2016 Season Set Up To Be Big

[Kiyoat Husker]

 

Hi guys, first time poster here but wanted to chime in on the potential for this team as it relates to the 2016 season:

 

I really think next year has all the makings of a breakout year. Tommy, despite the one play at Illinois, clearly has progressed as a passer and decision maker this season. A lot of the 50/50 type balls that you would have seen in the past are no longer being thrown. Running a multitude of screens and timing routes will help Armstrong develop even more next season, including another offseason with Langsdorf. I think it is extremely reasonable to expect Tommy to be around 63-65% completion percentage as a Senior next season, who would've thunk that after the 2014 season?

 

Not only will Armstrong be better, but you're bringing back every play-maker on offense sans Jamal Turner. I would expect for Ozigbo, Wilbon, and Stevenson to make jumps as RB's both running and catching the ball. WR's will still be led by Westerkamp, DPE, Morgan, Reilly, and then add in guys like Alston, and we will more than likely see Grimm on the field as a freshman. This is some of the best overall talent we've had on offense in a long long time.

 

Looking to the defensive side of the ball, Who do we lose that we will really miss? The biggest challenge Riley faces in his first full season is convincing Maleik Collins that he should stay for his Senior season, something that I think we may actually see as he becomes an even more complete player than he currently is. Watching Kevin Maurice last week really excited me to see what he can do as a Senior and we will need to see some growth from guys like Stoltenberg, Davis, etc. Freedom looks like a player that has an extremely bright future and I really think that you'll see an emphasis to move McMullen inside full time after this season.

 

There isn't a Sr. Linebacker on the entire roster, and we start a true freshman in Dedrick Young. These guys could go from being a question mark before this 2015 season to the strongest point of the defense in 2016.

 

It really comes down to the secondary to how the Huskers will fare in 2016 in my opinion. Bringing Gerry back obviously helps but we lose both Davie and Rose this offseason. Will Kalu be the #1 corner? Will we see guys like Mosley, Lee, or Anderson step up and have a large role on the team next year?

 

Specialists look to remain strong as well. Foltz will be a senior (and fully healthy, something he isn't right now) DPE will be fully acclimated and healthy again, and Drew Brown will be an upper classman.

 

 

If you look at that roster from top to bottom, it is really set up for a big year next year. Suffering through these learning curves and setbacks now helps bring a team closer together and should motivate them to be great during the offseason. The non -conference schedule next year looks to be much more manageable, as even Oregon doesn't look to be as daunting as we maybe thought when we scheduled them. I was livid after the Illinois game like everyone else but lets have some patience with this new staff. Adjusting from Oregon State to Nebraska is a completely different ball game, especially when the personnel in place isn't meant for what the coaches want to do. I think we could be in store for some big things next season in a division that should be fairly wide open. Let's finish 2015 strong and ride a wave of momentum into 2016, GBR!

 

 

 

Hi guys, first time poster here but wanted to chime in on the potential for this team as it relates to the 2016 season:

 

I really think next year has all the makings of a breakout year. Tommy, despite the one play at Illinois, clearly has progressed as a passer and decision maker this season. A lot of the 50/50 type balls that you would have seen in the past are no longer being thrown. Running a multitude of screens and timing routes will help Armstrong develop even more next season, including another offseason with Langsdorf. I think it is extremely reasonable to expect Tommy to be around 63-65% completion percentage as a Senior next season, who would've thunk that after the 2014 season?

 

Not only will Armstrong be better, but you're bringing back every play-maker on offense sans Jamal Turner. I would expect for Ozigbo, Wilbon, and Stevenson to make jumps as RB's both running and catching the ball. WR's will still be led by Westerkamp, DPE, Morgan, Reilly, and then add in guys like Alston, and we will more than likely see Grimm on the field as a freshman. This is some of the best overall talent we've had on offense in a long long time.

 

Looking to the defensive side of the ball, Who do we lose that we will really miss? The biggest challenge Riley faces in his first full season is convincing Maleik Collins that he should stay for his Senior season, something that I think we may actually see as he becomes an even more complete player than he currently is. Watching Kevin Maurice last week really excited me to see what he can do as a Senior and we will need to see some growth from guys like Stoltenberg, Davis, etc. Freedom looks like a player that has an extremely bright future and I really think that you'll see an emphasis to move McMullen inside full time after this season.

 

There isn't a Sr. Linebacker on the entire roster, and we start a true freshman in Dedrick Young. These guys could go from being a question mark before this 2015 season to the strongest point of the defense in 2016.

