Nebraska spring game on tap, plus another transfer in for hoops

Hey, Husker fans, welcome to another episode of the Husker Big Red podcast with Chris Peterson

and Danny Gillette. As always, Go Big Red! Good morning, Husker fans, and welcome to another episode of the Husker Big Red podcast

I'm Chris Peterson, and Danny Gillette is joining me as always, and we're back here

on Monday morning for another episode of the podcast. Before we get into it, please make

sure that you guys like the video and hit the subscribe button on the podcast if you

haven't already so you don't miss any of our future content. And also, check out huskerbigred.com

We also have a lot of great content there. So, Danny, how are you doing this morning

Good. My Bruins won game one and my Celtics won game one yesterday, so it was a very good

weekend for me. Nebraska basketball commitment, and less than a week until the spring game

five days. So, actually, I'm all right this Monday morning. Still tired, but not as grumpy

and it's sunny, so that helps, too. Yeah, we got the spring game, NBA playoffs. I guess

the NHL play. I don't watch hockey, so I have no idea what's happening with that. Yeah

I haven't watched a hockey game, except I watch Michigan hockey, but that's about it

I just don't care about the NHL. Since I went on the strike, I don't know a single player

in the NHL that's not a Michigan person. Is Alex Ovechkin still in the league? I know

him. Sydney Crosby, I know him. That's it. I don't know any other player. I don't know

a single other player in the NHL. Basically, the same about the MLB. I could care less

about it. I haven't watched a pitch of the World Series since the Cubs were in it. It's

so boring. It's the most boring sport in the world. I'm sorry. I feel that way about the NBA, kind of, but playoff basketball is always good, so I figured

I'd watch and support the home team. Yeah, I gotta be honest. I don't watch a whole lot

of ... I'll watch some of the NBA, but the games are too long. They take three hours

They call way too many fouls. I get sick of watching ... They need to allow the handshake

again in the NBA because the fouls and just all the free throws ... I mean, you spend

like 25% of the game watching guys at the free throw line. I don't want to watch that

I agree with that, yeah. It's 48 minutes. It takes three hours to watch. It takes as long to watch an NBA game almost as an NFL game. It's just insane to me. They

don't play defense. I mean, the playoffs they do a little bit, but ... Yeah, I mean, it's all about what's allowed to be called. They've definitely gotten a

lot softer. Man, people who want to fill the LeBron ... Jordan

would have scored 40 a game. Probably Michael Jordan would have scored 40 points a game

in these rules because he can't ... Dude, he was getting absolutely mugged back in the

day by the Knicks and the Pistons, and he's still out of the season where he scored 37

points per game. Just get out of my face with the LeBron talk. Jordan would have averaged

over 40 a game with these rules the way they are today. He would have lived at the free

throw line. I agree. There's a lot ... I'm not going to

say there's a lot tougher competition because I think the athletes are better, but there

was definitely more excitement and stars back in the day. Let's talk a little Nebraska now. We've got the spring game coming up this week, spring

practice. We had the second scrimmage was completed on Saturday. Dylan Riolo was awesome

again and made some incredible throws. A couple that stood out to Jalen Lloyd in the highlight

reels. Heinrich Karbrick led a 99-yard drive. Matt Ruhl said all three quarterbacks played

well. He's not going to name a starter yet, and I don't think ... I would make zero sense

to name a starting quarterback right now in the spring anyway, unless you already have

an established starter, I guess. What are you looking forward to on Saturday for the

spring game? Got to say the quarterbacks. It would be stupid of me to pretend it's anything else. I'm excited

to see Dylan and Danny and even Heinrich. Heinrich has been playing well this spring

so I'm curious to see what he does. I don't think ... At the end of the day, is he going

to be a key contributor in the quarterback room? Probably not, but I'm curious to see

what his development has been this offseason and how much Glenn Thomas has helped him out

