Nebraska Football: Freshman WRs will get chance Saturday

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule had high praise for freshman receivers on Thursday, as the program gets set to take on Northwestern.

The head coach that the freshman wide receivers are ready to play. Malachi Coleman will be starting this week, and Jaylen Lloyd will be on the two-deep. Coleman had a catch for 5 yards against Illinois on October 6. It was the first action of his collegiate career.

LIoyd has seen action in both the Minnesota and Michigan games. He caught one pass for 19 yards against the Wolverines.

Rhule feels confident about what this group can do, and he expressed that on Thursday as transcribed by Brian Christopherson.

Rhule on the young WRs: Great 2 weeks of practice. "I know this. They might be young, but they're as fast as any group of receivers in the country. Not very often you have 10.3/10.4 guys out there… They're ready to play… Those guys can play and I'm excited to see them play."

— Brian Christopherson (@Husker247BC) October 19, 2023

Important for future of Nebraska Football

This is going to be a big test for the freshman wideouts. Coleman is an elite playmaker. Lloyd has a ton of speed, and can make big plays in the open field.

These types of opportunities will help them develop in the long run. It will be fun to see Coleman in particular, as he was such a heralded recruit out of high school. Lloyd is a playmaker, and somebody who can make an impact in his own right.

Either way, this will be helpful for the long-term development of the wideouts in the program. Developing wide receivers has not been a strong suit in the past. Now, it looks like Coleman and Lloyd will get their shots to help out right away. Yes, this is partly because the depth that wide receiver is so thin. However, these guys can be impact playmakers when given the chance.

It is safe to say that they will get their chance on Saturday against a Northwestern team that should provide them a lot of opportunities. The Wildcats allow 189.7 passing yards per game. The biggest question will be if Heinrich Haarberg can get them the football. This is a very run-heavy team.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 1:30 PM.