Time to get excited about the Nebraska football wide receivers

Hey, Husker fans, welcome back to the Husker Big Red YouTube channel

I'm Chris Peterson, and joining me as always is Danny Gillette. And we're back here on Wednesday morning to talk some Nebraska football spring practice

A lot of interesting stuff there happening with opening practice. We got some transfer portal movement with the basketball team finally adding to the roster instead of subtracting

So we'll cover all that. Before we get to that, if you haven't already, please do us a huge favor and subscribe to the channel

Please like the video, get into the comment section, and help everybody else out there find our content, which is for hardcore Husker fans

So, Danny, how are you doing on this Wednesday morning? I'm doing good. I can't believe we're in the middle of April

And a lot of spring practice news coming out the last couple days

A lot of different moving parts in terms of the transfer portal, like you mentioned, for basketball

So it's still busy, even though there's no season for football or basketball yet

Yeah, it was fun on Tuesday. I don't know if you guys haven't seen the highlights, but there was some open practice for Nebraska

It was the second time that they've had a session open to the media. It's not the full practice

I think it was about 30-40 minutes that they got to watch. But some interesting planning there from Matt Rule

They basically came out and were doing some live, 11-on-11 stuff, some two-minute drill

Danny Kalin had some nice passes down the field. Dylan Loyola did too

He also had some misses, but obviously that's going to happen. All three quarterbacks, I thought, played well

But the thing that stuck out to me more than anything, and it's been kind of a theme ramping up

has been just the immense talent that Nebraska has in the wide receiver room

Ja'Cory Barney making big plays. I know you wrote about that yesterday at huskarbigred.com

But what were some things that stood out to you yesterday, as just kind of watching the highlights and video from open practice

Don't sleep on Danny Kalin. We've talked about Dylan Loyola ad nauseum, and he's going to be a really good quarterback

But let's not forget about Danny Kalin. I mean, he looked really good in his throws that he made yesterday

Nebraska is going to be in good hands when Loyola leaves for the NFL

So as long as they keep developing him and progressing him, then I think it should be not a seamless transition

but a relatively easy one once Loyola leaves. And I can't remember the last time Nebraska's had a seamless transition

Never mind one going highly ranked in the NFL draft. So we're in good hands in the quarterback room

And then like you just mentioned, Ja'Cory Barney. I mean, he is electric

He is fast. He can make contested catches in tight windows. I mean, he may be on the smaller side, but man, he has speed

And I think fans were excited when Nebraska beat out the Miami Hurricanes for Barney

But I don't think they realized how explosive he is. And I'm going to go on record here and say that he may be one of the

best receivers of the 2024 class, if not better. Yeah, he's definitely been making plays

He had caught some passes from Kalin yesterday. He caught a long pass from Dylan Rayola, which they put in the spring league

Highlights the other day. I think that was Monday night that came out. So yeah, he's making plays down the field, but I mean, he's not the only one

I mean, Kalin threw to Jamal Banks, to Isaiah Nayor. Jalen Boyd's been catching passes, Demetrius Bell

So I mean, this wide receiver group is loaded. And we've talked about how talented this quarterback room is

And yeah, Daniel Kalin is going to be off the charts. I mean, my concern is hopefully that Nebraska doesn't lose him

eventually at some point. So I mean, I think they're going to have to, you know, if he's playing really well

at some point, I mean, they're going to have to play him a little bit, whether that's, you know, giving him a series here or there

But, you know, I think they're going to have to, you know, kind of massage that situation a little bit to try to, you know

try to keep him here because, I mean, make no mistake, other teams, you know, will be trying to lure him to the transfer portal with his ability

I think, down the road. But yeah, if they can keep him here for, you know, the entire time that Rayola's here

I think Nebraska is going to be set up extremely well at the quarterback position

over the next five years. And but truthfully, I mean, looking at this wide receiver group

I don't know that I've ever seen a Nebraska team with as much talent, you know, at the wide receiver position as this group actually has going into this season

It's pretty impressive. When you look at the wide receiver group from five years ago compared to now

you know, the amount of talent on the roster in terms of the receiver position has increased

you know, tenfold. And it's not just, you know, the talent that they have

it's all the athletic skills that they bring to the table. And they're all very, very fast