I'm excited for the quarterbacks, and I'm excited for the wide receivers. I think there's

a lot of depth there, and there's a lot of talent there, and we'll get to see it

Just kind of an interesting side note here on the defensive side of the ball, Matt Ruhl

said over the weekend that if he were to name a corner opposite Tommy Hill, it would be

Bly Hill. I think Bly Hill is somebody to watch, and he's definitely gotten tested with

this group of receivers over the course of this spring, so how that secondary lines up

will be interesting to me as well. I know you asked what I'm looking forward to, and I could basically say the whole game, but those three things are what I'm looking forward

to on Saturday, and I think it's going to be fun. Yeah, it will be fun. I'm not sure exactly the format in terms of how long they're going

to play or if they're going to have running clock. I'm assuming it'll be all live except

the quarterbacks, because Nebraska's not doing a tackle with their starters. It is

going to be exciting to see Dylan Raiola. I'm assuming the first two quarterbacks are

going to be Heinrich Harburg and Dylan Raiola, that's my guess. It's going to be interesting

to see how that roster is split up, because it's not like you've got four quarterbacks

to go on two teams. I'm not sure exactly if they're going to divide it up into two teams

which I think that's what they did last year. I'm trying to think back, or if they just

had offense versus defense, because some teams do it different. Some programs will just have

the offense will play the defense and they have points that way. Some teams will, like

Michigan, literally split up their offenses and defenses into a maze and a blue squad

and they just played an actual game, which I prefer. I prefer that method. I think it's

more competitive. So I hope that's what we see on Saturday. But yeah, I'm excited to see all three quarterbacks. Raiola, I think, has obviously set himself

above everybody else in terms of trying to be the starter. I mean, he is going to be the starter. I don't think there's any question about that. Daniel Kalin's played very well

I think Heinrich Harburg can have a wildcat type role. I've talked about that a bunch

But I'm excited to see the running backs because this is a first chance to really evaluate

them live. Dante Taudel, Emmitt Johnson, with live tackling and stuff, I really want to

see how they've developed. But I feel good about where the running back room is at. I

thought it was interesting. Nebraska was in contact with the Toledo Louisville transfer

running back of Penny Boone, I think is his name. So I thought that that was a bit interesting

But overall, it's gone about the way I thought it would for Nebraska on the transfer portal

Nobody out, nobody in. I mean, yes, I know Eric Fields and Corey Collier technically

entered the portal, but they haven't been on the spring roster. So I really wouldn't even count those as departures

No, I wouldn't either. And you heard, I don't know if you heard, but Matt Ruhl said that

Amon Green was always impressed with Emmitt Johnson at practice over the weekend. So when

you can impress Amon Green, you're doing something right. And so, you know, we saw it kind of

last year, he really played at a high level. And I thought that we didn't run the football

enough with Johnson. And so it's good to see him kind of building off that, heading into

the spring and continuing to assert himself in the running back room. You know, and you

hate to see injuries, but sometimes injuries lead to players breaking out and other opportunities

So that's what happened with Johnson last year. And he's just continuing to, no pun

intended, carry it over. Yeah, he took advantage of his opportunities. You know, most of his games, he was over four

yards per carry. You know, he had that big touchdown against Purdue that helped put that

game away. So he did create, you know, some explosive runs too. He had some plus 20 yard

runs against Big Ten teams. It's not like this was against, you know, Louisiana Tech

or whoever. I mean, he got the most of his work in the Big Ten. So that's pretty translatable

I do like where he sits. I think he's been very productive. I mean, ever since I saw

him in that slam dunk competition, he's looked like a different guy. And I think a lot of guys on this team, you can say that about, which I think goes back to, you know, Corey

Campbell, the strength coach, the nutrition programs, all that stuff that, you know, Matt

Rule mentioned on Saturday in his press conference of why guys want to stay here

Well, they've got the best nutrition, the best fan base, the best sports medicine, in his opinion, some of the best strength coach, you know, he's going to develop you for the

