J.D. Spielman

[flatwaterfan]

I think his heart just isn't into it.   I am sure he will have better games but I don't think he's loving the game.   He's doing it for a possible paycheck in future years but that motivation isn't necessarily the best or strongest.    Often when your unhappy your crabby or complain and I think we saw that here.   Sometimes a change of scenario helps and he may be alright for awhile (a year)  but long term is just won't be worth it for him.    Just a guess. 

 

[NUinID]

JD is good, not great. He had a place as a #2 receiving option in a college offense that contained and NFL #1 receiver, an NFL RB, and a dual threat QB. He struggled mightily when asked to rise into anything more. I won't buy that he was weak or didn't try, I absolutely think he gave his all while on the field. In the end he is a 5'9 receiver that lacks elite speed and will always be somewhat limited because of that. I think he felt he could be more than that and is seeking a chance to show it. I think he will find that he's a good role type player and hope he truly enjoys his senior year of football as it will likely be his last.

Couldn't have said it better myself.  Spielman is a great complimentary receiver.  When he had someone to take the heat off of him on the outside he thrived.  But with that said, he is not going to be that guy that takes over a game when the other team doesn't have someone else to work off of.  I am not sure Wondale Robinson is that type of guy either, but he still has a chance to prove me wrong. 

 

[krc1995]

I think his heart just isn't into it.   I am sure he will have better games but I don't think he's loving the game.   He's doing it for a possible paycheck in future years but that motivation isn't necessarily the best or strongest.    Often when your unhappy your crabby or complain and I think we saw that here.   Sometimes a change of scenario helps and he may be alright for awhile (a year)  but long term is just won't be worth it for him.    Just a guess. 

I’m sure he feels some obligation to his dad to make him proud. 
 

 

[Husker in WI]

JD was running away with all our receiving records, despite playing beat up and with subpar QB play every year except his Sophomore year. Call him "good, not great" or "a complimentary receiver" if that makes you feel better, but add it all up and he's one of the best we've had. We also have no idea what we're talking about with his desire for the game or any pressure he feels, and I don't see any legitimate reason to question those. Dude was a baller, I'll miss seeing him out there.

 

[TheSker]

JD was running away with all our receiving records, despite playing beat up and with subpar QB play every year except his Sophomore year. Call him "good, not great" or "a complimentary receiver" if that makes you feel better, but add it all up and he's one of the best we've had. We also have no idea what we're talking about with his desire for the game or any pressure he feels, and I don't see any legitimate reason to question those. Dude was a baller, I'll miss seeing him out there.

I miss Stanley Morgan.

And Morgan would have done most anything for another year in Frost's offense 

 

[Blackshirt316]

JD was running away with all our receiving records, despite playing beat up and with subpar QB play every year except his Sophomore year. Call him "good, not great" or "a complimentary receiver" if that makes you feel better, but add it all up and he's one of the best we've had. We also have no idea what we're talking about with his desire for the game or any pressure he feels, and I don't see any legitimate reason to question those. Dude was a baller, I'll miss seeing him out there.

JD was running away with receiving records because he was the first WR that played his entire Husker career in an offense that threw the ball 35+ times a game and every offense he played in featured the slot receiver as a primary target.

JD had seasons of 55 66 and 49 catches. He totaled 2546 yards but had just 15 Touchdowns.

His best receiving yardage year was 898 yards in 2019. His best touchdown year was 8 Touchdowns in 2018.

Jordan Westerkamp as a comparison had 1 season with 66 catches. His other seasons were 20 catches, 44 catches and 38 catches. He ended with 2474 yards and 18 Touchdowns.  

That 1 season with 66 catches (2014) he put up 919 yards and 7 touchdowns. Basically on par with Spielman's career bests. Spielman essentially had the same number of touches over 3 years as Westerkamp got in 4 strictly due to the different offenses the team ran when they played. Spielman ended up with 100 more yards and 3 fewer Touchdowns than Westerkamp.

Give Westerkamp the number of targets as Spielman and it isn't even a discussion. Both players were very similar but Westerkamp had FAR better hands than Spielman.

Spielman, like Westerkamp will be an undrafted free agent/scout team level player in the NFL.

Spielman sits as the 2nd best slot receiver in Nebraska history behind Westerkamp and ahead of Todd Peterson. But on most teams that didn't spend most of the 20th century running power I with 2 TE's and a fullback he isn't anywhere near the top 10.

