Husker in WI

For a couple days Sam Hoskinson (legacy walk-on Center who was still listed at 240 lbs a few years into the program) was listed at RB, but clearly that didn't work out because he's no longer on the roster today. Might have just been a mistake as well. But I imagine Ruth is the favorite to win the FB job (probably some competition from whichever walk-on LBs don't cut it there), but I expect to see way more looks with an H-Back than a true FB. Satterfield loves his TEs, so we'll see some of them in the backfield and Bonner seems to be the best fit for that.

I don't hate it - shouldn't have to handle as many one on one deep shots where the height is a real problem. He seems like a willing tackler, I guess we'll see about how effective he can be. But I like him on the field, some guys just make plays and he is one of them.

Rhule did mention they're not afraid to let guys work at 2 spots while they figure out where they fit best, that's my guess here. Or he went DL, and in practice 1 it was clear that wasn't going to work and he's back at TE.

I'm hoping for an OL, single digit DL has been done. But Teddy wearing 0? Sign me up!

I really wish we had the 4-game redshirt rule and could've pulled out some unexpected T-Magic option game in the Big 12 championship game. I don't think he was ready early in the year (and maybe wouldn't have been against Texas), but we just needed one explosive play. And yeah, the timing of the good offenses and great defenses just didn't quite match up.

There are a few players who will have to weigh signing with a USFL team versus being a late round NFL pick (which is no guarantee of making the roster), but he's not one of them. He'd be a UDFA somewhere and probably stashed on the practice squad for a year or two, but he'll have a shot to actually play in the USFL so this is ideal for him.

Mike Riley's team, coincidentally.

Smothers is a good athlete, I don't think he's a great athlete though. And this staff definitely emphasizes athleticism at the skill positions.

Ah my bad, definitely meant Michigan. And right, he was not lighting it up by any means. But he looked lost in his early action (that was Minnesota), and he was showing some emotion and actually making a few things happen against Michigan. I won't lose any sleep if he moves on, but it at least gave me some hope he could figure things out after a brutal game previously.

I feel like Purdy was just starting to show something against Minnesota, but then he got hurt. But we'll definitely see a QB or two transfer after spring once they get a sense of where they stand.

My bad about the redshirts, I was skimming. I like the 4 game rule, injuries have always had the potential to ruin redshirt plans and at least now coaches can try and have some wiggle room. Requires some strategy (early games are easier competition, but players have a better understanding late in the year, gotta have enough players available for injuries) and the downside is something that could always happen - a year of eligibility burned without a ton of experience gained. He's going to be under the microscope with intense pressure anywhere, and sure our fans want the team to be winning championships. But we can't pretend the expectations are in the same ballpark right now. Depending a bit on what happens this year, if he comes in and wins 9 games here we're anointing him the next Heisman winner and preparing to put him on our Mt. Rushmore. We did that with Martinez when he won 4 games. He wins 9 games at Georgia they're hoping he transfers out.

He is unlikely to play 4 full years of college football at his initial destination anyway, let alone redshirt one and then play 4 more. As a highly touted QB he will either be good enough to leave after 3 years, or more than likely will transfer if he's not playing at that level. You play him as soon as they're the best options. For top end QBs the redshirt is just a tool to preserve a year if you know you'll transfer. The bar is just a lot lower here. He'd be following Caleb Williams at USC, and (not directly) Stetson Bennett at Georgia. He could be very good and still not live up to those expectations - particularly with Georgia, if the defense ever takes a step back even someone playing as well as Bennett will be perceived as worse than him. Again I seriously doubt the fanbase's expectations of him factor into his decision - just pointing out our fanbase will absolutely be more forgiving of some early mistakes than Georgia/USC.

That just comes with being the #1 overall recruit - no matter where he goes, the expectations will be unfair. It won't factor into his decision, but if it did our expectations for QB play are way lower than USC or Georgia.

He should have been a punter so I could say DePooter de Punter.

I'm sure they would be in favor of firing him, but most of the fans are willing to follow Kirk wherever he leads at this point. They're not losing sleep over staff decisions, even if they know they could be better with a real OC.

One nugget on Gilbert today - he didn't say it in a totally negative way (says he runs like he's 230), but Rhule said Gilbert is probably in the 280-285lb range currently. He's got some physical work to do too .

The mental side is the question though, they're not going to throw him out there if he's not in a good place. I love recruiting rankings, but Tyreke Johnson was in his ballpark and does not appear to be poised to contribute. I love the addition but I fully expect Kemp to see more offensive snaps than Gilbert. Fleeks seems like a culture guy who could be more if he can put injuries behind him, Kemp is a solid, proven receiver. Gilbert could be a game changer, but having no insight into his personal situation it's tough to expect major contributions given his career arc so far.

I admire the optimism, and I think a fair amount of these transfers/under the radar recruits will work out. But nobody bats 1.000 on anything, several of these guys won't contribute on the field as much as we hope. It's reasonable to assume the guys who haven't contributed recently or at all at their previous stops are long shots here too. I hope they do put it together, but not all of them will unfortunately.

I imagine the collectives are not interested in signing players who aren't enrolled, especially after the Florida debacle. So I think it's a pretty safe assumption, but not a guarantee.

Right, but those are all guys who have already walked on. Nobody is recruiting 4-stars and stashing them as walk-ons with above-market NIL deals or anything. This can keep walk-ons from leaving, but how many of them would have been put on scholarship anyway - 2? 3?

I know that's been talked about a lot, but has there been one example yet of a player worthy of a scholarship at any school taking NIL money instead? I don't think that's actually going to happen, they want the scholarship because the NIL money is less than the headlines say and walking on ain't cheap.

Two things - (1) it could very well be guys are already planning to move on and he's filling a spot that will be vacated no matter what. And (2) even if he's not better now, the questions is will his 4-5 years be better than the 1-3 remaining for certain guys on the roster. There are guys who have been here a while and they might be role players in their remaining time. Makes a lot of sense on both sides for them to go somewhere they can play more, and the team can bring in a guy who has more time to develop and see what happens.

And I imagine the players that will be encouraged to move on are already aware - some may want the chance to prove themselves in spring ball, and many can use the spring semester to put themselves in a better position academically to transfer. There was less roster turnover right away than I expected, but that just means more of it will happen during the spring.

Nothing says "money wasn't a factor" like a Gucci shirt and personalized diamond bling. I do actually believe them though, as the mom pointed out (in different words) any of the schools he was looking at would be willing to pay up. I doubt Colorado was offering more $, just a comparable offer and you get to play for an iconic DB. Could probably learn more public speaking skills from Deion than DB skills, but also he's 17/18 so I'll cut him some slack there.