Nebraska Football: 5 Post-Spring Questions Facing the Cornhuskers

Nebraska returns eight starters on both sides of the ball and that likely made it a much easier decision to cancel the spring game due to severe weather. While most teams said goodbye to the spring with a spring game, the Cornhuskers just participated in practices and won't hit the field again until August.

Spring provides a chance for teams to answer questions and to feel better about themselves heading into fall camp. But not every question can be answered in the short amount of time given, especially when you don't have a spring game to take advantage of.

Here are five questions that the Cornhuskers still have to address in the fall.

How Will the Secondary Shape Up?

Nebraska lost a couple of key members in the secondary, and as of right now, there is only one starter that we know for sure will be there in September. That of course is senior strong safety Daimion Stafford, who finished last season with 80 tackles and 10 passes broken up. As for everybody else, well, the Cornhuskers have a bunch of guys to choose from.

"

"Daimion Stafford's made a significant jump," Defensive coordinator John Papuchis said."Ciante Evans is doing some good things. Antonio Bell. P.J. Smith. Andrew Green. That first group of secondary guys have made a pretty dramatic jump, in my opinion. And Harvey Jackson's done a nice job in the dime and also at safety.

"

If I were a betting man, you'd have to think Stafford, Smith, Green and Bell would be the starting secondary, but players like Braylon Heard, Mo Seisay, Corey Cooper and Stanley Jean-Baptiste are making a strong push for playing time as well. This is a unit that will take a while to be determined with all of this talent.

Is Brion Carnes a Reliable Backup?

We all know that Taylor Martinez is the starter of this football team, but with his inability to play consistently, the Cornhuskers need someone on the sidelines they can rely on. It also doesn't help with the style of play Martinez plays; he's really only a good lick away from Nebraska needing a plan B.

Carnes is only a sophomore and threw two passes last season, but was given several reps throughout the spring and has really earned the confidence of the coaches.

"We have a lot more confidence in Brion than people think," head coach Bo Pelini said according to Husker Extra. "I sometimes get the feeling that people think we don't have confidence in him. That isn't the case."

Carnes is a former 3-Star recruit who is similar to Martinez with his dual-threat abilities. He also has a very strong arm and has been putting in extra work throughout the spring to improve his game. It'll be nice to see more of him in the fall to gauge just how good he is and if he'll be able to eventually replace Martinez in a year or two.

Has Taylor Martinez Improved?

Since the jury is still out on Brion Carnes, we have to turn our attention to Taylor Martinez.

I have no idea if Martinez has improved as a quarterback because there's no spring game to judge him off of. I do know that he must improve his completion percentage as it was below 60  for the second year in a row.

Martinez is a fabulous athlete and great at running the football, but Nebraska can't take that next step if their passing game is ranked 104th in the country. Martinez must improve his completion percentage, make more plays with his arm and improve his touchdown to interception numbers (23 touchdowns against 15 interceptions in two seasons).

How Will the Defense Respond?

Nebraska returns a majority of their starters on defense, but they will have a new defensive coordinator in John Papuchis who replaced Carl Pelini after he departed for FAU. Papuchis has instantly become the youngest defensive coordinator in the Big Ten and it'll be interesting to see how the players respond to the energetic coach.

He's been on the Nebraska staff since 2008 and worked with the defensive ends and special teams before replacing Pelini. The defensive schemes should remain the same for the most part, but with a new guy calling the shots, it will be something to keep an eye on as the Cornhuskers inch closer to the regular season.

Leaders on the Defense?

Speaking of defense, it's very important that Nebraska discovers a few leaders on that side of the ball. Sure, there's talent and the Cornhuskers return a majority of their players from last season, but the few that departed were the leaders of this unit. (i.e. Lavonte David and Alfonzo Dennard).

This defense is made up of mostly talented upperclassmen and a few of them will have to elevate their game and become the voice of the unit if they want to take that next step.