And the coaching staff wanted to make that a point of emphasis in recruiting, and they have

And so it's been really fun to see, you know, which receivers have stepped up

And, you know, instead of, you know, receivers thinking that they're going to immediately

slide into the rotation, they're going to have to work for it. And that type of competition and position battles at the wide receiver position

you know, I can't remember the last time Nebraska had one of those. So it's been really fun to see all these players, you know, put on their, you know

best show over the course of spring practice. And it's going to make for some interesting decisions come fall camp

And, you know, I think the starting wide receiver, you know, lineup might kind of be set already in the sense that me and you could probably name who's going to

start once the season kicks off in August. But at the same time, you know, one injury and it's who's going to be the next man up

And now Nebraska has a ton of options at wide receiver and options that

I don't know about you, but I feel comfortable with. Yeah, I feel comfortable with all of them

And I honestly, I wouldn't worry about who's going to start because I think it's going to be

you know, I think there's going to be guys flowing in. I think there's going to be six, seven receivers that are going to be flowing in and out

So I don't think who starts is even going to matter, to be honest with you

because, you know, the guys I think that will get targeted probably the most are going to be

Jamal Banks, Jalen. I think Banks and Jalen Lloyd are going to lead the team in targets

So, I mean, whoever's starting, like I think those are the top two guys

I like Ney or two. Malachi Coleman's going to be in the mix, even though he's not out there now

And then, you know, Demetrius Bell, I think, and Jacory Barney are also going to have a role

And that doesn't even mention, you know, Davon Hall, who's also played well, you know, this spring

Garcia Castaneda, you know, I think he's going to probably be more of the odd man out

But we'll see. I do think that all those guys are going to get opportunities, though

I mean, what about a guy like Isaiah McMorris? I know I mentioned him, but he's going to have to work his way into the mix

You know, I think the fact that he didn't, you know, that he wasn't there for the spring is

going to, you know, hold him back a little bit. But yeah, I mean, I mean, because you have Jaden Doss there, too

So, yeah, I wouldn't expect a huge impact from him. And I mean, honestly, I don't even even Barney and Hall

I mean, I think that they'll make an impact. I mean, I think Barney will probably catch more passes than any of these guys

But I still don't think I'd be surprised if he got more than like 15 or 20 next year, just

just because, you know, where all the other ball. I mean, I think Jabal Banks is probably going to lead the team in receptions, probably get

you know, around like 50 or so. But I really think it's going to be, you know, pretty spread out this year in terms of

you know, targets and who's kind of getting the football, which I think is a good thing. Yeah, for sure

And, you know, you said you look at, you know, people are receivers I have visited already

Isaiah Mosey visited this past Saturday, four star 2025 wide receiver. So they're not slowing down at the position anytime soon

And they're focused on filling the position with talent. And I'll be interested to see who they bring in because this room is getting crowded

So there's going to be decisions that have to be made. And, you know, they're going to have to figure out where they need depth the most

And right now, receiver depth is not an issue. So I'm just excited that we're having discussions on who can start in the depth and things like that

And, you know, I think, like you said, this may be one of the more talented wide receiver rooms Nebraska's had in recent memory

Yeah, I think they don't need as many guys in this class, but, you know, two or three

I mean, I think that you should I don't think you should ever really recruit based on your current roster

I just think you should try to recruit the most talented players that you can. And, you know, Cortez Mills would still be, you know, the guy up there

I've heard that Isaiah I've heard that Isaiah Mosey, I can't remember where he's kind of trending to, but it's not Nebraska

So I don't I don't feel great about him. There's another one, too

I can't remember who the other receiver is. But at any rate, I mean, I still think there's some solid options there

But, you know, Cortez Mills is the is still the guy that I'm pining for the most out of

anybody in the twenty twenty five class, because he probably could come in and play right away

as a freshman because I just think he's that good. No, he is that good

And he's he's again, just like a lot of these receivers, explosive can make things happen after the catch

Good downfield threat. And so, you know, I think that, you know, as long as Nebraska keeps restocking the

Cupboard, they should be OK. You know, when you look at I'm trying to think of right now who's the other wide

receiver that you're thinking of, because are you thinking of the guy from Missouri? Yeah, I think so. Yeah

