What Position Groups Are We Most Confident And Least Confident About Heading Into 2019?

HuskermanMike

HuskermanMike

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The title explains itself, what position groups are we most confident about and which ones are we extremely concerned about? 

To help you answer that question here is what we are bringing back and what we are replacing on Offense and Defense. 

Offense:

QB

2 AM is back and we add a solid QB in McCaffrey to class and bring back our back-up Vedral. As long as Martinez is healthy we are more than fine here. Confidence level- high

RB

Lots of question marks at this position. We have MoWa and maybe Mills and a lot of freshmen. Jaylin Bradley could step up but he is most likely getting recruited over. The good news is it is a lot easier to make an impact at a skill position as a true frosh. I believe we will be good but not great at this position. Mills has some say about this position but he is not the end all be all for it. Confidence level- neutral, or wait and see

WR

We lose our best receiver in Stanley, however, new guys now get the opportunity to step up. Jaron Woodyard and Mike Williams need to probably add 300 yards to their season average for us. Darien Chase, Wandale and Nance also have a great chance to step up and play. Andre Hunt should definitely get lots of time to prove himself as well as Kade Warner. Lastly, Miles Jones needs to show he is ready to play now or else he will get recruited over by others. Overall, a lot of pieces but yet to be put together. I will say we have good depth but it still has a lot to prove. Confidence level- Somewhat high

Offensive Line 

We bring back three starters but lose two seniors. Farmer was really good but Foster is definitely replaceable, although he gave his all and I have nothing but respect for that guy. Bland would be a great fill-in guy, but I am not sure if he will make it here. Farniok can always move inside to add some good flexibility for us. I have also heard talk that we are after a UCF lineman grad transfer. This is just a rumor but he is the center and would add immediate help for us. With all these questions looming and some solid incoming players, this is a good not yet great group. Gaylord, Farniok, Wilson, Jaimes, Sicterman, Will Farniok, Jurgens and Hixon plus Benhart who will probably contribute. We have lots of bodies but need some to step up.  Confidence level- Depending on who we have I will say neutral for now.

TE

With bringing everyone back plus adding Hickman we are rock solid at this spot. Now, we need to get more production out of this group catching the ball and I think you see three solid players step up this year and produce. Confidence level- high. 

Offense synopsis- Overall, we lose but yet add a lot of pieces. How we put them together will be key for this side of the ball. My confidence level is high for this group because this was the year Frost and his offense took off at UCF and we have our centerpiece Adrian back.

Defense:

Defensive Line- 

The transfer of Darrion Daniels gives us much needed help at NG. Again, at this spot, we have a lot of good players and good depth but we need people to step up. We need to stay healthy but this is arguably the best group we have on defense- yet to be seen though. We have the Davis Twins, Daniels brothers, Vainuku, Neal, Stille, Wildeman, Rogers and Ty Robinson who could play right away. Right now, I believe this group steps up and Daniels is a really good leader and player for us. Confidence level- high

Linebackers- 

We have Mo. Barry as a stud, we return Ferguson, Davis,  and have Tannor, Domann, Honas, Miller and the young guys- Henrich, Hannah, and Snodgrass. We also have Breon Dixon- who needs to get in the classroom and take care of things to play, Alexander and Jefferson. My take is this group has a lot to prove outside of Barry and Ferguson, but we have a lot of tackles and experience to replace. Confidence level- low

Cornerback- We return our top two players in Jackson and Bootle and we have Lee for depth. Couple that with Cam Taylor and Braxton Clark both getting a year in S$C and we are solid here. This was definitely the most improved group but still needs to take that next step this year. Confidence level- Somewhat high.

