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5 takeaways from Nebraska Football spring game

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Via Huskers.com

The Nebraska football spring game is now in the books and here are five takeaways for the Huskers.

It was a perfect day for the Nebraska football spring game. The sun wasn’t really shining but it sure felt like fall and it was great to start the day with a give to the fullback to honor former head coach Frank Solich.

In terms of the action on the field, the White team beat the Red team 21-7. We’ll have lots of coverage in the coming days but here are five takeaways from the first Nebraska football scrimmage under Matt Rhule.

The defense won the day

As we predicted, the defense was the sharper unit for Nebraska football on Saturday. There were a few fumbles and also a defensive touchdown that would not have counted had there been replay.

Still, the defense did what it’s supposed to do: force turnovers. It also did a great job on the first two drives of holding the first-team offense out of the end zone. You aren’t going to stop everyone in college football, but limiting teams to three instead of six can be the difference between winning and losing.

I was also impressed by Tony White. He called a bunch of pressures, he mixed it up and he played a lot of youngsters up front, which proved to be a good thing on Saturday.

All in all, the defenses gave up two touchdowns, a 2-point conversion, and two field goals. It was a good day all around.

Jeff Sims looks like the real deal

Sims started the game really solid and outside of a botched snap, he was pretty smooth. He showed accuracy down the field and made good decisions with the football. He didn’t run as much as I think he will during a normal game, but he executed the QB draw to perfection.

In short, Sims looked like a starter. I don’t worry too much about numbers in the spring game. However, I think he’s going to be the starter for Nebraska football in the fall.

However, I wasn’t impressed with the other QBs. Henrich Haarberg ran the ball well but didn’t have a great day throwing the football.

I still don’t see a viable backup and if Casey Thompson left in the transfer portal and Sims got hurt, the Huskers would be in the same boat as last season, trying to win Big Ten games without a legitimate Big Ten quarterback.

Haarberg can get there I think, but he’s not there yet so Rhule needs to do his best to keep Thompson and Sims on the roster heading into next season.

Billy Kemp will catch about 70 balls in 2023

I know one thing after watching the spring game, Billy Kemp is going to lead Nebraska football in receptions next season. That seems pretty clear. He was outstanding on Saturday and while he didn’t catch a touchdown pass, he made multiple explosive players and hauled in a 2-pointer.

Some other guys will need to step up and fill the void left by Trey Palmer, but Husker fans have to feel good about what they saw from the former Virginia transfer.

Nebraska football running game was impressive

I don’t have the final numbers, yet they aren’t needed to know that the running game was impressive on Saturday. I thought the defensive line held up well at times too.

However, with a pretty thin offensive line group, you had to feel good about the play up front. Hopefully, Turner Corcoran is Ok. Outside of that, the hogs played well. Bryce Benhart really did look good. He looks leaner and more mobile. He did a good job of getting to the second level all day.

Marcus Satterfield also did a nice job of callings plays to benefit those guys. I loved the max protection call which led to a long completion down the field to Kemp. More than anything, I feel good about all five running backs and feel like Anthony Grant, Gabe Ervin, or Ajay Allen are all good enough to start.

The freshmen D-line were impressive

Princewill Umanmielen burst onto the scene on Saturday with multiple tackles for loss and a sack in his Nebraska football debut. However, the four-star defensive end from Texas wasn’t the only freshman who turned heads.

Cameron Lenhart also had a really nice day. There were multiple times he got quick pressure on the quarterback and there was one instance where the quarterback avoided him, otherwise, it would have been a sack.

Maverick Noonan was also able to get in the backfield. Jimari Butler and MJ Sherman had their moments too, but I came away impressed with the early enrollees on the defensive line. It was notable that they played with the No. 1 defense, and had an impact. I would expect all three to do the same with real bullets start flying in the fall.

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FB RECRUITING

Nebraska Football zeroing in on local 2025 LB

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Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football is beginning to make inroads into the 2025 recruiting class, and they will have visitors on campus next weekend. Hosting some local talent. 2025 outside linebacker Zayvion Campbell will be in Lincoln next weekend.

This is notable for a couple of reasons. For one, Ryan Gottula is the head coach at Lincoln Southeast. His son Gunnar is part of the 2023 Nebraska football recruiting class. The family connection could help Nebraska football land Campbell.

Secondly, Nebraska is continuing to recruit in-state. This is something that we have seen in the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes it appears that in-state recruiting will be a focal point. This is something the coaching staff has zeroed in on as one of their main goals during their time at Nebraska. They are sticking to that goal.

What could he bring to Nebraska football?

Campbell is a very intriguing player. He measures in at around six-foot-three, 200 pounds. He has good pursuit ability, and is able to wrap up and make tackles with ease. Campbell would be able to fit the Nebraska football defense by providing a solid presence inside. Campbell uses a variety of moves in order to get to the quarterback as well.

