Nebraska Football: 2009 Player and Position Outlook

The 2008 season ended in a Jan. 1 Gator Bowl victory over Clemson, and thus the expectations in Husker-land for the 2009 season are pretty high. 

However, some of the die hard Huskers may want to curb their enthusiasm a bit so they won't be disappointed at the end of the year.

While the defense made some significant strides last year, there are a number of question marks coming into the 2009 season.  The biggest question starts at Quarterback.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK:  Last year the Huskers were set with an unquestioned No. 1 guy coming into the season. Starting the final three games of the 2007 season, Joe Ganz was entrenched as the starter and had some gaudy statistics associated with him:  1,435 yards passing in only six appearances with 16 TD passes. 

His 510 yards passing with seven TD's in a win over Kansas State shattered the previous school record of 438 yards set by previous starter Sam Keller in the same year.  Not only that, but Ganz held three of the top five games in passing yards in Nebraska history in his only three starts as a Husker. 

Needless to say, the job was his come August of last year.

In 2009, a QB battle was expected to be waged well into Fall camp. However, the surprise departure of Patrick Witt has squarely put the No. 1 job on the shoulders of Junior College transfer Zac Lee. 

Although very talented, Mr. Lee has only attempted two collegiate passes in his brief playing time he has seen at Nebraska. Throw in an ACL injury to the expected No. 2 in Kody Spano and the Huskers are merely a play away from a converted LB in LaTravis Washington or a true freshman in Cody Green taking over the helm under center. 

That is a scary proposition any way that you look at it. 

Without a doubt, the QB position will be the most watched and scrutinized position amongst the coaches and fans during the 2009 season. Shawn Watson has his hands full in trying to take as much pressure off of Zac Lee in order to get him up to speed before a Week Three trip to Blacksburg, VA. 

RUNNING BACK: This will be one of the Huskers strengths coming into the 2009 season.  Due to a number of nagging injuries and lack of overall production from the incumbent starter Marlon Lucky; Roy Helu was given a number of opportunities to strut his stuff last year. 

He didn't disappoint.

Neither did third stringer Quentin Castille.  Now, they are both back for the 2009 season and will form one of the Nations best 1-2 RB combinations. Coming off of a season in which they combined for nearly 1,350 yards the Husker backfield is set.  Toss in the the surprising emergence of Lester Ward this spring and the Huskers are deep and talented.

WIDE RECEIVER: Arguably the second biggest battle coming into the 2009 season is at Wide Receiver. Gone are the sure-handed and steady producing combination of Nate Swift and Todd Peterson. Nebraska's top two WR's from last year combined for 1,727 yards and 14 TD's. 

Their expected replacements are Senior wide-out Menelik Holt and Junior Niles Paul.  Both of these WR prospects had high expectations ever since their commitment to play for the Cornhuskers. Suffice it to say, neither has produced much of any results since arriving on campus in Lincoln, NE. 

The move of Marcus Mendoza to this position has also provided another option to this crowded and highly competitive battle. 

This coming season Holt and Paul will get every opportunity available to produce the results many fans have expected. If they don't, there are plenty of other options waiting in the wings. One of the most heated battles this spring has been waged on the fields in Lincoln at wideout. 

WR's coach Ron Brown and OC Shawn Watson have been raving about the competition that has come about at this position. Freshman Antonio Bell is turning heads with his speed and unexpected maturity in his route running skills. 

Junior Will Henry has made significant strides in his development, and Sophomore Curenski Gilleylen is starting to show significant improvement in his consistency while offering the Huskers a true home-run threat at the WR position.

As it stands, nothing has been truly settled at this position and there are six WR's that will likely receive significant playing time next year.

When all is said and done, this position will need to step up big time to aid in the development of QB Zac Lee. When it really gets down to it, the true overall success of the Huskers may well lie in the hands of this very inexperienced but very talented group of players. 

TIGHT END: This should be one of the Huskers other strengths on offense. We should see a rather significant increase in reliance upon this position to produce results in the 2009 season.

The top two pass-catching TE's are returning to the Huskers in 2009 in Mike McNeil and Dreu Young. Look for Watson to get these guys involved in the Husker offense much more in 2009. 

Don't be surprised to so see the combined 41 catches from last year offered by these guys to double up in 2009. I would also look for Mike McNeil to be challenging for second team All-Big 12 honors. Not bad when you consider Jermaine Gresham will still be roaming around campus for the Oklahoma Sooners.   

