10 Prove-It Players for Spring
- Thread starter omahapanda
- Start date
Overland Park Husker
Starter
Green has had plenty of chances. Time for another QB to step it up.
zoogs
Assistant Coach
I think this is a very good list. But doesn't Curenski head this list and not Green? I would agree with almost all of the selections made.
Curenski - all the talent, all the hype behind-the-scenes, and has really emerged on the field. He's been "our most talented receiver" since he was a redshirt freshman, hasn't he? C'mon Cure, we're all waiting for you to break out. Please do it this year.
Cody - This is a big year for Cody. He could really assert himself and I consider him an intriguing darkhorse in this race. But the clock is winding down on Cody's Husker career already. If either a transfer or a position switch is in the cards, now is the time to do it.
Yoshi - our tackle play was lacking last year, and Yoshi had *considerable* hype coming in. He has to establish himself now.
Micah - he's sort of had this tag his entire career, being the first movement of Tom Osborne's "Get Back" project. He'll need to assert himself as a player or it would be fair to question how far we went in the 'tradition for tradition's sake' direction.
Caveman - so much hype, even a nickname. A fan favorite for special teams play and jarring hits from the beginning. Supposedly, he was gonna be "THE defense". But he had to be moved out of his position to be what looks like a situational pass rusher at end. Got a lot to prove for sure.
Steven Osborne - I'm not sure I really see this one. This seems to be by association with Courtney, but there are probably other players more deserving of this spot. Wouldn't Taylor Martinez be one of them? Kenny Bell? Ankrah? One of the DTs such as Baby Stein or T-Mo? Just throwing some names out there. In my mind Taylor is the ultimate prove-it guy, but in a way that's different enough that I can see his omission from this list.
Collins - definitely agree on this. After almost leaving the team and then being convinced back, Collins has still yet to make noise. He was once a 4-star (downgraded to 3) recruit who was considering Stanford before coming back to Nebraska. And there hasn't been much to hear about him. Dead weight on the roster is an important issue nowadays with continually small recruiting classes that are going to bite us at some point down the road. If multiple walk-ons are passing him on a THIN running backs depth chart, and with a bunch of stud freshmen coming in, it's fair to say Collins has to prove he can earn that scholarship.
PJ Smith - I'm pretty optimistic about this guy. But yes, he had a lot of buzz about him and he suffered injuries that resulted in his play tailing off. I think of all the players on this list, PJ has a real good shot, while the others are in more precarious 'prove it or lose it' situations.
Brandon Thompson - if healthy, he would've let A-Rod redshirt, is that right? I think he was considered the top swing guard last year prior to injury. Definitely a sleeper, and we'll need to count on him for depth this year. Our OL definitely needs it. But he hasn't shown anything yet, so we only hope he's a guy we will be able to count on.
Josh Williams - came in with Cameron Meredith, equally or more highly touted if I recall. Need him to step up.
Curenski - all the talent, all the hype behind-the-scenes, and has really emerged on the field. He's been "our most talented receiver" since he was a redshirt freshman, hasn't he? C'mon Cure, we're all waiting for you to break out. Please do it this year.
Cody - This is a big year for Cody. He could really assert himself and I consider him an intriguing darkhorse in this race. But the clock is winding down on Cody's Husker career already. If either a transfer or a position switch is in the cards, now is the time to do it.
Yoshi - our tackle play was lacking last year, and Yoshi had *considerable* hype coming in. He has to establish himself now.
Micah - he's sort of had this tag his entire career, being the first movement of Tom Osborne's "Get Back" project. He'll need to assert himself as a player or it would be fair to question how far we went in the 'tradition for tradition's sake' direction.
Caveman - so much hype, even a nickname. A fan favorite for special teams play and jarring hits from the beginning. Supposedly, he was gonna be "THE defense". But he had to be moved out of his position to be what looks like a situational pass rusher at end. Got a lot to prove for sure.
Steven Osborne - I'm not sure I really see this one. This seems to be by association with Courtney, but there are probably other players more deserving of this spot. Wouldn't Taylor Martinez be one of them? Kenny Bell? Ankrah? One of the DTs such as Baby Stein or T-Mo? Just throwing some names out there. In my mind Taylor is the ultimate prove-it guy, but in a way that's different enough that I can see his omission from this list.
Collins - definitely agree on this. After almost leaving the team and then being convinced back, Collins has still yet to make noise. He was once a 4-star (downgraded to 3) recruit who was considering Stanford before coming back to Nebraska. And there hasn't been much to hear about him. Dead weight on the roster is an important issue nowadays with continually small recruiting classes that are going to bite us at some point down the road. If multiple walk-ons are passing him on a THIN running backs depth chart, and with a bunch of stud freshmen coming in, it's fair to say Collins has to prove he can earn that scholarship.
PJ Smith - I'm pretty optimistic about this guy. But yes, he had a lot of buzz about him and he suffered injuries that resulted in his play tailing off. I think of all the players on this list, PJ has a real good shot, while the others are in more precarious 'prove it or lose it' situations.
Brandon Thompson - if healthy, he would've let A-Rod redshirt, is that right? I think he was considered the top swing guard last year prior to injury. Definitely a sleeper, and we'll need to count on him for depth this year. Our OL definitely needs it. But he hasn't shown anything yet, so we only hope he's a guy we will be able to count on.
Josh Williams - came in with Cameron Meredith, equally or more highly touted if I recall. Need him to step up.
Fuzzy
All-Conference
Yoshi definately needs to be on that list, not that he wasn't good, he has a great frame but...
http://babcockandbabcock.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/hardrickcutout.png
He really needs some time in the weight room. His arms look like mine, big and fat, and that budha belly needs to be turned into some upper body strength. It should be fun to see him next fall.
As for Kreikemeier, i think it was name that he just threw in there, not saying LB's don't have anything to prove, Matt May, Alonzo Whaley, Sean Fisher and Will Compton, all have "Prove It" year.
And where is Nick Ash, i could remember this kid's name being brought up that he was keeping up with Suh as a true freshman and now, he has disappeared into the darkness of the other OL talent that never gets mentioned.
http://babcockandbabcock.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/hardrickcutout.png
He really needs some time in the weight room. His arms look like mine, big and fat, and that budha belly needs to be turned into some upper body strength. It should be fun to see him next fall.
As for Kreikemeier, i think it was name that he just threw in there, not saying LB's don't have anything to prove, Matt May, Alonzo Whaley, Sean Fisher and Will Compton, all have "Prove It" year.
And where is Nick Ash, i could remember this kid's name being brought up that he was keeping up with Suh as a true freshman and now, he has disappeared into the darkness of the other OL talent that never gets mentioned.
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knapplc
International Man of Mystery
Funny you mention both of these guys. I walked by the stadium yesterday and saw both. Yoshi looked noticeably slimmer to me, and Ash just looked big. I walked right past Ash and I'm 6'2" and he was half a head taller then me and his neck looked twice as thick. So hopefully they're putting their time in Dobson's weight room and they're ready to kick butt this year.
Today walking past the stadium I saw T-Mart walking out of the weight complex. No limp, looked fine to my layman's eyes. Hopefully those foot/leg issues are past him, because zoogies has a point about him being a prove-it guy, too.
That was zoogies. We look a lot alike with these avatars and mod tags.