His name, I can't remember either right now. Um, you know, it's just a testament to how much they want to surround their quarterbacks

with good playmakers and half half of how a quarterback succeeds is because of good

playmakers and, you know, building the roster around your quarterback and building your

roster around the strengths of your quarterback. So they're doing a nice job of that

And I'm excited to see how it all turns out. Yeah. And it's you know, they've said they've shown a lot of highlights of the offense

I think it's harder to show highlights of the defense. But, you know, I think the defense is going to be really good

And I'm excited to see how they kind of handle things. It wouldn't surprise me if the defense, you know, had a leg up during the spring game

or whatever, depending how that how that works out. We haven't really, you know, heard anything on who's going to play where or how that's

going to be divided up. I'm assuming it's going to be very similar to last season. At least I hope it is

I think that's the way to go. Treat it like an actual game. Get the players in a game situation

But yeah, I feel really good about on all three levels of the defense for Nebraska

I think that they, you know, have some really promising talent and depth

And yeah, this this team should be I mean, there was a thing that we've talked about

that before, but Nebraska has 19 starters coming back. I mean, I think they're tied for third

And that really I mean, on the defensive side of the ball even goes beyond that, I think

because they have guys who didn't necessarily start, but who played quite a bit last year who were coming back a lot of young guys

And offensively, I mean, it's a lot of the same guys. Plus you add, you know, Dylan Rayola, Dante Dowdell, who, you know, I think has some work

to do. I still I think Emmitt Johnson, if we were to start if we were playing a football game right now, I think Emmitt Johnson would be the, you know, starting running back

And again, you know, we talked about this, too. It seems like Matt Rule always has, you know, harsh things to say about incoming transfers

And maybe they do just have a tough time adjusting to, you know, what Nebraska is doing

I'm not sure. But I think part of that is planned to to not ruffle feathers with the players on the

current roster, too, and which is smart. I mean, everything Matt Rule does, he does for a reason

And quite honestly, I'm not exactly mad about Dowdell's slow start, only because I want

Emmitt Johnson to stay. I figured if if Dowdell started off really hot, then that may lean Johnson towards the portal

But for now, everything looks good in the running back room. And I would love if Johnson, you know, Emmitt Johnson was a member of the team come the fall

Yeah, I mean, he was really good last year. And like I said, you know, I mean, I don't think he's going to find a better situation

than he's going to have at Nebraska, because even if you whoever starts like either one

of them is going to get they both are probably going to average over 10 carries a game. That would be my prediction

I don't see even if Dowdell starts or Johnson starts, I don't see either of them getting

like 20 carries a game. I think it's going to be, you know, kind of like we saw last year

And it'll just be, you know, Emmitt Johnson, who was good down the stretch, just will have

somebody else, you can actually kind of share the share the load with Gabe Urban can get

in that mix, too. And I think that's the best way to go about it. I don't think you need to give, you know, one guy the ball 300 times a season

I just think that that's, you know, it's just tough to, you know, have that person stay

healthy and then be productive through an entire Big 10 season. You look at Anthony Grant, like two years ago, they fed him the ball because they didn't

have any other option. And he had like 200 carries and couldn't make it. And then last year wasn't really the same

So, you know, I really think spreading those carries out is the way to go

And I'm really not that worried about Emmitt Johnson leaving in the portal

And it's always easy to say, you know, and guys, you know, that spring portal, but it

never to see it always seems to me like the hype and and what the reporters try to drum

up and say about all these guys leaving just never really happens as much. And I feel like most of the time, guys that are leaving in the spring, that they are just

you know, it's usually running away for depth chart purposes. So it's like there are some good players that are going to be coming into the portal

like a few, you know, like an NFL free agency. But everybody that's going into the portal right now in the spring is doing it for a reason

I mean, that's just something, in my opinion, to keep in mind. And maybe it's for a payday somewhere else, but most of the time it's because they couldn't

get on the field where they're currently at. So have to be careful getting those types of players, in my opinion

You have to wonder how AJ Allen would have fared in this room by now or where he would

have sat, because granted, he played at Miami a bit last year, but that running back room

is loaded. And so, you know, with the injuries to the running back position last year, we could

have really used Allen. It's, you know, it's kind of it's easy to look back and say all these things now

