Redshirt Evaluation

[ESPY]

I'm interested to hear what my fellow HB members think of how our coaches have handled redshirts so far this season.

From the obvious file, it's clear Lavonte David and Yoshi (both JUCO transfers) have played vital roles, so the coaches made a good decision to use them. Next, I'd say the decision to burn Ciante Evans' redshirt has paid off nicely so far. Obviously we needed him vs Mizzou, and he was at least serviceable vs ISU (several solid tackles in spite of the TD he gave up). Another true frosh who's done solid work is Andrew Rodriguez, so that's another good decision in my book.

So far I'd say the only wasted redshirt has been Quincy Enunwa. I still think this guy is going to be something special in the years to come. But, we haven't utilized him at all since burning his redshirt early in the season. I realize this has much to do what appeared to be a lack of depth at WR, but he's definitely a guy I wish we would've used a redshirt on this year.

I've been quite happy to see the coaches are set on redshirting Chase Rome. He's going to be a great player, and chances are he'll have an immediate impact next season.

 

[zoogs]

I don't know about A-Rod too much, but Quincy's situation is extremely sad. Isn't Antonio Bell a sophomore now because he got a couple snaps last year, too?

I wonder what kind of redshirt burns these are. Niles, for instance, was "I'm too good, I don't want to redshirt" when he should have. These seem like it could just be misuse of a player. Why hasn't Quincy been given more chances? Has A-Rod been a part of the regular rotation?

 

[GMoose]

I don't know about A-Rod too much, but Quincy's situation is extremely sad. Isn't Antonio Bell a sophomore now because he got a couple snaps last year, too?

I wonder what kind of redshirt burns these are. Niles, for instance, was "I'm too good, I don't want to redshirt" when he should have. These seem like it could just be misuse of a player. Why hasn't Quincy been given more chances? Has A-Rod been a part of the regular rotation?

QE has played more than it seems, just has caught many balls. Only one I think. A-Rod played quite a few snaps last week when Keith Williams was out. Since Keith is a senior and ARod is gonna have a major role sooner than later, I'd say it was a good call.

 

[knapplc]

The problem with burning redshirts for some of these guys is that you have to decide early in the season (as they did with Rodriguez and Enunwa) what you're going to need later in the season. The Rodriguez situation seems logical since we lost Mike Smith early and needed depth on the Line, but Enunwa's shirt should NOT have been burned for as little as we've used him.

This is easy to say with 20/20 hindsight, though.

 

[zoogs]

Ah - I don't listen to the radio anymore since I watch most of the games, so I have sort of a poor sense of how often our subs are playing. If Quincy has played more than it seems, that may be a good sign. We aren't passing much anyways, but I guess it's not a bad thing for the redshirt to have been burned, considering we lose McNeil and Paul this year. I do wish he would get more receiving chances though.

 

[Enhance]

According to Huskers.com, Enunwa has only played in five games and has caught one ball for 10 yards.

 

[ESPY]

I don't know about A-Rod too much, but Quincy's situation is extremely sad. Isn't Antonio Bell a sophomore now because he got a couple snaps last year, too?

I wonder what kind of redshirt burns these are. Niles, for instance, was "I'm too good, I don't want to redshirt" when he should have. These seem like it could just be misuse of a player. Why hasn't Quincy been given more chances? Has A-Rod been a part of the regular rotation?

QE has played more than it seems, just has caught many balls. Only one I think. A-Rod played quite a few snaps last week when Keith Williams was out. Since Keith is a senior and ARod is gonna have a major role sooner than later, I'd say it was a good call.

My thoughts exactly. Methinks A-Rod will play an even bigger role in the weeks to come.

 

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

Enunwa is a sad situation. Unfortunately he set the tone in the Texas game with the first drop of the game. He only has one catch so far this season. I think alot of this rests on the shoulders of Gilmore.

 

[Enhance]

Enunwa is a sad situation. Unfortunately he set the tone in the Texas game with the first drop of the game. He only has one catch so far this season. I think alot of this rests on the shoulders of Gilmore.

I don't usually like to criticize assistant coaches, especially when I remember all the criticism Sanders got and now he has one of the best secondaries (if not the best when healthy) in the nation.

That said, I'm still waiting on Gilmore to show me something out of his receiving corps. We have had some pretty bad inconsistencies in that area. The receivers block really well down field, but their route running and their abilities to make plays just seems to be lacking at times.

 

[ESPY]

Enunwa is a sad situation. Unfortunately he set the tone in the Texas game with the first drop of the game. He only has one catch so far this season. I think alot of this rests on the shoulders of Gilmore.

Believe it or not, that wasn't a drop. The Texas safety Gideon made a great defensive play to break up that pass. Had Martinez gotten the ball to QE a little quicker, he would've scored 'cause there was no behind Gideon. If that would've happened, I'm pretty sure Enunwa's burned redshirt wouldn't feel like the burn it actually does today.

Then again, maybe we haven't seen the last of this guy yet. We have several huge games coming up, and he might just provide the unforeseen spark we'll need.

Shoot, does anyone know if Enunwa has returned kickoffs in the past? I'm not about to turn this thread into another bash on Niles' inadequecies as a fumble-prone return man, but I can definitely see Q being a threat in the return game.

 

[zoogs]

Agree - that was a drop in the literal sense of the word but that's about it. The pass arrived late and IIRC a bit off target. Taylor is responsible for Gideon getting there in time.

With the offense we run though, ESPY, that 'spark' might mean 2 catches for 19 yards the rest of the season.

 

[ESPY]

Agree - that was a drop in the literal sense of the word but that's about it. The pass arrived late and IIRC a bit off target. Taylor is responsible for Gideon getting there in time.

With the offense we run though, ESPY, that 'spark' might mean 2 catches for 19 yards the rest of the season.

Very true, and that wouldn't surprise me in the least at this point. But what if Q has skills as a return man? I have no knowledge of him being a return man in high school, but it sure seems like he'd at least be a threat if put in that position.

 

[Lil' Red]

Evan's and ARod were good decisions since we needed depth but we definitely should have kept Enuwa's redshirt.

 

[Husker Richard]

The problem with burning redshirts for some of these guys is that you have to decide early in the season (as they did with Rodriguez and Enunwa) what you're going to need later in the season. The Rodriguez situation seems logical since we lost Mike Smith early and needed depth on the Line, but Enunwa's shirt should NOT have been burned for as little as we've used him.

This is easy to say with 20/20 hindsight, though.

No hindsight necessary, burning Enunwa's RS was stupid. We have plenty of serviceable WRs that could've stepped on the field and performed just as well, if not better than Quincy (Will Henry, Marlowe, Currenski). I just don't think it was necessary to burn his RS with all that experience available.

Then again, IDK how he has been performing in practice. Maybe he's been lighting it up (putting him ahead of those I mentioned in terms of the depth chart) and it just hasn't translated to game action. We'll never know, but IMO they made a mistake burning his RS.

 

[Hercules]

Nobody burned Enunwa's redshirt. If he wants to redshirt, he still can.

As a coach, at the end of fall camp, if you think a guy can contribute, you play him. If he doesn't develop the way you think he will, then maybe he won't contribute as much as previously hoped. But it's silly to second-guess a decision by the coaches that we have virtually no information about.