 

[knapplc]

JD was running away with receiving records because he was the first WR that played his entire Husker career in an offense that threw the ball 35+ times a game and every offense he played in featured the slot receiver as a primary target.

JD had seasons of 55 66 and 49 catches. He totaled 2546 yards but had just 15 Touchdowns.

His best receiving yardage year was 898 yards in 2019. His best touchdown year was 8 Touchdowns in 2018.

Jordan Westerkamp as a comparison had 1 season with 66 catches. His other seasons were 20 catches, 44 catches and 38 catches. He ended with 2474 yards and 18 Touchdowns.  

That 1 season with 66 catches (2014) he put up 919 yards and 7 touchdowns. Basically on par with Spielman's career bests. Spielman essentially had the same number of touches over 3 years as Westerkamp got in 4 strictly due to the different offenses the team ran when they played. Spielman ended up with 100 more yards and 3 fewer Touchdowns than Westerkamp.

Give Westerkamp the number of targets as Spielman and it isn't even a discussion. Both players were very similar but Westerkamp had FAR better hands than Spielman.

Spielman, like Westerkamp will be an undrafted free agent/scout team level player in the NFL.

Spielman sits as the 2nd best slot receiver in Nebraska history behind Westerkamp and ahead of Todd Peterson. But on most teams that didn't spend most of the 20th century running power I with 2 TE's and a fullback he isn't anywhere near the top 10.

I disagree.

 

[funhusker]

I disagree.

I don't.

 

[Ulty]

If we are going to use the very similar career numbers of Spielman and Westerkamp to disparage the accomplishments of one while elevating the other, there is an agenda behind your analysis. 

Spielman and Westerkamp both did a great job at NU, they had production that is hard to replace, and we are better having that kind of talent than not. It's too bad Spielman left, and I get feeling some sour grapes over it, but questioning his ability is a bad look. 

 

[BigRedBuster]

If we are going to use the very similar career numbers of Spielman and Westerkamp to disparage the accomplishments of one while elevating the other, there is an agenda behind your analysis. 

Spielman and Westerkamp both did a great job at NU, they had production that is hard to replace, and we are better having that kind of talent than not. It's too bad Spielman left, and I get feeling some sour grapes over it, but questioning his ability is a bad look. 

I agree.  The fact that his records reflect him playing in a certain system for 4 years is valid.  But, he wouldn't have done that if he wasn't a very talented receiver.  We would be a better team with him than without him.  

Imagine him on the field with a receiver like Betts or Manning.  Different types of receivers and the experience would be great.

 

[Husker03]

I agree.  The fact that his records reflect him playing in a certain system for 4 years is valid.  But, he wouldn't have done that if he wasn't a very talented receiver.  We would be a better team with him than without him.  

Imagine him on the field with a receiver like Betts or Manning.  Different types of receivers and the experience would be great.

The difference is.. Receivers like Spielman are a dime a dozen.. Ones like Manning and bets are rare diamonds, the likes of which haven't donned the scarlet and cream since the days of Fryar.  I would have much preferred JD to be out there wearing an N this year, but if his attitude was one more of dissent than of unity and progression, and he was not going to be able to commit his heart to it 100%, then I am happy he found a place that suits him better and will not worry about finding receivers that will be able to make up for his lost production. 

 

[BigRedBuster]

The difference is.. Receivers like Spielman are a dime a dozen.. Ones like Manning and bets are rare diamonds, the likes of which haven't donned the scarlet and cream since the days of Fryar.  I would have much preferred JD to be out there wearing an N this year, but if his attitude was one more of dissent than of unity and progression, and he was not going to be able to commit his heart to it 100%, then I am happy he found a place that suits him better and will not worry about finding receivers that will be able to make up for his lost production. 

I said nothing about his attitude or work ethic.  Obviously, to be what we want, he would need to be the WR we saw the first 3 years of his career here.

The bolded is major hyperbole.  We have had good, big receivers here since Fryar.  What your first comment (dime a dozen) leaves out is two things a) We've had various versions of passing offensives ever since Callahan has been here and he still was in the process of breaking their records.  So, I still look at him as being a step above most other WRs of his type since then.  b)  What his game experience would bring to the WR room and on the field.  