NFL. So Nebraska has a lot to sell right now and it's working

But, you know, they've got to win games on the field, too. And I mean, there's a lot of, you know, drinking the Kool-Aid, I guess, for lack of a better

term, even from even from the national people. I'm not just talking about Husker people. There's a lot of, you know, everybody's talking up Nebraska who I guess when they're talking

about Nebraska, you know, they're saying positive things and that's because of Matt Rule. But they still have to go prove it on the field

But I am excited to see, you know, the depth and guys like, you know, Cameron

I want to see these second year players, you know, Cameron Leonard, Principal Uma Malian, you know, Van Poppel, Maverick Noonan, you know, Ethan Nation, Demetrius Bell, although

he's been injured. So I'm not sure what his status is going to be. You know, those are the guys I like to see because they're that second year

You truly do generally see a leap. And I think that, you know, we're going to see a bigger leap with some of these guys

you know, being developed by this coaching staff. So Jaylen Lloyd is a name too

Jaylen Lloyd has been getting talked about all spring. And we saw how dynamic he was last year with the time he was given

And now I want to see him take that next step. You mentioned Van Poppel

He's been a guy that's been impressing all spring as well. So there's a lot of interesting, there's a lot of interesting names

And I think, honestly, you mentioned Van Poppel. I think if he can kind of continue to, again, build and, you know, play at a high level

I still remember that goal line stop. I don't know if you were working or at a game or something because I think you were at a game

But anyway, against Illinois. And he made that goal line stop to kind of halt their drive there

I thought, wow, he's going to be a really special player. And, you know, he's so physical

He's very alert. He knows which gaps to fill. You know, I mean, I think he's going to be a really strong player in the coming years

And everybody talks about Ty Robinson and Nash Hudmacher and rightly so

But Van Poppel is also going to be a key component on the defensive line. Yeah, for sure

And then, you know, I want to see Vincent Shavers. He's been one of the most talked about guys, Corey Barney, in terms of, you know, I guess

if I was going to say, you know, talking about the freshmen that I want to see in this game

on offense, it'd be Dylan Riola. You know, obviously Daniel Kalin and then, you know, Jacory Barney, Grant Bricks, Gibson Pyle

But then, you know, on the defensive side of the ball, yeah, Vincent Shavers is right

near the top of the list. And Nebraska is a little bit thin at linebacker

I mean, that's one of the positions where, you know, it was like maybe they could add a transfer

You could have another. I guess they did add a transfer in Stephon Thompson. But Vincent Shavers might be the answer to that question of who's going to be the starting

linebacker this year or one of the starting linebackers inside. And we'll see how he plays on Saturday

I'm excited to see how all those guys play. I think there's a lot of untapped potential, I'll say, in that linebacker room, you know

that inside linebacker room. For sure. And Willis McGeaghy, too. I mean, is he on campus, McGeaghy

I know Shavers is. I don't know if McGeaghy is yet. I don't

I'm not 100% sure on that. I'd have to look it up. I feel like he was, but potentially

I mean, we haven't heard much about him this spring. So yeah, that's not 100% sure

He's just another name for, I think, the linebacker room as well

And so there is linebacker depth coming. It's just developing and not on the roster right now

But I think the Florida boys can make a really big impact. Cory Collier is another

I mean, not, sorry, Chief Porter's not Cory Collier. I got my Florida guys next up

Chief Porter's is a guy that's been making headlines over the past couple days

Rule talked about him and said he was impressed with his development

And all signs point to him really making a strong impact, again, on defense

And I'm curious to see what he does, too, because, again, it's spring practice hype

but can it translate? Even still, it's good to hear Coach call out some of these players for performing well

over these last couple months or so, really. Yeah, for sure, Chief Porter's has been definitely on the rise

McGahee is an early enrollee, so he's a Jack. He's more that outside linebacker type

And that's a pretty crowded position because you got MJ Sherman, Chief Porter's

Prince Wellman Malian, who was starting there at the end of last year, McGahee

So, I mean, that's gonna be a pretty stacked position. So that's probably why we have

We have Thompson, too, right? Well, Thompson's more of an inside linebacker

So, yeah. I thought he could play Jack, too, but... I mean, potentially, I guess, but the Jack is more those pass rusher types

And I think, honestly, I mean, I think that there was a reason they moved to

Mimalian there last year. I think that's, like, who they want to be in that role

Which I have no problem with. I mean, he's a really good..

