The Nebraska wide receiver room is a tough group to preview. In the lone press conference with their position coach, Daikiel Shorts, most of the questions were about Shorts himself and he didn’t say much about the players.
I think we have three guys that Nebraska should be able to rely on at the wide receiver position. Then we have two true freshmen who could end up being pretty special as they develop.
After that there are a bunch of players we have heard about over the past season or two that we are just waiting to make a jump. I wonder who that surprise wide reciever could be?
I would love to hear some great news about Quinn Clark. That 6’5” frame would be great to get on the field.
Anywho, here is the wide receiver spring preview.
Confident Contributors: Dane Key, Jacory Barney Jr. Nyziah Hunter and Janiran Bonner
Dane Key is the lowly senior on this group as he followed his wide receiver coach, Daikiel Shorts, from Kentucky. I would consider Key and Jacory Barney to be the “for sure” starters for this Nebraska offense.
While at Kentucky, Key caught 126 passes for 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns in his three seasons there.
Jacory Barney, as a true freshman, played in all 13 games last season for the Huskers and caught 55 passes for 447 yards.
Barney and Key look to have their spots locked down.
The other one that I expected to start was Hardley Gilmore, also from Kentucky, but he was dismissed from the team according to head coach Matt Rhule.
So there are at least one or two starting spots left and my next best guess is Nyziah Hunter as he transferred here from the University of California. Hunter is 6’2” 210 pounds, same frame as Key, Hunter started eight games and played in 12 last season as a redshirt freshman. He caught 40 passes for 578 yards with five touchdowns.
That’s pretty good.
I threw Janiran Bonner in there because he is a jack of all trades and I am confident they are going to use him in specific situations in this offense.
After these four, unless we hear differently, it looks like we might end up depending on a couple of talented true freshmen.
The Next Guys Up? Cortez Mills and Isaiah Mozee
Cortez Mills, a true freshman, appears to have the highest ceiling of any wide receiver on the roster and many think he could push for some immediate playing time.
Mills was a high school All-American and was ranked as the #13 wide receiver in the country and ESPN and #14 by Rivals.
Isaiah Mozze, also a true freshman, has started making waves as well in spring football and was also a highly regarded recruit out of high school. It doesn’t hurt that his dad is currently on the Nebraska football staff.
Keep and eye on Mills and Mozze moving forward. There are roads for those two to make contributions right away for the Huskers.
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