Nebraska Football: WR Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda out for season

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule confirmed on Monday that wide receiver Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda suffered a torn ACL last week against Minnesota. The wide receiver is out for the season her multiple media reports.

Garcia-Castaneda received five targets. He caught one pass for five yards in the opener.

Garcia-Castaneda came back to the Nebraska football program in the winter. He entered the transfer portal last October, but elected to come back under Rhule.

Garcia-Castaneda tallied five catches for 120 yards and a touchdown in 2022.

WR Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda suffered a torn ACL last week at Minnesota, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule says. He's out for the season. "It's all hands on deck."

— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) September 4, 2023

What does this mean for Nebraska football?

This is a notable injury, given that Nebraska football does not have a ton of wide receiver depth already. This certainly limits the program at the position. Billy Kemp and Marcus Washington have the most experience at the position. Outside of those two, Nebraska football is going to have to rely on youth. This will just mean that younger players will have to step up and make an impact at the position.

Garcia-Castaneda isn’t the most explosive receiver. He does bring that experience element to the position, and that is something Nebraska football is going to miss. The wide receiver was looking for a fresh start in 2022. Unfortunately, he will not get it.

Receiver was a position that was an area of concern, given the lack of depth at the position once fall camp ended. Now, it’s going to be even thinner. We are going to have to see development at the position on the fly. This may be an opportunity for a freshman wide receiver to step up. There is little doubt that Nebraska football has   talented freshmen at the position. However, the development is going to be important, and may not always be pretty.

Nebraska will have to have a next-man-up mentality at the position.  Garcia-Castaneda’s injury certainly makes things tougher moving forward. It will be intriguing to see who steps up in his absence.