 

It really comes down to the secondary to how the Huskers will fare in 2016 in my opinion. Bringing Gerry back obviously helps but we lose both Davie and Rose this offseason. Will Kalu be the #1 corner? Will we see guys like Mosley, Lee, or Anderson step up and have a large role on the team next year?

 

Specialists look to remain strong as well. Foltz will be a senior (and fully healthy, something he isn't right now) DPE will be fully acclimated and healthy again, and Drew Brown will be an upper classman.

 

 

If you look at that roster from top to bottom, it is really set up for a big year next year. Suffering through these learning curves and setbacks now helps bring a team closer together and should motivate them to be great during the offseason. The non -conference schedule next year looks to be much more manageable, as even Oregon doesn't look to be as daunting as we maybe thought when we scheduled them. I was livid after the Illinois game like everyone else but lets have some patience with this new staff. Adjusting from Oregon State to Nebraska is a completely different ball game, especially when the personnel in place isn't meant for what the coaches want to do. I think we could be in store for some big things next season in a division that should be fairly wide open. Let's finish 2015 strong and ride a wave of momentum into 2016, GBR!

 

And here's another tip for everyone. Quoting giant posts is really annoying, especially for those reading on a phone.

 

Don't you hate that.

 

Yup. Big time.

[Waterloohusker26]

 

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

And Oregon. they return everyone that is impactful and they will upgrade at LB due to some juco recruiting.

 

They return everyone that is "impactful" BUT they need to replace the QB. Does not compute.

 

And upgrading LB in one year due to juco (or HS) recruiting isn't a sure thing for any program.

Yes it is. You obviously don't know how bad the LBs have been...and I do. Anything is an upgrade from those guys

 

 

The DTs and LBs were the strength of the defense this year. Not sure what you've been watching

[Red Five]

 

 

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

And Oregon. they return everyone that is impactful and they will upgrade at LB due to some juco recruiting.

 

They return everyone that is "impactful" BUT they need to replace the QB. Does not compute.

 

And upgrading LB in one year due to juco (or HS) recruiting isn't a sure thing for any program.

Yes it is. You obviously don't know how bad the LBs have been...and I do. Anything is an upgrade from those guys

 

 

The DTs and LBs were the strength of the defense this year. Not sure what you've been watching

 

He's talking about his favorite team, Oregon.

[NUinID]

 

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

And Oregon. they return everyone that is impactful and they will upgrade at LB due to some juco recruiting.

 

They return everyone that is "impactful" BUT they need to replace the QB. Does not compute.

 

And upgrading LB in one year due to juco (or HS) recruiting isn't a sure thing for any program.

Yes it is. You obviously don't know how bad the LBs have been...and I do. Anything is an upgrade from those guys

 

 

Yeah, but you are ignoring how poorly Oregon's other QB's played this year in Adam's absense. Unless you think Wilson is the second coming of Mariotta and the next man up is just as good as Frost at OC I don't think it is unrealistic to see Oregon lose 3-4 games next year.

 

I think you and I discussed how I thought Oregon would lose 3 this year and you strongly disagreed with me. I will give them credit for righting the ship at mid stream. In the middle of October it looked like the Ducks might be losing 5-6.

 

I am also not seeing how NU offense is going to be worse next year? They have to replace 3 average offensive linemen on offense, that is it. I guess you can argue Jano will be missed but that is the only skill player I see us really missing.

[ADS]

Unless Oregon is rolling out Mariota at QB then I'm not too worried. They've looked average this year, until Vernon Adams decided to throw 5 touchdowns in one game. But, he's a senior and won't be around next year.

[Dr. Strangelove]

 

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

 

What was your expectation for this year?

 

The talent was there this year. On D we'll most likely lost Collins and Gangwish and Byerson Cockrell are seniors so they are gone but on offense we lose Alex Lewis, Ryne Reeves, Zach Sterup not to mention Andy Janovich.

 

I actually see us struggling more next year.

 

Sigh...

 

No it wasn't.

 

Talent wasn't there at RB, DE, CB and we had serious depth issues at LB and QB. Talent wasn't "there". We have talent in certain spots, but overall Nebraska lacks depth and needs to improve the talent top to bottom.

 

 

I guess those 9 players that just made All Conference was just a figment of everyone's imagination. Not to mention the 4 other players that made the Big 10's All Freshman team.

 

Also you are insinuating that I said we have talent 'from top to bottom' which is extremely rare for most college football teams to begin with.

 

Those 9 all conference players say that you're statement that the talent 'isn't there' is completely false so again yes the talent is and was 'there' this season.