He was really good as a freshman. He got to the quarterback quickly. And now it's about, you know, just trying to build off that

But, yeah, it'll be interesting to see, you know, McGahee and some of these offensive linemen

But mostly, yeah, I want to see what the quarterbacks do. And, of course, you can't get, you know, two..

You know, Jeff Simms looked great in the spring game last year. So, again, spring ball is kind of like, you know, the preseason

I mean, it's nice to see. It's good to see that it translates. But you have to do it on Saturdays

And Nebraska has not done that for a long time over the last, you know

three head coaches. So, I mean, even last year, I thought the team was a lot better than they

actually performed. I mean, they just... They weren't a 5-7 team. So, that can't happen again this year

And I think the quarterback was the key to fixing it. And we'll see what that looks like on Saturday. Yeah

And, you know, even if we see what it looks like on Saturday, there's no guarantee that it'll translate to the regular season

So, I mean, let's just hope everybody stays healthy. Health is what I'm looking for mostly heading into Saturday

You know, you never want to see anybody get hurt. And they've had a relatively healthy spring. I don't know if I'm missing any injuries off the top of my head

But from all accounts, I've had a relatively healthy spring. And now it's just about, you know, making sure everybody can get out of this game

healthy, have things to work on for, you know, summer workouts and things like that, and start looking towards the fall

Yeah, it'll be an exciting season for Nebraska football. A chance to, you know, get back into the mix, get back to, you know

our winning ways. And hopefully, the Nebraska basketball team can keep up with their winning ways

And we have another transfer portal addition coming in this weekend, Connor Segan from Wisconsin

Indiana was in the mix. Michigan was a team that was in the mix. At the end of the day, I think it came down to Nebraska and Indiana

So, you know, he was on campus recently and ended up, you know

working out for the Huskers. Kind of an interesting player. He was, you know, all Big Ten as a freshman, averaged 11 points per game

shot 35% from three. And then last year, just didn't really play a whole lot

Only seven minutes a game for the Badgers. Three-point percentage dipped down to 30%, but the volume, you know

fell off a lot too. And if you aren't playing much, you're only getting one or two shots a game

It can be, you know, it can affect your percentage. It's a lot easier to go up or down

So, I don't know. He played well against Nebraska in the game. You know, in Madison, he hit some three-pointers

Yeah, he was on fire. So, I mean, I think he can shoot. I think he'll be a good fit, you know, with Nebraska

I like, I think that, you know, they did a nice job of, you know, thinking about, you know, you lost, you know, Tominaga

You lost Jim Marcus Lawrence. You know, you lost C.J. Wilcher. And now you've kind of added some of those pieces back in Raleigh Wooster

Gavin Griffiths, and now, you know, Conor Segan. So, I mean, yeah, there's not a K.J

Tominaga, per se, in that group. You know, maybe Gavin Griffiths can be that guy as a former top 40 overall recruit

But, you know, you added a pure point guard in Raleigh Wooster, and you added some

three-point shooting, and some guys who've played and proven that they can produce in the Big Ten, which I always think is a plus

Yeah, and you get a lot of them for multiple years because Griffiths was a

sophomore last year, right? Freshman. So, he's got three years. Freshman. And then Segan was a sophomore last year

Yep. So, he's got two. Huh? He's got two years. And then Wooster, I'm not sure what his eligibility is

The other two are graduates. Morgan and Wooster are one-year guys. So..