OFFENSIVE LINE: There may not be a more important position that will need to produce results in 2009 for the Huskers than the Offensive Line.  The departures of solid starters in Lydon Murtha and Matt Slauson will be tough to overcome. 

Throw in the mounting health programs of highly recruited Jaivorio Burkes and the Huskers are looking at making some moves in the OL in order to get their best five players on the field. 

Namely, returning starter Jacob Hickman from Center to Right Guard.  The emergence of former walk-on Mike Caputo at Center has allowed for OL coach Barney Cotton to start trying some different lineups this spring. 

Other important guys in the OL puzzle will be Keith Williams, Marcel Jones, and Mike Smith.  The coaches are still waiting for the development of Ricky Henry and DJ Jones to become more solid producers. 

The picture of the starting five in this rotation is still a bit foggy, and we will likely see this battle be waged down to the wire before the first game of the season kicks off against Florida Atlantic.

Either way, Husker fans should keep a watchful eye on the developments of this race.  Keeping Lee vertical and unscathed is priority No. 1 for 2009.  That job lies squarely on the shoulders of an OL that needs to be more consistent and more aggressive than they were in 2008. 

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE:  Most Husker fans and publications are going to list this as the Huskers' No. 1 strength coming into the '09 season. Let's just say I have some guarded optimism about this unit heading into this years games.

No doubt two-year returning starter Ndamukong Suh is the unquestioned leader of this unit.  A likely first round selection in next year's 2010 NFL draft will demand constant double-team attention. 

This should open up opportunities for other guys to be  successful. Then again, the loss of DE Zach Potter and DT Ty Steinkuhler may be far more of a loss than many people think.

The 6'7" Potter was a very under appreciated and underrated player during the '08 season. His constant existence in teams backfields coupled with a number of tipped passes was largely overlooked by many fans. 

At DT, Ty Steinkuhler quietly had a solid year. While Suh led the team in Tackles, Sacks, and Tackles For Loss; Steinkuhler ended up as the sixth leading tackler on the team.  Couple that with Potters seventh in tackles, second in Sacks and TFL's, and these two guys will be much tougher to replace than anyone believes.

On a good note, former Freshman All-American Barry Turner will be returning at DE.  He should line up opposite of Pierre Allen who emerged last year after Turner went down with a season ending injury in the Huskers second game last year. This should allow for the Huskers to have a solid one-two punch at DE. 

However, any player returning from an injury is always a dicey proposition.  Husker fans can only hope that Turner returns as a big time factor for the Huskers up front.

The real question is who will line up opposite of Suh at DT. Sophomore Jared Crick is the likely choice, but most fans will be pushing to see the emergence of former five-star local recruit Baker Steinkuhler to emerge for the Huskers in '09. 

Either way, this position is far from being decided and if Suh is to keep from getting doubled and even triple-teamed someone needs to step up big at this position in order for the front four to be as productive as they were in '08.

LINEBACKER: There is little doubt that one of the Huskers weaknesses in '08 was it's LB crew.  When a RB that was converted over to LB in last year's Spring camp is your best player at the position, that is pretty much all you need to know. Outside of Cody Glenn, a LB did not rank in the top 9 for tackles on the Huskers defense last year. 

2009, and Cody Glenn is gone. Last year's 10th leading tackler, Phillip Dillard, is back in the coaches doghouse as he has yet again come into spring over weight and lacking any drive or fire to compete.

As it stands right now walk-ons Colton Koehler and Matt May will be two of the three starting LB's if the season started today. I don't expect that to hold true. 

Look for stud recruit Will Compton to keep improving and likely earn a starting shot before the Huskers first game. We should also look for Blake Lawrence, Dillard, Alonzo Whaley, and Sean Fisher to all make pushes for starting positions as well.

When all is said and done regardless of who ends up on the field for the Huskers at LB in '09, they will likely be vastly improved over the extremely young and unproductive group from last year.  We should see some of the biggest improvements on the entire Husker team coming from this position.

CORNERBACK: The 2008 season was pretty much a disaster at the CB position. While the Huskers overall defensive statistics improved from the dreaded '07 season, the CB position was still giving up big play after big play in '08. 

Expect this position to see dramatic improvement this year as well. 

