Nebraska Football: 5 Offseason Storylines To Watch For In 2017

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

The 2017 Nebraska football offseason is rife with questions about what Mike Riley can produce in his third year, leaders among the roster, Bob Diaco’s role and others.

Nebraska has reached a unique point in the Riley Era. The Husker head man now has a quarterback depth chart that doesn’t remotely resemble 2016’s.

The offensive line will have fresh faces and the defense itself will have a brand new look thanks to Riley’s new defensive coordinator hire.

Here are five storylines that Husker Nation will be keeping a close eye on as the offseason slogs by:

The Quarterback Battle Royale

Might as well address the obvious first. The shackles are finally off of Tulane transfer Tanner Lee and he can officially battle to take over the reins of the Nebraska offense. While he may have the inside track due to experience, redshirt freshman Patrick O’Brien isn’t going to stand idly by and hand him the job.

Now that offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf doesn’t have to draw up gameplans to suit his quarterback on a game-by-game basis, the signal-callers will be putting pressure on themselves. Langsdorf will hand out the homework. From there, it will be up to Lee and O’Brien to determine how well they grade out.

While they study up on how many steps to take and what reads to make, they have a friend in wide receivers coach Keith Williams.

He’ll be working dutifully with what should yet again be one of the Big Ten’s most rigorously tested corps of receivers. Much like with Langsdorf and his charges, Williams now can work with the idea of traditional pro-style quarterbacks in mind.

Lee obviously has practice checking down reads in live action and O’Brien was molded in such a fashion through high school competition and a year in the system.

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The Youth Infusion

Don’t let the potential number of young guns on 2017’s starting 22 fool you. While there is a good chance you’ll see a group that is largely wet behind the ears, these are hungry young athletes that are prepared to take Nebraska football to the next step in its evolution.

The number of recruits that may see immediate playing time is rather stunning, especially when looking at the wide receivers that either are in Lincoln or will be coming in the upcoming months. Keyshawn Johnson, Jr., Jaevon McQuitty and Tyjon Lindsey all look to carve out playing time with the departure of Jordan Westerkamp, Alonzo Moore and Brandon Reilly.

Jaylin Bradley will no doubt be given a shot at a running back position that is looking for a star. No doubt Riley is trying to find his next centerpiece for Nebraska’s ground attack rather than shuffling backs around hoping to find each game’s hot hand.

The newest of the newbies aren’t the only ones to keep an eye out for. There have been players who’ve patiently waited their turn and are ready to shed their redshirts.

After a strong 2016 season of learning the ropes, Matt Farniok, Bryan Brokop and Boe Wilson are all chomping at the bit to get playing time. Look for Farniok to challenge David Knevel and Cole Conrad for the right tackle spot.

Brokop likely works inside to battle Tanner Farmer for his right guard position as there’s no reason Gerald Foster should lose his starting left guard spot barring injury.

Finally, Boe Wilson and Michael Decker will probably go head-to-head for the center position. The news gets even better with Wilson as he looks able to play any interior position. If Nebraska finds itself in dire straits as it did last year, offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh has far more talent on his 2016 roster to plug the holes.

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Diaco’s Nose Tackle

Here we are. It’s long been discussed and Nebraska will finally feature the 3-4 defense courtesy of new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco.

The good news is that there’s plenty of players on this roster who are perfect for the linebacker positions in this scheme. Alex Davis was struggling a bit to nail down the role of defensive end, but he works perfectly as a 3-4 outside linebacker. You’ll also see the likes of Sedrick King, Colin Miller and Guy Thomas along with him.

On the opposite side, Quayshon Alexander, Tyrin Ferguson, Luke Gifford and Marcus Newby offer their own punch.

As for the interior, look for players like Mohammed Barry, Pernell Jefferson, Willie Hampton, Greg Simmons, Chris Weber, Dedrick Young and incoming true freshman Avery Roberts to fill the void.

The biggest question mark is who will play at the most important position in the 3-4 defense, the nose tackle spot?

Two names that have been thrown out are Mick Stoltenberg and Carlos Davis. While both may do in a pinch, they aren’t ideal. A nose tackle needs to be a squatty guy that’s a pain in the rear to move. At 6’5″ 290 and 6’2″ 295, Stoltenberg’s a bit too lean and Davis is just a bit too tall, respectively.

Davis could likely hold his own, but another possibility is if Nebraska can sign Dallas, Tex. defensive tackle Damion Daniels. He tips the scales at 315 pounds and only measures 6’1″. It may be a bit much to ask of a true freshman, but he’d provide the size.

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Lockdown U Part II

Nate Gerry didn’t do his homework and left in disappointing fashion, but that doesn’t mean a defensive unit that rebounded in fantastic form can’t recreate its better moments from 2016.

This is a unit that is likely to be a mystery until September. As of this writing, Riley has yet to hire a ninth coach to his staff. Following his introduction of Diaco to the press, he mentioned that he’s currently looking to fill the role of a safeties position indicating that current secondary coach Donte Williams likely will be working with the cornerbacks exclusively.

It will also be telling if Nebraska can sign some high-caliber defensive backs to the 2017 class. If the Huskers do, look for the newbies to get an immediate look just as their wide receiver counterparts will. The Husker coaching staff, heck even athletic director Shawn Eichorst himself, has made it very clear that Nebraska has been lacking in talent.

However, there should be a good mix of potential Blackshirts in the secondary regardless of seniority. Senior safeties Kieron and Aaron Williams (no relation) return and even though he was torched a few times as a true freshman, sophomore Lamar Jackson should see extensive playing time yet again. There’s a reason USC wanted him.

Keep in mind that now Riley has staff in Diaco and Williams on the defensive side of the ball dictating what the secondary must do. These are high energy coaches who are excellent teachers and who can impact a player’s motivation to excel. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues with the eventual new hire.

If it does, Nebraska may be able to take another big leap forward in pass defense as it did in 2016.

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2018 Recruiting

In case you’re just joining us, Nebraska already has three commitments for the class of 2018 and more offers are going out every day. Four-star prospects Cameron Jurgens and Eric Fuller join three-star Masry Mapieu as Husker commits.

The 2018 class looks to be a bit smaller due to scholarship numbers, but that means you can expect pickiness considering the demand for quality over quantity.

Will Farniok, the younger brother of current Husker offensive lineman Matt Farniok, appears a lock to be a member of next year’s Nebraska football class due to his brother being a member of the roster. He currently holds offers from Iowa and Iowa State, but it’ll be interesting to see if any other programs offer or see his commitment to Nebraska as an potential inevitability.

Two names that have popped up as big targets for Langsdorf as next cycle’s quarterbacks are Corona, Calif.’s Tanner McKee and Coeur D Alene, ID.’s Colson Yankoff.

Next cycle offers some of the best talent in Missouri in recent history including defensive tackle Trevor Trout. It wouldn’t shock if Nebraska sees him as a must-get. Another prime example is Lee’s Summit athlete Mario Goodrich.

The St. Louis area is in excellent shape for the Huskers to raid. Missouri isn’t in the best shape and Illinois isn’t much better. Iowa has a presence but doesn’t have the cache of Nebraska. This will be a cycle the Huskers should mine the 500-mile radius hard.

Naturally, we’d be remiss without mentioning Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles, another member of what looks to be a developing pipeline to Calabasas High School.