 

Enough talent to warrant being better than 5-7 which is the point I was trying to make but instead was sorely misinterpreted by yourself.

 

If by 'talent being there' you mean we have a few good players, then sure.

 

If by 'talent being there' you mean we can compete for and win the conference championship, you're dead wrong. Nebraska had one player make all conference on defense, Collins was second team by the coaches and third team by the media. On offense, Westerkamp was second team by the coaches and second team by the media. Alex Lewis was third team by the media. The rest came from honorable mentions.

 

For special teams, Sam Foltz was first team by both the coaches and media (also won an award for best punter), and Drew Brown was second team by the media. Special teams has been one of the strengths of Nebraska for awhile now.

 

Just to give you an idea, I count Illinois as having 11 'All Conference' players by the media, Indiana as having 8 'All Conference' players by the media, Wisconsin as having 10 'All Conference' players by the media, etc. Getting players on 'All Conference' isn't terribly hard when there are 3 teams plus honorable mentions by two different outlets (Coaches and Media).

 

I'll do a complete breakdown of the Big Ten later today when I have time.

[suh_fan93]

 

 

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

 

What was your expectation for this year?

 

The talent was there this year. On D we'll most likely lost Collins and Gangwish and Byerson Cockrell are seniors so they are gone but on offense we lose Alex Lewis, Ryne Reeves, Zach Sterup not to mention Andy Janovich.

 

I actually see us struggling more next year.

 

Sigh...

 

No it wasn't.

 

Talent wasn't there at RB, DE, CB and we had serious depth issues at LB and QB. Talent wasn't "there". We have talent in certain spots, but overall Nebraska lacks depth and needs to improve the talent top to bottom.

 

 

I guess those 9 players that just made All Conference was just a figment of everyone's imagination. Not to mention the 4 other players that made the Big 10's All Freshman team.

 

Also you are insinuating that I said we have talent 'from top to bottom' which is extremely rare for most college football teams to begin with.

 

Those 9 all conference players say that you're statement that the talent 'isn't there' is completely false so again yes the talent is and was 'there' this season.

 

Enough talent to warrant being better than 5-7 which is the point I was trying to make but instead was sorely misinterpreted by yourself.

 

If by 'talent being there' you mean we have a few good players, then sure.

 

If by 'talent being there' you mean we can compete for and win the conference championship, you're dead wrong. Nebraska had one player make all conference on defense, Collins was second team by the coaches and third team by the media. On offense, Westerkamp was second team by the coaches and second team by the media. Alex Lewis was third team by the media. The rest came from honorable mentions.

 

For special teams, Sam Foltz was first team by both the coaches and media (also won an award for best punter), and Drew Brown was second team by the media. Special teams has been one of the strengths of Nebraska for awhile now.

 

Just to give you an idea, I count Illinois as having 11 'All Conference' players by the media, Indiana as having 8 'All Conference' players by the media, Wisconsin as having 10 'All Conference' players by the media, etc. Getting players on 'All Conference' isn't terribly hard when there are 3 teams plus honorable mentions by two different outlets (Coaches and Media).

 

I'll do a complete breakdown of the Big Ten later today when I have time.

 

 

Isn't that kind of obvious? You're really taking everything I said out of context and then proceeding to take your own liberty with it. Obviously there are teams in the B1G that have the talent overall to make a serious run at not only the conference championship but also the national championship. Nebraska would not be one of those teams but I thought this was/is obvious to pretty much everyone??!!!

 

Again as far as Nebraska the talent is there meaning we have talent on this team to warrant being much better than our current record resembles so your statement that we have 'no talent' is again is 100% false.

[seaofred92]

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

What does that even mean (bolded part)??

 

 

Just meant I can't see us not getting to 9. Definitely could have worded it better.

[seaofred92]

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

 

What was your expectation for this year?

 

The talent was there this year. On D we'll most likely lost Collins and Gangwish and Byerson Cockrell are seniors so they are gone but on offense we lose Alex Lewis, Ryne Reeves, Zach Sterup not to mention Andy Janovich.

 

I actually see us struggling more next year.

 

Sigh...

 

 

thought 7-5. Thought we would win Illinois and Purdue. Most of the time it isn't easy for first year coaches. Up until the Illinois game, Tommy had looked a lot better. Think the kid is determined to do better next year. Will definitely drop my expectation for him from low 60's in completion percentage to 57-58% though.

[Saunders]

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

 

What was your expectation for this year?

 

The talent was there this year. On D we'll most likely lost Collins and Gangwish and Byerson Cockrell are seniors so they are gone but on offense we lose Alex Lewis, Ryne Reeves, Zach Sterup not to mention Andy Janovich.