But, you know, it's just it's just a cautionary tale that maybe the grass is not always greener

in terms of playing time. Yeah. And who knows exactly why he left

I mean, it seemed like he didn't have to do with the running backs coach to to

So, oh, boy. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, yeah, I do think he would be the starter right now

But that's, you know, it is what it is. I do think that, you know, they're in a good spot

I mean, I would like hopefully they can land to Marion Parker in this class, and that'll

give them, you know, with Connor Booth, that'll give him a couple of running backs. It'd be nice to actually see them sign multiple running backs in a class, which is something

they haven't done under Matt rule yet, which is kind of interesting. It's usually a position where you sign multiple guys just kind of, you know, out of necessity

you just usually need that many dudes running the football. But like I said, I mean, they get hurt

But at any rate, I think they've got a bunch of projections for him

I know USC in terms of Parker, USC is in the mix, Alabama, but really feels like, you know

a commitment's coming this summer from Marion Parker. Yeah. And, you know, I think last year they wanted to see what they could get out of Gabe Irvin

and Ramir Johnson, and unfortunately the health of both came into play. And now that they realize that they really need to, you know, get another running back

and, you know, try to continue to stockpile the room, because as we saw last September

once the injuries happen at the position, you know, the depth becomes a major issue

And granted that opened the door for Emmitt Johnson last year, but it still wasn't an

easy situation to deal with. And yeah, landing Parker would be huge

And, you know, Parker is an absolute beast. He can run north, south, east, west, you know, accelerate really well, get to the second

level really well. So, you know, I'd be really excited to have him in a Nebraska uniform

Yeah, for sure. It would be a lot of fun. I mean, he's a legit, you know, SEC talent

And yeah, it definitely seems like, you know, it's going, you know, going that direction

So in terms of, you know, the basketball team, there was some positive movement on this week

with Andrew Morgan from North Dakota State committing to Nebraska. That happened on Monday after we did our show

So, you know, 6'9 forward, 6'10, I guess, depending on where, you know, he's listed

averaged, I think just under 13 points a game, a little over five rebounds, but, you know

averaged more than two offensive rebounds every season. You know, it's an effective low post score, shoots 35% from three-point range, although

he didn't shoot a ton of threes. But what are your thoughts on Andrew Morgan and his, where, how he kind of fits on this team

Well, I feel like he's a, you know, ranked mass replacement, don't you

Um, I think, I think they could play together. I don't necessarily think he's a ranked mass replacement

You know, I do worry about that. He's very similar to ranked mass. And he has almost the exact same build, which made me a little kind of worried that he would

be a mass replacement. I mean, I don't know. We'll see. But to me, the alarm bells kind of sound, we're kind of sounding off as it regards

in regards to mass staying. I don't know if like you have the same vibe from it, but to me, that's kind of what I meant

I don't know, though. Um, yeah, I mean, I, yeah, I do think that that's a possibility, which would hurt Nebraska

for sure. But I mean, I, yeah, and I just think like, you know, I think I mentioned this, but I

mean, he's a good player. I do think he'll fit well, but you know, the idea of landing, you know, like another all

big 10 player from the transfer portal is probably not likely. I mean, that's, I think that people need to, you know, kind of set expectations on that

were ranked mass was really, really good. Um, I mean, I do, I do like that Morgan, he shoots the pick and pop very well

He's really good in the catch and shoot kind of like, you know, rank mass. Um, he even mentioned that they showed him a lot of rank mass, you know, kind of highlights

and stuff. Um, that being said, I do think that they could play together

Um, so I'm not, I'm not certain that, you know, rank mass is leaving yet

And the way I look at it is it would just give Nebraska, you know, another guy who could

basically shoot in the pick and pop. I mean, you think about last year when they had rank mass and Josiah leak on the floor together

I mean, Josiah really wasn't, you know, he couldn't stretch the floor. He wasn't a very good shooter

He really couldn't, he really couldn't make much outside the paint. Um, not that you want to shoot anything outside the paint, really, that's not a three pointer

And Morgan really doesn't do that. Shoots mostly shots, you know, around the rim, around the paint

And then he's deadly on that pick and pop. So I do think it would be, you know, if they did have both of them, they could put a lot

of stress on the defense. And I think they could play together. I mean, Wisconsin has, you know, like four bigs that do the same damn thing

