Nebraska Football: Projecting Who Will Win the Open Starting Positions

Nebraska Cornhuskers football fans have been looking at the roster, seeing who graduated and thinking about who might step in and be a new starter in 2015. With new head coach Mike Riley in the mix, it’s even harder to guess where players might slot in under a new system with a new set of coaches doing the evaluations.

Of course, with a new coaching staff, most positions are up for grabs. But for the purposes of this exercise, we will work off the Holiday Bowl depth chart to determine which positions are open. With that understanding, let’s take a look at the roster.

Offensive Line

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Open positions: Left guard, right guard

Center and right tackle are positions that may shift during the course of fall camp, but for the purposes of this exercise, the only open positions are at guard, with the graduations of Jake Cotton and Mike Moudy.

Chongo Kondolo saw playing time last season and, given that experience, looks likely to be the first man up in 2015. Given that guard is an easier position for a young player to step into, it would not be a surprise to see one of last year’s offensive line recruits step in and win a starting position. Given that Tanner Farmer was the highest rated of those prospects, according to 247Sports, he gets the nod for now.

Projected starters: Chongo Kondolo, Tanner Farmer

Backfield

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Open position: I-back

Ameer Abdullah’s departure leaves a huge hole to fill at I-back. Nebraska has at least four I-backs with the potential to step in and start, although it seems likely that none will have the same kind of workload that Abdullah did.

At this point, it’s hard to handicap the I-back race. But given how the backs were used in the spring game, Terrell Newby (53 yards on seven carries) should be the leader in the clubhouse to win the starting job. Newby has game-breaking speed and has shown an ability to run between the tackles. Between those skills and Newby’s game experience, he’s the most likely starter at this point.

Projected starter: Terrell Newby

Receivers

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Open position: X receiver

Kenny Bell’s graduation opens up one receiver spot for Nebraska next year. And while Nebraska has a number of talented receivers, Jamal Turner is uniquely qualified to slide into a starting role. Turner received a sixth year of eligibility after a ruptured Achilles robbed him of most of the 2014 season. With his ability (as evidence from his 4-star prospect status, according to 247 Sports) and experience—assuming he has fully healed—Turner is a natural selection for a starting wideout spot.

Projected starter: Jamal Turner

Defensive Line

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Open position: Defensive end

Nebraska’s interior defensive line is set with Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine. Greg McMullen should hold down one defensive end position, leaving the other—the one that Randy Gregory has vacated—left to fill.

Jack Gangwish ended the season as Gregory’s backup and performed well. Everything behind Gangwish is unproven talent. Joe Keels and A.J. Natter have been on the roster for years without making an impact, Mick Stoltenberg has yet to have an opportunity to prove himself, and Freedom Akinmoladun is still learning a new position after switching from tight end. As a result, almost by default Gangwish looks to be the natural replacement for Gregory.

Projected starter: Jack Gangwish

Linebackers

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Open positions: "Mike" and "Will" linebackers

Linebacker is Nebraska’s shallowest position, with only five scholarship players from last season returning in 2015. Much has been written about how Josh Banderas is thriving in Riley’s new system, including this article by Brian Rosenthal of the Lincoln Journal Star, and it seems likely that he will return to the middle linebacker role the team used him in as a freshman.

At weak-side linebacker, Michael Rose-Ivey seems to be the most likely starter. Returning from a knee injury that cost him all of 2014, Rose-Ivey will look to recapture the form that had him as a fixture in the starting lineup a year earlier. While Banderas should reclaim the middle linebacker position, Rose-Ivey makes a lot of sense slotting in at weak-side linebacker.

Projected starters: Josh Banderas, Michael Rose-Ivey

Secondary

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Open positions: Cornerback, safety

Nebraska has one player returning at corner (Daniel Davie) and one player returning at safety (Nate Gerry), so it has one other spot to fill at each position in 2015. Safety looks to be the easier race to handicap, with LeRoy Alexander returning from a one-year suspension. Alexander was a contender to win one of the starting roles last season, and he should start fall camp with a leg up on his competition in 2015.

Cornerback is a muddier picture, with a number of players competing for the role. While any number of players could ultimately win the position, the smart money at this point might be on Josh Kalu. As a true freshman, Kalu fought his way onto the field and showed leadership with his opportunities. His fourth-quarter interception of Miami's Brad Kaaya helped seal Nebraska's win and showed his ability to shine in the clutch even as a true freshman. While it’s a crowded field, seeing Kalu win a starting role would not be a shock.

Projected starters: LeRoy Alexander, Josh Kalu

This column first appeared at the Double Extra Point, which you can follow on Twitter @DblExtraPoint.