Safety-   

We lose three of our top players at the position. Yet, we have lots of talent that need to step up. D. Willaims needs to step up in a big way. CJ Smith and Cam Jones both are coming off season-ending injuries, which may slow them down a bit. We also have Dismuke maybe Avery Anderson and Toni Butler. A true freshman is going to need to step up possibly and NPG, if we get him, could be that guy who we have that can plug and play. Confidence level- low

Defense Synopsis

I feel less confident about the defense compared to the offense. Lots of guys graduating at the Safety and lineman spots. Also, we lose a top 11 tackler in D. Young- who many say is replaceable, but it is really hard to replace what he did. Keep in mind Young and many others went through 3 or arguably 4 defensive systems in their time here. Banker Defense 1, Banker Defense Rugby style, Diaco hoopla, and Chins system. The defense will be more athletic but have less experience. What we will see is either the younger talent trumps the experience or it plays to the inexperience we have at many spots. The offense is better off now than the defense, so I am more confident in them going forward. We add some great talent to the defensive side and we definitely need players to step up, especially at safety and linebacker. 
If I missed anything let me know! Which position groups are we good in and which ones need help? Comment below what you think. 

 
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Running Back by a long shot. I think we are going to have a couple of guys capable of reaching 1000 yards rushing by the end of the year. Wandale should be considered with both WR and RB's.

 
Most confident: 

QB: If Adrian stays healthy, he's first team all conference. 

TE: These guys are solid, and are only getting better. 

OT: Jaimes will be our best O-lineman, and Benhart could start from day 1. 

MLB: There isn't a lot of depth there, but Barry is the heart of the team (and it's best defender), and Honas will be healthy. Look for our two stud Freshmen to get a lot of run. 

K: Pickering calmed down and became solid towards the end of the year last year. 

Least confident: 

RB: Washington is a stud, but we know nothing about how the rest of the RBs coming in will perform. Johnson and Mills (if he ever gets here) are highly regarded. Thompkins will RS to rehab his leg. 

WR: After Spielman, there's a lot of unproven talent. 

Interior Line: all new starters at these spots. 

DL: There's a ton of talent here on paper, particularly on the interior, but not a lot to show for it. 

OLB: The recurring theme on this team is that there is a ton of young talent, but very little shown in-game experience. That extends to the OLB. 

 
No concerns about anything on offense. I think LB's will be good. 

DB's and DL would be concerns.

I think the last 2 recruiting classes have improved talent in all positions but none of it is proven yet.

 
Not sure where so many get the 'there's tons of talent - just unproven' feelings.    I think the overall talent level should be better, as result of the dramatic improvement in fitness and S&C and the greater knowledge / execution, development, etc.   The team got better last year with time, experience, practice, and the season progressed.   However, how much more upside there may be in the sophs, juniors and seniors (those are the players who will contribute the most) is harder to predict. 

I would not expect as large a contribution from this year's freshmen class than we saw from the younger guys last year because the rest of the team (older and now wiser/better) will play larger role.   A handful of frosh may be factors but the guys new to the roster come fall will be hard pressed to beat out any of the returning players in my view. 

I think 8-4 sounds pretty reasonable with the more favorable schedule and the second year of the new system for all persons involved.  Any wins over 8 should be viewed as amazing and the excitement nationally for the return to greatness for Nebraska football will really get going.  

Depth will remain a serious problem, however, in nearly every position on the squad.   We need to hope the McCaffery is the real deal as the chances of Martinez not being cheap shotted or injured in the ordinary ways are slim.   We will need back up QBs to win at least 2 or 3 of those 8 wins and or the bowl.

RB is the weakest position in my view although I remain a fan of Mazour for sure.  Washington is the majority's starter but he will have to do some serious improving in his aggression and physicality and toughness as he needs to break some tackles and punish some tacklers to really be the RB we need to win games consistantly.

I am more bullish on the defense than in a long time.  Contrary to most of the comments on this board, I think Chin was the assistant coach of the year in the Big Ten and maybe among the very best in the nation.  Frost will have to be careful to keep him from being hired away long before we are ready to lose him in my view.   

The O line has quite a way to go but was probably the most improved position on the team last year.   D line is very suspect and will likely end up being the determinative group in whether the season goes well or we again fade into another 6-6 sort of season.

I will predict LBs and secondary will be the strengths of the team this fall.

 
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