So I do think they could fit. Um, but yeah, it does worry me a little bit about, um, you know, him coming back

And like I said, nothing, nothing's a sure thing until they, they, uh, you know, make

their announcement. I did think it was curious that he didn't announce the same time as, you know, Gary

and Bryce Williams. And, you know, when you talk about Morgan, he, he, he does struggle at the free throw

line a little bit, but, you know, he shot 70% last season, which was improvement from

the season before. So, I mean, you know, there, he is continuing to improve

I believe he made the, um, Summit League all second team. So, you know, he's definitely a solid player and, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm wondering, you

know, how exactly he'll fit, especially if, you know, mass stays and, you know, what his

role will be if mass, you know, leaps and, and what has been, you know, a wave of transferring

out with, you know, six total players getting Morgan was a nice kind of way to stop the bleeding

Um, yeah. And so here's something else if, uh, you know, that could factor into it with other targets

according to Jamie Shaw of on three.com, um, with William Kyle, who's another guy that

we've mentioned. Nebraska is a school to watch the team to watch here

I mean, he's taking visits to Iowa state, um, where he's going to, but Nebraska is a

team to watch there. So, I mean, if they get William Kyle, um, that probably would tell me that maybe rank

masses on the way out, but still, I mean, you still need front court depth. You need more than two big guys in the big 10 and that's all Nebraska has right now is two

So, I mean, you, and, and I, I realized that, you know, Duane Gary and Bryce Williams can

play the three, four, but like you need actual big guys. So, I mean, I mean, outside of, and the reason I say Nebraska doesn't have any is just because

rink mass hasn't confirmed himself on the roster. So, um, so I mean, but, but, uh, rank Matt, I mean, say rank mass is gone

If you get Andrew Morgan and William Kyle, that's still not enough. You still need another, you still need more big guys

So they definitely could all play and fit together. Um, and he's William summit, or I mean, William Kyle was the summit defensive player of the year

So I would, uh, if I had my choice, I would take him over Andrew Morgan, to be honest

And he's a guy that scores a lot. He doesn't shoot threes though. Yeah, no, I, I totally agree with you there

And, um, also Nebraska is meeting with a Rutgers guard, Gavin Griffiths coming on Friday and

you know, Griffiths, um, he played in 32 games last season for the Scarlet Knights

He started in three of them. He averaged 5.8 points in 17 minutes per game

And he made 31 three pointers for the Scarlet Knights, which was second on the team

And so, you know, when you look at, you know, guard depth and how much we need guard depth

I think Griffiths is a key player to watch. He's a former four star

So I'll be interested to see how the visit on Friday goes. And, you know, he's a guy that I would really want

And, you know, cause he can score in bunches. I mean, when you take a look at what he was able to do, you know, later in the season

he scored 16 points against Maryland in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, you know

10 points against Nebraska when those two teams played on March 3rd

And then, you know, 14 points against Wisconsin, you know, the game after Nebraska

So he can put up points in bunches. He made the most of his minutes

And he's a guy that I would really want and who I'm going to watch and, you know, pay close attention to his visit on Friday

Yeah, he'd be a good shooter. He'd be a nice piece to have

Could probably start. Nebraska needs, I mean, they need guards. They need a point guard

They need a two guard. They really don't have, yeah, they really don't have anybody

I mean, unless you're starting Bryce Williams again, but, you know, I'd rather

even so, they need some guy. I mean, because like right now talking about, you know, putting Rick Mass in the pick and roll

who are you putting him with right now? Because Nebraska doesn't have a single playmaking guard on its roster right now

So, I mean, and that's not an insult to Sam Hoiberg or anything, but you're not drawing up ball screen plays for Sam Hoiberg

That's just not his game. He's not a shot creator. No, he's more of a defender, which is fine

I mean, he's a very good defender. He's a very good scrappy player, but you still need a shot creator

So, I mean, if you look at it, I mean, it's a, if, if Frank does leave

then you could say that Andrew Morgan is a replacement for him and that William Kyle

is a replacement for Josiah Leak. But I mean, that to me, that's probably, you know, you, if, if that's even

or if that's a push, then you're like, that's very optimistic for Nebraska

I would say that that would be a downgrade off of last season. And then you lose Kasey Tominaga, who's one of the best scorers in program history