 

[Husker03]

 a) We've had various versions of passing offensives ever since Callahan has been here and he still was in the process of breaking their records.  So, I still look at him as being a step above most other WRs of his type since then.  b)  What his game experience would bring to the WR room and on the field.  

a) I would contend that this just depends on how you look at the overall reality.  Kind of like setting records at a class C school in a Nebraska high school vs being the number one recruit in the nation. Obviously that is exaggerated, but I judge JD more on what he brings to the table as a receiver overall, not just how he stacks up against mediocre receivers that have been at Nebraska recently. We are already putting him into a category even in that small pool as being not as good as Stanley Morgan and comparable to Westercamp, both of which, if we are looking at receiving talent across the nation, were average.  We can pretend that players like JD are the kind that are going to get us over the hump in Scott Frosts offense, but the reality is, we need much better than JD in order to make any real noise.

b) yes, I wish for his experience in the receiving room. That said, and this is admittedly speculation based on his tenure here, he seemed to be a pretty introverted guy and all the experience in the world doesn't help young receivers if a guy isn't interested in sharing it with them. He seemed like the kind of guy that came to practice, worked hard, then went on about his own business throughout the day. I didn't see much to support him being a leader of men, but who knows. Point is, it isn't a given that having his experience in the room was going to lead to significant gains by the younger guys. A standoffish teammate isn't one you count on for that.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Point is, it isn't a given that having his experience in the room was going to lead to significant gains by the younger guys. A standoffish teammate isn't one you count on for that.

There is absolutely nothing in our conversation that's "a given".  It's all pure speculation by both you and me.

 

[Husker in WI]

JD was running away with receiving records because he was the first WR that played his entire Husker career in an offense that threw the ball 35+ times a game and every offense he played in featured the slot receiver as a primary target.

JD had seasons of 55 66 and 49 catches. He totaled 2546 yards but had just 15 Touchdowns.

His best receiving yardage year was 898 yards in 2019. His best touchdown year was 8 Touchdowns in 2018.

Jordan Westerkamp as a comparison had 1 season with 66 catches. His other seasons were 20 catches, 44 catches and 38 catches. He ended with 2474 yards and 18 Touchdowns.  

That 1 season with 66 catches (2014) he put up 919 yards and 7 touchdowns. Basically on par with Spielman's career bests. Spielman essentially had the same number of touches over 3 years as Westerkamp got in 4 strictly due to the different offenses the team ran when they played. Spielman ended up with 100 more yards and 3 fewer Touchdowns than Westerkamp.

Give Westerkamp the number of targets as Spielman and it isn't even a discussion. Both players were very similar but Westerkamp had FAR better hands than Spielman.

Spielman, like Westerkamp will be an undrafted free agent/scout team level player in the NFL.

Spielman sits as the 2nd best slot receiver in Nebraska history behind Westerkamp and ahead of Todd Peterson. But on most teams that didn't spend most of the 20th century running power I with 2 TE's and a fullback he isn't anywhere near the top 10.

Outside of a significant dip in 2010-11, we've been throwing the ball close to 30 times a games since 2004. So the first bold piece is not true, guys who played from 2004-2008 (Terrence Nunn, Nate Swift) and 2015-2018 had higher averages of passes per game. Also wouldn't say the slot receiver is the primary target, it's definitely a varied offense. I'm not really factoring in NFL projections or where he would be on the list for other schools - just pointing out he's probably second tier for us, behind Rodgers/Fryar. 

The difference is.. Receivers like Spielman are a dime a dozen.. Ones like Manning and bets are rare diamonds, the likes of which haven't donned the scarlet and cream since the days of Fryar.  I would have much preferred JD to be out there wearing an N this year, but if his attitude was one more of dissent than of unity and progression, and he was not going to be able to commit his heart to it 100%, then I am happy he found a place that suits him better and will not worry about finding receivers that will be able to make up for his lost production. 

I am very high on both Manning and Betts, but let's not put them up with Fryar just yet. They are both very talented, but have zero catches outside of high school/Juco. I'm all for a 'next man up' attitude and really like the guys we have, but that doesn't mean we have to come up with reasons why JD wasn't that good. Receivers of his caliber may be a dime a dozen for OSU, but if they were for the rest of us he'd have more company atop the season and career record books than Rodgers, Swift, Westerkamp, and Morgan. And I'm sure he will before long - Wan'Dale is off to a hot start, and we have a lot of talented receivers coming in.