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What you'll find in today's news:
Nebraska recruiting: Latest updates on Huskers’ 2018 football class
WATCH: Reilly catches first pro TD, tribute to SF27 Forever
Big Ten network's Howard Griffith talks top contenders
As Pressure Builds For New Huskers QB, can he handle it
Awash in Big Ten money, Nebraska eyes spending opportunities
How a Husker Lineman Became a Well-Known FBI Agent
Sam McKewon's Husker roster takes, Week 3
Thomas standing out in first camp
Riley surprises team on Friday night
Pump up videos and more!
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LINCOLN — For all the grief recruiting services sometimes get from seasoned football fans, Nebraska’s fall camp serves as a reminder: Sometimes, recruiting services nail it.
Most of the highest-rated signees according to the services have also made an impact in these opening weeks of camp. Tyjon Lindsey had his strongest day Thursday. Tristan Gebbia is unusually impressive for a freshman quarterback, culling up comparisons to UCLA’s Josh Rosen. Avery Roberts has been here for a semester but nothing has changed with his trajectory.
But it’s been most notable along the lines of scrimmage.
Brenden Jaimes was Nebraska’s top-rated offensive line commit, according to the 247Sports composite. Thus far in camp, Jaimes has indeed been the best, a true tackle with the strength and footwork to handle an outside rush.
Deontre Thomas, Guy Thomas and Damion Daniels were the three highest-rated linemen — offense or defense — after Jaimes. They’ve been solid, too.
Deontre Thomas is quick and strong as a defensive lineman. Working with the No. 1 defense, he took interior offensive linemen by surprise Thursday and makes one wonder if, in a few years, a four-man defensive line is a possibility.
That’s because Daniels, though just 17, has some oomph when he gets his full weight behind a play. Daniels could still be a redshirt candidate — imagine him in two years with strength training and diet — but he’s had a strong week. Guy Thomas is moving to outside linebacker, and Nebraska may have just enough at the Cat spot — Alex Davis and Sedrick King — that Guy Thomas can afford a redshirt year. But he’s much bigger than his high school frame and he’s retained good speed.
On the other end of the recruiting spectrum, you have Jaylin Bradley, a low three-star from Bellevue West. Over his final two seasons at West, he ran for 4,627 yards and 69 touchdowns. It never moved the needle much with recruiting services — perhaps because Bradley wasn’t a lock to qualify, perhaps because he played in Nebraska. Whatever the reason, Bradley looks like he belongs.
This is part three of the Husker roster takes, culled from open practices and things heard about the current training camp. I have just one pair of eyes, I’m not a coach, these could be off, but, as Husker fans’ eyes and ears in practice, I’m passing along some of the things I’ve seen and heard from workouts.
A note: Camp grind fully set in Thursday. That was clear. Some of the eager freshmen spiced it up, but both sides of the ball had their sluggish moments, compounded by a lack of the blood-pumping, physical inside run drills that fire up both sides. A lot of third-down and red-zone plays, tough mental reps, routes and blitzes.
The breakdown:
OFFENSE
» Quarterbacks: Tanner Lee continues to look good on longer, tougher throws that fewer quarterbacks make well, and he throws some of those shorter bubble screen/hitch routes nicely, too. On the rollout, he throws a hard, tight spiral. He has decent touch. When Nebraska gets in games, he’ll stand in a pocket; he’ll get hit, too. Lee doesn’t bail easily. He may hold on to the ball a little long sometimes.
Patrick O’Brien made one of his best plays of camp Thursday when he simply scrambled for a long gain and a first down. O’Brien is the best athlete of the three scholarship quarterbacks. But everything else is a tick slower or a little off; on a nicely designed play, he overthrew an open receiver, Tommy Armstrong-style. O’Brien was sharper in spring.
Gebbia has a knack guys either have or they don’t, and he showed it on a red-zone play that he clearly knew would be a score if he executed it fast. On a shotgun rollout, he reverse pivoted, spun quickly, and fired the ball a few steps out of the spin for an easy score in the flat. It’s little moments like that. He knows the game and when to be urgent. He did throw an interception early in the two-minute drill.
» Running backs: Little to report here. As offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said Thursday, no back has pulled away from the pack, Tre Bryant isn’t practicing and each back has reportedly had a pretty good camp. NU may know what it has here better than it does at wideout, where the Huskers have to develop some backups lest the starters get dinged up. Mikale Wilbon had a good grab on Thursday. Fullback Luke McNitt did, too, and a few good lead blocks.
» Wide receivers: Work in progress. Stanley Morgan had a strong day Thursday on intermediate routes; De’Mornay Pierson-El was often well-covered. JD Spielman, almost surely the starting slot receiver with Keyan Williams recovering from a hamstring injury, looked good working those shorter, shift-into-multiple-gear routes that Williams handles well.