You know, so, I mean, it's, there's a lot, there's work to do on this roster to try to

get them back to where they were last year. And there's a lot of work to do. I know that Fred knows that, but, you know, like Gavin, Gavin Griffiths will be nice and

he's a good piece. He's capable of starting. I think he's more capable of doing, of doing more things than he showed last season with Rutgers

I think he could shoot up, make a lot of three-pointers for Nebraska, but, you know

is he, is he Kasey Tominaga? I'm not sure about that. And then you still have to find a point guard

I know they've got Aaron Ulis, but I mean, I just, I'm not sure if you can count on that situation

And, and truth be told, I mean, he only averaged like six points a game, you know, the last

time he played at Iowa. So they really need to go find like a dynamic, you know, shot creator and somebody who can

who could kind of get things going from that point guard position and who can run the ball screens

Because what, what good is it to have Rick Mast and, you know, Andrew Morgan who can hit

the pick and pop if you don't have anybody that you can run in that play with them. So that's, that's my focus

I'm not trying to, you know, cause any panic or anything. I just, you know, I'm just trying to give a realistic idea of where the roster is

Now you add a few pieces and it can obviously change and Fred knows this better than anybody

And I would say that the one thing I feel good about is Fred can find talent and, you

know, he knows how to develop it too. So I think he'll get some nice pieces, but there's plenty of work to do

I mean, while he's done this build at Nebraska, these rebuilds, what, three times now

You're rebuilding your team every year in college basketball anymore. So that's just how it is

That's every program. But I mean, I guess builds that work, I'd say the last two years

So, I mean, we'll see how it goes. He does have a knack, Hoiberg does for identifying talent and, you know, finding players that

fit his system. So I'm very interested to see what this roster will look like by the time, you know, next

season opens up and, you know, Nebraska has been in contact with a lot of recruits and

um, they're meeting with a lot of players, but, you know, we'll see, we'll see how everything

shakes out. And, you know, I don't think it's going to be, I don't think we'll have the success maybe

that we have last season, but at the same time, you know, I, I believe this team will

be competitive in the big 10 and who knows, maybe they can make a run, you know, next March

Yeah. And I just think, um, you know, like if you take a guy like Gavin Griffiths, this would

be, you know, Fred Hoiberg would make him a much better player. You know, and, uh, Rutgers is like the worst offensive team and, you know, major college

basketball, they just run a terrible system. And, uh, you know, he, he only attempted, you know, 3.4 or three pointers per game

you know, which doesn't, that's not very many and sees out 28%, but you see that happen

a lot with guys that, you know, they're low volume shooters. I mean, sometimes it takes getting into that rhythm

And so I feel like, you know, with Fred's, you know, coaching for one thing and coaching

of shooting, which I think is one of his strengths. I really think that Griffis could be a guy that could score, you know, in double figures

And then you put him next to, you know, play-making point guard and, you know, that's up with

Sam Hoiberg and, um, you know, Janowski coming off the bench. That's kind of a, you got a nice backcourt there

Um, there's also Connor Hickman, I think is his name from Bradley would be another

nice guy to get. Um, so, and anyway, Fred, Fred Hoiberg can find three point shooters

So I know that they'll definitely have plenty of those on the roster next year. Yeah, for sure

And it's such an integral part of the game now, maybe even more so than 10 or 15 years ago

And, um, you know, I think, I think, you know, Fred does a good job of finding players that

fit his system and fit the type of, you know, basketball that he wants to run

So I'm confident, you know, with this coaching staff that they'll be able to execute this build

It's just a matter of putting all the pieces together and making sure, you know, that they

compliment each other. Well, yeah, for sure. And you guys can follow along with the build at husky, big red.com

We'll have all your information. We'll be, um, you can follow along here at the podcast too

We'll have updates with all of our episodes, but, uh, yeah, definitely keep following on

the, you know, X there's lots of things happening with the, you know, the transfer portal on

social media. Like I said, we've got it covered on the website too. So we'll wrap it up there

You guys, thanks for joining us for another episode. Um, if you haven't, please do us the favor of hitting the subscribe button, hit the like

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