There's two. There's two really good players with multiple years of, you know, control, as I

call it. And then you have the veteran experience of the grad transfers

So, that's at least something you can build your program around, you know

It's not going to be just one year and done, which I think is important as you try

to build out this program. So, I've been really impressed with the transfer portal hall over these last couple

of weeks. And Segan, I just remember he had a quick release, quick release, quick shot, shot

really well from, you know, from the corner. And yeah, I just remember that game in Madison back in January when he absolutely

destroyed Nebraska coming off the bench. And I'm excited that he will probably have a better chance to reach his full

potential here. Depending on his role, I would expect more of, you know, what we saw in 2022-23 than

what we saw in 23-24, but who knows? I mean, if you can look..

You look at his shooting numbers and so here's how you can kind of break it down a little bit

But he shot 35% as a freshman from three-point range. I mean, that's the big thing we're talking about with this kid

But he made two three-pointers per game on 5.5 attempts. So, he was a high-volume shooter and he made a high..

I mean, making two... Nebraska didn't... Tomonaga, I don't think, even did that last year. Maybe

He might have been close in that range, but that's pretty elite, making two

three-pointers per game and doing it shooting 35%. So, last year, you know, he shot 30% from three, but as a freshman

he attempted 5.5 threes a game. Last year, it was just two

So, I mean, again, you know, that's like looking at how many minutes he played

He only played seven minutes a game. So, it's like, you know, you're jacking up a couple threes here and there

Maybe there's one night where you're playing 15 minutes, you're shooting three or four, and then some nights you play five or six and he's only taking one or two

So, I mean, you're not really allowing him to get into a rhythm or playing very much

So, that can hurt people. But the thing that... where I'm not really worried about his shot is, you know, last year he only

attempted, you know, in terms of free throws, he only attempted, let's see

11 free throws. But, I mean, he made 10 of them. So, he shot 90% from the free throw line

The year before, he shot 84%. He's an 88% free throw shooter. So, that tells you, like, this guy can shoot and it's just a matter of, you know

getting him enough volume and enough attempts. He's made 89 three-pointers in two seasons

So, that's 34%. So, I'm not worried at all about, you know, him shooting 30%

This year, I feel like he's going to shoot mid-30s from three without worrying about it

And I think they're going to have a really interesting battle, kind of, for that two-guard spot

You know, Conor Segan and Gavin Griffiths, who's going to start there. And that'll be interesting to see

Ideally, I think it would be great if it could be Griffiths just because he's

you know, longer. I think he's got more upside. But they're both really good shooters

And the thing is, is you could play all those guys. You could play Wooster. You could play Segan and Griffiths

You could have Garriott, the four. I mean, so it just gives you a lot of lineups, a lot of different things that you

can do. But somebody has to take that kind of CJ Wiltshire role. And I don't know, to me, it feels like Conor Segan would be perfect for that

But I'm not sure if that's what Fred Hoiberg's thinking. But I think there's going to be an interesting competition there

And whoever doesn't come out of that, Griffiths or Segan, I think can kind of be

that, you know, CJ Wiltshire, play 20 minutes off the bench, you know, defend

you know, be that two-three wing combo guy and make a bunch of threes

So I like how both of those pieces can potentially fit with the roster

I mean, to me, I would think a Segan could fill that Wiltshire role

I mean, he broke the Wisconsin all-time school record for most three-pointers

made by a freshman. He had 69 in 2022 and 2023. So, you know, I think he could fill that role

And I'm excited to see what he does with more minutes, hopefully

And I think, like you alluded to, another Big Ten transfer, a guy that can play in

the Big Ten, guys who are familiar with playing in the Big Ten. I think, honestly, depending on what we hear about Rink-Mast, I think this team

could make another NCAA tournament run if all the pieces come together. Yeah, and John Rothstein tweeted something that was kind of interesting

about Rink-Mast, about his extra... That's exactly what I was thinking when I said that, yeah. Well, he said something about his extra year of eligibility, so I'm not sure if

there's, like, a waiver that they're having to try to go through. I do think it's somewhat interesting we haven't heard anything from Rink

at this point. He hasn't, you know, declared for the draft. He hasn't..