Lindsey’s top gear is the real deal, and he’ll be a weapon that Nebraska coaches must wisely use during games. Gabe Rahn and Brett Classen are up with that top bunch, and both are serviceable players. Lindsey’s coming along. Bryan Reimers didn’t practice. Protecting Morgan, DPE and Spielman’s health is paramount.
» Tight ends: I wrote last week the unit is better than people think, and coach Mike Riley confirmed that last Saturday with his comments about the group. Then Langsdorf said senior starter Tyler Hoppes is having as good of a camp as any Husker, which is accurate. Hoppes could be NU’s No. 3 pass-catcher behind Morgan and Pierson-El. He should have played more last season. Connor Ketter is a taller version of a JB Phillips, if you recall him from the mid-2000s. Ketter can move earth as a blocker, and he’s a giant target on shorter routes. Jack Stoll has grown up in a short timeframe and may be NU’s starter in 2018. Riley, Langsdorf and position coach Tavita Thompson know what they’re doing here. Thompson goes on full-time in January. He may have multiple job offers by then.
» Offensive line: Not the best day on Thursday — the coaches acknowledged as much — but some of the pressure combinations were tough to decipher, and third-and-long is never a fun down to practice for the offense, especially when the defense knows all the plays and the players and the tendencies. So, knowing that, the line had its struggles, but what I’ve heard (and seen a little) is Nebraska can run the ball pretty well.
Cole Conrad, Jerald Foster and Tanner Farmer — that’s a solid trio inside. Nick Gates and David Knevel at the tackles can be inconsistent pass blockers, but it should work itself out once the season starts. Nebraska will use its playbook to keep defenses off balance.
Among the backups, Michael Decker, Matt Farniok, John Raridon, Jaimes and Boe Wilson are the top No. 2s. Two 2015 recruits — Christian Gaylord and Jalin Barnett — are with the No. 3s. This is the best overall depth Nebraska’s had since Cavanaugh arrived. Perhaps the best since 2012. Conrad is a walk-on deserving of a scholarship, but Nebraska had leaned too much on walk-ons in recent years. Not this season — or next.
DEFENSE
» Defensive line: Good stuff here. Carlos Davis was on a tear again Thursday and his twin brother Khalil wasn’t too far behind. “Explosive” is the right word for both. They have long been good pass rushers — they were in high school — and they’ll only get better there. Freedom Akinmoladun plays heavy — he packs some power, which makes up for being a notch slower than some defensive ends. Deontre Thomas, an effort-just-past-the-whistle guy with a quick twitch, is the closest in style to the Davis twins, while Peyton Newell slipped behind Daniels for a practice, but still makes plays.
Fast forward two seasons when the twins are seniors and Thomas and Daniels have a couple years in the John Parrella/Bob Diaco system. That’s quite a four-pack. DaiShon Neal and Ben Stille could help against the run. It’s funny; if NU got an elite pass-rushing end — say Ronnie Perkins or even Micah Parsons — the room may set up for equal flexibility between 3-4 and 4-3.
» Linebackers: Dedrick Young and Chris Weber will almost certainly lead the team in tackles, and they’ll be solid, downhill run stoppers. Weber was good in pass coverage Thursday, and Young wasn’t bad, but he twice let a running back cross his face on some option routes. If Young is the dime ’backer, that’ll be worth watching.
At outside linebacker, Luke Gifford appears to be the No. 1 “Dog” while Alex Davis is slightly ahead of Sedrick King as the No. 1 “Cat.” Davis continues to develop; he’s smart and has the ability, but this is his fourth year of organized football, too. King’s a “depth guy” without Davis’ natural talent. With Gifford, think Bo Ruud — and remember, Ruud was pretty good in 2005 and 2006. Marcus Newby will play a lot, too, and he’s always been good in space. The backup inside linebackers — Mohamed Barry and Roberts — are the future.
» Defensive backs: Dicaprio Bootle may be the most technically sound of the three starting cornerbacks. Bootle’s not a guy who you’d want squaring off against the 6-foot-5 dude in the red zone, but, in open space against a 5-10 speedster, Bootle has skills. Nebraska’s not tackling much, but he’s in position to do that, and he knows how to get in on the ball.
Lamar Jackson makes some gorgeous, long-striding pass breakups — he had a Prince Amukamara special on Thursday — but he could use a little of Bootle’s mustard. Eric Lee, a combo of the two, could be the best of them, actually. He’s perhaps a little stockier than Chris Jones, which means he can be more physical. If he can mirror Jones’ work ethic, it’ll be interesting to watch him develop. Avery Anderson made a nice play Thursday against Lindsey.
With the drills we see, it’s hard to get a good evaluation on the safeties. Diaco isn’t in their grills very often. Joshua Kalu and Aaron Williams are as entrenched in their spots as any Husker starter.
Sam McKewon's Husker roster takes, Week 3