Although Armando Murillo is lost from the secondary, everybody else of note is returning including Anthony Blue from a season ending ACL tear incurred last year before the season started.  Prior to blowing out his knew, Blue was looking to be the best lock-down CB in the Husker defensive backfield last year.

JUCO transfer Dejon Gomes has immediately impressed coaches with his speed and athleticism. Junior Prince Amukumara is showing a ton of progress this year. DB coach Mike Ekeler is extremely excited about this bunch that the Huskers have returning.  Other notable players include the athletic Alfonzo Dennard and Anthony West.

Expect West and Blue to provide a solid one-two tandem and with the added depth of Gomes, Dennard, and Prince the Huskers are very well set to see an incredible amount of improvement out of this unit. 

SAFETY: The emergence of solid play at CB has allowed the Huskers to move Eric Hagg back to his normal Safety position. This helps tremendously in providing some much needed depth at this critical position.

One of the best players on the team will return at SS in Larry Asante. Expect Larry to be challenging for All-Big 12 honors in 2009. Alongside him is what most Husker fans hope will be Rickey Thenarse.

The highly recruited Thenarse has had a so-so career at Nebraska up to this point. His lack of consistency has not only frustrated coaches but fans alike. However, his late season development was encouraging and the coaches are looking for big things out of this hard hitting and emotional player. 

If Thenarse can continue to improve, one of the Huskers weaknesses in '08 could very well become one of its overall strengths. Look for the Huskers to field one of the best safety tandems in the Big 12 with Asante and/or Thenarse/Hagg.

Walk-on Matt O'Hanlon is still challenging for a starting spot and redshirt freshman PJ Smith is making some serious noise in spring camp. I wouldn't be completely shocked if Smith was getting some serious playing time before the season is over.

PUNTER/KICKER:  One of the more overlooked positions this year is Punter. Gone is the steady Dan Titchener. Ready to replace him is...? Yes, that is correct. The Huskers don't have a true punter to fill the departure of Dan Titchener. 

Likely, these duties are going to come down to former walk-ons Brett Maher or Jonathan Damkroger. Either way, the Huskers do not have a scholarship Kicker or Punter on the entire roster. The 85 scholarship limit has made this an all the more happening occurrence across the entire country. 

Unfortunately, the Huskers have been kind of caught with their pants down on this one.  A solid punter must be identified.  We have heard little word out of camp on this one, and will need to look at today's Spring game to see exactly where this one is at. 

If this position isn't clearly defined by the end of fall camp, it could turn into a big problem for the Huskers during the season. Struggles in the kicking game can quickly turn into disastrous TD's given up in embarrassing fashion (especially against Virginia Tech). 

They are also game-changing plays that can have a significant impact on a number of games if it becomes a big weakness.

SUMMATION: The Huskers are looking to have much better overall depth in 2009. The concentration of red shirting virtually every freshman scholarship player last year will start to provide some benefits in '09. The real story will likely come down to the play on the OL and DL. 

Just like it is with virtually every team across the country, but more so for the Huskers. 

The defense could be very good to maybe even great. There is enough talent for it to happen since there are studs in place at every level (DL, LB, CB, S). 

Offensively, the Huskers are going to need to be able to line the ball up and run it at people. That is something that they have been unable to do for quite some time.  If Helu and Castille can't combine for over 1,700 yards rushing, the Huskers may sputter quite a bit offensively. 

Especially with a green QB and some green WR's. Holt and Paul need to step up big time at receiver, and the OL will need to be dominant at times. 

The Husker faithful are in good spirits after the improvement seen in 2008.  However, expectations may be a bit skewed.  Many people are calling for a 10 or 11 win season this year.

That might be a bit far-fetched when you look at some key problems that must be addressed on the previously mentioned Offensive and Defensive Lines.  The breaking in of a completely new QB and WR corps could also prove to be quite painful.

Throw in games @ Virginia Tech, vs. Oklahoma, @ Missouri, @ Baylor, @ Kansas, @ Colorado, and vs. Texas Tech and the Huskers may be better than last year but actually see a drop in its season win total.  A 3-4 or 4-3 record in these contests would be acceptable given the concerns entering the season.  Anything better than that would be gravy.

Overall, I look for the Huskers to end up somewhere around 8-4 or 9-3, and with a foundation set for bigger and better things in 2010.