He would give Nebraska a player that could be used in multiple ways in a 3-3-5 defense. It would be fun to see defensive coordinator Tony White work with him. He has the ability to rush as well as fill gaps on the inside. That type of versatility is what Nebraska football should be looking for defensively with the scheme they have.

At the very least, Campbell is coming to campus to check things out.  It’s important that Nebraska continues to look at multiple candidates at the linebacker position. At the very least,  they need to make an effort to continue the recruiting pipeline in-state. The 2023 and 2024 classes were filled with Nebraska-born players. This is a trend that needs to continue.

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Nebraska Football: QB visit canceled and a Carter Nelson update

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Nebraska football
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football is set for its first official visit weekend of June and Kamari McClellan has canceled, plus the latest on Carter Nelson.

One of the big questions lingering about Nebraska football recruiting this weekend was whether or not three-star quarterback Kamari McClellan would make it for his official visit.

It was still on the schedule for this weekend according to the recruiting sites and in a recent interview, McClellan indicated he was still coming. However, with the recent commitment of Daniel Kaelin, it was only going to happen if Nebraska football suddenly decided to take two quarterbacks in 2024.

Anything is possible but the visit has now been canceled according to Sean Callahan of Husker Online. I think McClellan will wind up at Clemson or another team scrambling for a QB. Nebraska football was in that position and the kid is talented, but Kaelin, who is heading to the Elite 11, is a much better get.

Daniel Kaelin will visit Nebraska football again

Speaking of Kaelin, it wasn’t lip service when he said he wants to be around when any recruit comes to visit. The quarterback will take his official visit the same weekend as Carter Nelson.

But he’s now on the list for an unofficial visit this weekend. There are a couple of wideouts expected to visit. Jacory Barney is one and the Huskers lead for the three-star wideout via the On3 prediction machine. He’s ranked 459th overall out of Miami, Florida.

Williams Nettles is also visiting but he could be a cornerback or receiver. Caleb Pyfrom is a three-star in-state tackle also visiting and Kaelin being on campus could help push him toward a commitment, which seems to be where things are trending according to recent crystal balls.

It’s just clear that Kaelin is serious about doing what he can for this class, no matter how many times he needs to come to campus.

Another Carter Nelson visit

Add Penn State to the list of teams to worry about in the Carter Nelson sweepstakes. He’s going to visit the Nittany Lions on June 16th, which will be his fourth scheduled official visit.

Nelson is going to visit Georgia this weekend, followed by Notre Dame next weekend. The Huskers just got a Futurecast projection from Greg Smith of Rivals to land Carter, the top-ranked recruit in the state in 2024 and things seem to be trending in the right direction.

My thought is that Nelson is likely going to take these visits and make a decision sometime this summer, maybe in July or August. That’s just a guess. I don’t see this recruitment bleeding into the season and Nebraska football has put more effort in than any other program.

That doesn’t mean anything on its own. But Carter just took a visit to Nebraska along with Kaelin and that connection seems to be helping. Nelson hasn’t talked about his recruitment a ton, so it’s hard to get a read, but the tea leaves are pointing in Nebraska’s direction.

We’ll see if that’s still true after the next three weekends.

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Nebraska Football trending in right direction with Florida CB

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Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football is having a newsworthy recruiting month to start up June. The program is already trending with four-star corner Mario Buford. Now, it appears that another corner may be in their sights as well.

Amare Sanders is the name to keep an eye on. He is a four-star corner He is ranked numerically at 87.50 according to the On3 recruiting rankings. He plays at Gulliver Prep high school, and is from Miami, Fla.

Sanders is a three-star recruit and measures in at 6-foot-2, 167 pounds. Right now, Nebraska is in the lead for his recruitment according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. He is also visiting Nebraska this weekend, in what is turning out to be a big weekend for visitors.

Sanders has tremendous athleticism for a corner. He is able to make the proper reads on passing plays, and that allows him to close on wide receivers quickly and break up potential completions. He does a good job of turning his hips, and reading the play in its entirety. This is certainly important to his game and the way he plays. He also is a decent size for a corner, as he measures in at 6-foot-2 167 pounds.

Nebraska football making Florida a priority

It’s clear that Nebraska football wants to establish a stake in Florida. They are trending with wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr, and already have a commitment from Willis McGahee IV. Both of those players hail from Miami Palmetto. Sanders goes to Gulliver Prep, which is another highly-touted school in the state of Florida.

Currently, the 2024 Nebraska football recruiting class ranks 31st overall nationally with seven commitments. They have focused on both sides of the football, and are landing talented prospects both in and out of the state of Nebraska.

It will be interesting to see if Sanders ends up coming to Nebraska. The fact that he is visiting this weekend and is trending towards the Huskers is certainly a positive sign. The program done work in Florida before, but it seems like this time around their efforts will stick. Recruiting in Florida is a key component for success. Nebraska football is trying to establish that.

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