Nebraska Football: What to Watch for from the Offense in Spring Practice

Spring practice for college football fans—much like spring training in baseball—serves to provide optimism and hope for fans before the season starts.

When Nebraska fans listen to spring practice reports leading up to the Spring Game, they want to believe that the problems and concerns from the year before have been resolved and that this is finally the year NU returns to national prominence.

Far be it from me to rain on anyone's optimism parade, but there are some areas that fans can focus on during the spring to see if Nebraska truly is making progress from last season. Here are three big questions that could use some answering this spring.

1. Who is pushing Taylor Martinez?

While Rex Burkhead is definitely the team leader on offense coming into 2012, Tim Beck's offense still rises and falls with the performance of Martinez.

During his freshman and sophomore seasons, Martinez had no real competition for the starting position. In 2009, the coaching staff clearly didn't have enough faith in Cody Green to hand him the keys to Nebraska's offense.

Want proof? Take a look at the number of snaps Green got in the Big XII title game, even when Martinez clearly was not healthy and not ready for the bright lights of the moment.

2010 wasn't much different, with Brion "Significant Gap" Carnes offering no threat to unseat Martinez. And while his efficiency did improve, Martinez ultimately reverted to form in Nebraska's losses, particularly against Wisconsin and Michigan.

Competition makes everyone better. A strong, competitive quarterback race from Carnes or incoming freshman Tommy Armstrong would either make Martinez a better competitor or have him yield the position to someone who will play it better than him.

Don't look for Martinez to lose his job—he is the incumbent, knows the offense, and is still a remarkable talent and potentially a lethal offensive weapon. But if you see evidence of a legitimate competitor for the quarterback spot, you'll know things are going well this spring.

2. Who besides Rex Burkhead will run the ball?

Everyone loves Superman. Burkhead was a real revelation as 2011 wore on, amazing fans both with his elusiveness and his power. But he also became, well, THE offense. And as the season wore on, Burkhead's performance began to slip.

Last year, Nebraska had three talented freshman running backs who got sparing time behind Burkhead. This year, one of those backs (Braylon Heard) moved to the secondary. But Nebraska is also bringing in two power backs in Mike Marrow and Imani Cross.

If, in the course of the spring, you hear more about running backs not named Rex Burkhead excelling, you'll have more reason to feel confident about Nebraska's offense in 2012.

3. Will the Class of 2011 begin to bear fruit on the offensive line?

Nebraska pulled in a sizable (in both senses of the word) haul in its 2011 recruiting class on the offensive line.

Not surprisingly, most of that talent saw the weight room rather than the field in 2011. But with a year in the strength program and being in year two of Tim Beck's offense, it would be a very encouraging sign to see that young talent on the offensive line begin to assert itself.

The more you hear about names like Tyler Moore, Ryan Klatchko, Ryne Reeves, Zach Sterup and Givens Price, the better you should feel about Nebraska's prospects on offense for 2012