Obviously, I don't think he's going to the portal. I would think it would be either, you know, going pro or coming back to Nebraska

would be his two options. Although, I mean, he could enter the portal if he really wanted to, but I don't see... I mean, he had such a spectacular season in Nebraska that would make zero sense

I'm sure he's getting plenty of NIL money here. I do think he's going to be back

That's my prediction, but that's taking so long, it makes me think that there's

other factors at play. Just the way that, you know, Rothstein worded that, not meaning, you know

guys can't word stuff in a weird way. I don't know if he intended to do that at all, but yeah, that's the one big question

If he comes back, man, this team is freaking loaded, and I think they actually..

Joe Lenardi from ESPN put out an early bracketology like a year ahead of time

which I'm not sure why with the transfer port, but at any rate, Nebraska was seeded

as a number seven, and if they get Rink Bass back, I think that makes a lot of sense

I feel really good about this roster. They're still in the mix with William Kyle, the South Dakota state transfer

and man, I think he would just... just the perfect fit. I know people want Frankie Fidler and all that, but I don't..

he's not coming, Chuckie Hepburn's not coming, but William Kyle is legitimate on their... in it with Wake Forest

I think those... he's coming this weekend though for the spring game, and hopefully that will help lock it down

He is from Bellevue, and they could really use the Summit defensive player of the year

I think that would really be a nice addition to this team, although I do have to say, I think, you know, in Raleigh Wooster and potentially in Gavin Griffiths

they've added some nice defensive pieces too, not just offensive guys. Yeah, absolutely, and guys that can defend the perimeter, which is important

And so, you know, I think if they keep adding to this roster, like you said

this is a completely loaded, you know, team again, and this is a team that can make the NCAA tournament

still trying to find that first win. But, you know, I think if we can... I think if, you know, Nebraska can kind of

just put all these pieces together, you have a good group, and, you know, I think they have the potential to really, you know

have another great season in Lincoln. Yeah, and it's going to be interesting to see, you know, how it all works out

because, you know, you've got... I think people are forgetting this, but you do have Aaron Ulis likely coming back this year from his suspension

so he would be, you know, another point guard that they have

But, yeah, I like the roster. Yeah, yeah, I do too. And, you know, I think if this... you know, as long as this roster can stay healthy

and as long as this roster... because you also have Bryce Williams, Juan, Gary coming back, I think this team is extremely deep

and can make another run. Yeah, so Asegian puts them at 10 scholarships

so they've got three spots left. And honestly, you know, last year they left a scholarship open

so I'm not sure, you know, if they're going to fill all those spots

But, yeah, they could use, you know, another big guy, and then probably another wing

But, you know, they've also are in the mix, I think, with some 2024 recruits too

So we'll see how that goes. Yeah, I mean, I think right now they have a solid base

And, you know, I think as long as they kind of keep finding guys that can work for

you know, the style that they want to play, then, you know, it's going to be..

everything's going to be OK. The mass exodus we saw this year is not going to be as, you know

big losses as we thought. And then, Danny, you said you had one other football note

that you wanted to touch on here before we wrap up? Yeah, really quickly, three four-star linemen from Bishop Gorman are coming

SJ, Olufotuli, Douglas Utu, and Alai Kalinvalu. I totally butchered those names, but those are something to watch for

Three four-star linemen, all from Bishop Gorman. They, you know, Nebraska's been recruiting Bishop Gorman, you know

really hard over these past couple months. They already have Alexander Ruggeroli on the roster as a walk-on

So, you know, three four-star linemen. Donovan Reola is still recruiting hard at the position

And we'll see if anything happens with those three or if they can, you know, make any traction

Yeah, there's going to be a lot of big names coming up on campus, so we can definitely make that kind of a focal point, too

for the show on Wednesday, going over all the, you know, key recruits to know about, because this is a big official visit weekend

There's a lot of guys coming in for some official visits, some just unofficial

but definitely, you know, key talking points. So we'll cover that and anything else that we've got

We'll talk more spring game on Wednesday, break it down a little bit more

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