College Football 2011: How Will Nebraska Huskers Replace 7 Drafted Players?
The NFL draft was a proud time for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as they had seven of their players drafted to play pro football.
While having that many players drafted is a positive statement about the state of the Huskers' program last year, it also leaves some rather large holes for the upcoming season. Some of those former Huskers will be easier to replace than others, but make no mistake—in every situation, someone is going to need to step up.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the players who will have an opportunity to fill the shoes of the former Huskers who have gone off to play pro football.
Defensive Backs
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The Huskers suffered their biggest losses in the defensive backfield. First-round pick Prince Amukamara is the most obvious and talented of the players Nebraska has to replace, but having to fill the holes left by Dejon Gomes and Eric Hagg will not be easy either.
Amukamara will be replaced by Alfonzo Dennard as the team's primary shutdown corner. Dennard was named a first-team all-conference pick by ESPN.com and Rivals.com, so he has the talent to take on the opposing team's top receiver.
After having such a successful season, Dennard even considered leaving early for the draft. Husker fans should be extremely grateful that he brought his talents back to Lincoln for one more season.
Starting opposite of Dennard will likely be rising sophomore Ciante Evans. Evans replaced Alfonzo Dennard early in the Missouri game and for all of the Iowa State contest last season after Dennard got hurt. In 2011, Evans will be taking over full-time the position that Dennard held down last season.
At the safety spots, Austin Cassidy should still be manning the free safety position, while Courtney Osborne will probably take over the spot left behind by Dejon Gomes. Osborne saw significant playing time in the last half of the 2010 season and should have enough experience to make his transition to full-time starter much smoother.
Perhaps the most interesting situation in Nebraska's secondary revolves around the position Eric Hagg will be vacating, which was a hybrid safety role. The Huskers often went to five or even six defensive backs for long stretches during last season in order to defend the spread offenses they saw almost every week.
Since the offenses in the Big Ten are much more traditional and often power-based, the hybrid role that Hagg played may all but disappear and be replaced by a more traditional linebacker position.
Running Back
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The running back position seems like it should be the easiest hole to fill since Rex Burkhead has already spent a couple of years getting a decent number of touches out of the backfield. Burkhead almost eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last season, finishing with 951.
However, this position is also a place where the Huskers will miss their returning starter more than people realize.
If you read any of my articles leading up to the draft, it was probably quite apparent that I am a big fan of what Roy Helu brings to the football field. I am not entirely sure that Husker fans realize just how good he has been for them the last couple of years.
It will be interesting to see how Burkhead handles going from Helu's backup to being the featured back. There is a different dynamic from being a change-of-pace back to having to get it done every single down.
Other running backs that you can also look to contribute next season are true freshmen Aaron Green and Ameer Abdullah. Green was one of the top running backs in the nation coming out of high school and should begin pushing for more touches as he adjusts to the college game. Abdullah is a versatile back who is extremely dangerous in space, and while he may not get a ton of touches, he will force the coaching staff to find creative ways to get him the rock.
It has also been reported that Braylon Heard has finally become eligible to enroll at Nebraska. While I hope this is true (sounds like he has worked his tail off to get it done), I will believe it when he marches onto that practice field when fall camp starts. That's why he was not included in the backfield solutions for next season.
Wide Receiver
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There are a lot of folks around Lincoln that are not going to miss Niles Paul. Still, he was a starter for almost two-and-a-half years and had explosive ability on kickoffs that is not going to be easy to replace. Brandon Kinnie will take over as Nebraska's go-to receiver and is more than ready to do so.
Kinnie led the team in receptions last year and was second in yards and touchdown receptions, so he has been productive enough to make his coaches believe he is ready to be the No. 1 receiver in the offense. Some would argue that he should have been or maybe that he even was the first option at times late last year, and it would be difficult to disagree with that assessment.
The real question comes in who will step up to take over Kinnie's old role as the second receiver. Since there is no other receiver on the depth chart that has any experience to speak of, this is kind of a wide-open race.
Some people believe Kenny Bell, a redshirt freshman from Colorado, could be a factor in the receiving game. However, I believe that Jamal Turner will end up starting opposite Brandon Kinnie.
Turner came to Nebraska as a quarterback and enrolled early to get a leg up on learning the offense and adjusting to college football. Turner ended up getting a head start, but not as a quarterback. He was switched to receiver and made waves at that position in the spring.
Turner's performance in the spring game showed the explosiveness that the Husker passing game has been missing. I believe because Jamal Turner brings this element to the table, he will be the starter at wide receiver in the fall.
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Offensive Line
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The Huskers lost only one offensive lineman to the NFL in Keith Williams; however they lost two more to the UFL (Ricky Henry and D.J. Jones). Say what you will about the talent level in the UFL, but no matter how you look at it, replacing three starters along the offensive line is never a task that coaches look forward to.
Considering that the health of quarterback Taylor Martinez will be a large factor in the overall success of the season, how the replacements for those three offensive linemen perform could very well dictate the Huskers' fate this year.
Returning along the offensive line will be center Mike Caputo and left tackle Jeremiah Sirles. Both started every game last season and will be vital parts in trying to ensure that Martinez does not get injured this year.
There are several players who will be candidates to replace their departed teammates. At the guard spots, look for Andrew Rodriguez and Brent Qvale to possibly start next season. Both appeared as backups at the guard spots last season, with Qvale seeing action in every game.
At right tackle, the battle appears to be between Marcel Jones and Jermarcus "Yoshi" Hardrick. Jones has had issues with injuries that have limited his playing time the last couple of seasons. Hardrick appeared in every game last year for Nebraska, rotating with Sirles at left tackle. Since Hardrick and Jones are both seniors, there is the possibility that they, along with Sirles, will be three tackles competing for two jobs, even though Sirles started all 14 games in 2010.
If I had to make a prediction, I believe the offensive line next season will consist of Sirles, Qvale, Caputo, Rodriguez and Hardrick. However, the only one of those that I would be utterly shocked if he did not start is Caputo.
Kicker
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The most difficult player for the Huskers to replace might be kicker Alex Henery. Over the course of the last couple years, when the offense was struggling mightily to put points on the board, there were times when Henery seemed like the team's only hope to actually score.
Henery was more or less automatic on any field goal attempt inside 50 yards, and even on ones longer than that, Husker fans still felt pretty good about his chances to knock it through. A kicker who is that reliable is extremely rare for the NFL, much less in college (just ask Florida State fans), so needless to say, his replacement has essentially no shot of completely filling those shoes.
Realistically, Nebraska should be happy if it can find a kicker who even adequately fills those shoes. If the Huskers can find a guy who can make the easy ones and get lucky on a few of the tough ones, they will probably be content.
The kicking responsibilities will likely fall on either junior Brett Maher (who will likely take over the punting duties) or incoming freshman Mauro Bondi. Unless you have a guy like Henery, placekicking jobs usually go to whichever candidate is hot at the time, or whichever one is the most mentally stable.
Therefore, handicapping this race is essentially pointless. Just remember, neither one will be as good as Henery, so give them some slack when they miss their first 50-yarder.
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