Martinez proves that he is the better quarterback, then Nebraska did all they could to improve the position.

Pelini cannot start Martinez just because he has been the starter for two years.

Martinez may have a long leash with Pelini, but his is on a much shorter leash with the Cornhuskers fans. The fans know that Nebraska has talent backing up Martinez. If Martinez makes too many mistakes in the non-conference schedule, Cornhuskers fans will be screaming for a change to be made.

Nebraska must figure out who their quarterback will be in the spring so that a quarterback controversy does not ruin the 2012 season.

How Does Nebraska Replace Crick, Dennard and David?

The biggest question for Nebraska heading into the 2012 season is how they will replace the talent lost on the defensive side of the ball.

Nebraska lost three preseason All-Americans to graduation: Alfonzo Dennard, Lavonte David and Jared Crick.

Replacing these players will not be easy.

Nebraska lost Crick early in the 2011 season to an injury. The Cornhuskers shuffled players into the defensive tackle position to try to replace Crick. It did not work.

Their defensive line in 2011 looked horrible. The unit could not generate any pass-rush on opposing quarterbacks. That must change in 2012.

Nebraska will rotate Chase Rome and Andrus Peat to try to fill the defensive tackle position next to Baker Stienkuhler.

The bigger hole for the Cornhuskers is at the linebacker position. Last season, David was the heart and soul of the Nebraska defense. No player can replace David, but the Cornhuskers will use some young players to try to do so.

Will Compton and Sean Fischer will probably be the starters at linebacker. Zaire Anderson, Alonzo Whaley and Trevor Roach will be looked upon to add depth. The play at linebacker may determine the success of the Cornhuskers in 2012.

Nebraska recruited a junior college player to take the place of Dennard. Mohammad Seisay will be given a chance to start next to Andrew Green.

Nebraska has a young secondary in 2012, but it may be one of the most athletic units in recent memory.

How Well Does New Coaching Staff Perform?

Carl Pelini left Nebraska to be the head coach at Florida Atlantic, leaving a hole in Nebraska’s coaching staff.  

Nebraska promoted John Papuchis from the defensive line coach to replace Pelini as the defensive coordinator.

Rick Kaczenski was hired from the University of Iowa to replace Papuchis as the defensive line coach.

Nebraska lost secondary coach Corey Raymond to LSU. They will look to fill his position before the start of spring practices.

The Nebraska defense is the biggest question mark heading into the 2012 season, as having new coaches on the staff will not help the team. Nebraska must quickly hire a replacement for Raymond and get each member of the staff on the same page.

Nebraska has been known for having a strong defensive coaching staff.

They must continue the tradition to be successful in 2012

How Well Do New Recruits Perform in the Spring Game?

Nebraska will have many young players in the spring game.

Last year, Jamal Turner stole the show with his kick returns and long scoring plays.

During the season, he disappeared.

Nebraska must find some young talent on the team and give those players an opportunity to succeed when the season begins.

Some of the players Nebraska will be looking at during the spring include WR Jordan Westerkamp, DB Mohammad Seisay, LB Zaire Anderson, DT Todd Peat and OT Paul Thurston.

If these players live up to the hype, Nebraska will be in good shape for the 2012 season.

What will Nebraska’s Offensive Identity be?

Nebraska has tried using more option in their offensive packages. The results were horrible.

Taylor Martinez is not an option quarterback.

Sometimes when he pitches the ball, the entire state of Nebraska closes their eyes.

Nebraska seems to be stuck between a zone-read offense and an option offensive.

First, Nebraska must determine who their starting quarterback will be and then build the offense around his strengths. If Nebraska tries to implement a different system each week, they will struggle like they did last year.

Nebraska must find their offensive identity this spring, or else it will be a long season.

If Nebraska is able to answer these questions, the Cornhuskers may finally live up to fans' expectations.

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