 

I actually see us struggling more next year.

 

Sigh...

 

No it wasn't.

 

Talent wasn't there at RB, DE, CB and we had serious depth issues at LB and QB. Talent wasn't "there". We have talent in certain spots, but overall Nebraska lacks depth and needs to improve the talent top to bottom.

 

Huh... Tommie Frazier seems to disagree. In this weeks podcast, he pretty much said that nobody blew us off the field, and we matched up with athletes to everyone we played.

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

Tommie Frazier puts ketchup on his hotdog..... true story, I handed him the bottle.

[Mavric]

If by 'talent being there' you mean we have a few good players, then sure.

 

If by 'talent being there' you mean we can compete for and win the conference championship, you're dead wrong. Nebraska had one player make all conference on defense, Collins was second team by the coaches and third team by the media. On offense, Westerkamp was second team by the coaches and second team by the media. Alex Lewis was third team by the media. The rest came from honorable mentions.

 

For special teams, Sam Foltz was first team by both the coaches and media (also won an award for best punter), and Drew Brown was second team by the media. Special teams has been one of the strengths of Nebraska for awhile now.

 

Just to give you an idea, I count Illinois as having 11 'All Conference' players by the media, Indiana as having 8 'All Conference' players by the media, Wisconsin as having 10 'All Conference' players by the media, etc. Getting players on 'All Conference' isn't terribly hard when there are 3 teams plus honorable mentions by two different outlets (Coaches and Media).

 

I'll do a complete breakdown of the Big Ten later today when I have time.

Considering we beat one team playing for the conference championship and completely dominated the other team playing for it (save our QB continually throwing it to them), I don't buy that we don't have enough talent to win a conference championship.

[cm husker]

This reminds me of the '05 preseason... the B12N was in shambles, people were hyped about the new class and people were just sure that Callahan would turn it around.

Instead, he registered a mediocre season, with some awful losses. Nonetheless, people shouted "IMPROVEMENT" and the rest is history.

The parallels are incredible.

[74Hunter]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

What was your expectation for this year?

 

The talent was there this year. On D we'll most likely lost Collins and Gangwish and Byerson Cockrell are seniors so they are gone but on offense we lose Alex Lewis, Ryne Reeves, Zach Sterup not to mention Andy Janovich.

 

I actually see us struggling more next year.

 

Sigh...

No it wasn't.

 

Talent wasn't there at RB, DE, CB and we had serious depth issues at LB and QB. Talent wasn't "there". We have talent in certain spots, but overall Nebraska lacks depth and needs to improve the talent top to bottom.

I guess those 9 players that just made All Conference was just a figment of everyone's imagination. Not to mention the 4 other players that made the Big 10's All Freshman team.

 

Also you are insinuating that I said we have talent 'from top to bottom' which is extremely rare for most college football teams to begin with.

 

Those 9 all conference players say that you're statement that the talent 'isn't there' is completely false so again yes the talent is and was 'there' this season.

 

Enough talent to warrant being better than 5-7 which is the point I was trying to make but instead was sorely misinterpreted by yourself.

If by 'talent being there' you mean we have a few good players, then sure.

 

If by 'talent being there' you mean we can compete for and win the conference championship, you're dead wrong. Nebraska had one player make all conference on defense, Collins was second team by the coaches and third team by the media. On offense, Westerkamp was second team by the coaches and second team by the media. Alex Lewis was third team by the media. The rest came from honorable mentions.

 

For special teams, Sam Foltz was first team by both the coaches and media (also won an award for best punter), and Drew Brown was second team by the media. Special teams has been one of the strengths of Nebraska for awhile now.

 

Just to give you an idea, I count Illinois as having 11 'All Conference' players by the media, Indiana as having 8 'All Conference' players by the media, Wisconsin as having 10 'All Conference' players by the media, etc. Getting players on 'All Conference' isn't terribly hard when there are 3 teams plus honorable mentions by two different outlets (Coaches and Media).

 

I'll do a complete breakdown of the Big Ten later today when I have time.

I tend to agree with you quite a bit, but not in this instance. We have more talent than Iowa, yet they are 12 and 0, playing for the CCG and a shot at the playoffs.

[Redux]

Unless Oregon is rolling out Mariota at QB then I'm not too worried. They've looked average this year, until Vernon Adams decided to throw 5 touchdowns in one game. But, he's a senior and won't be around next year.

Exactly, and whoever they replace him with wont have Scott Frost anymore. Oregon could actually regress.