Taking A Look Ahead At 2013 Needs (Offense)
By Jimmie Allen
With Signing Day 2012 fresh in our mind, we take a look at the departure of the upcoming senior class, and upcoming high school seniors. Nebraska has a couple big targets already for the 2013 class. Here is a look at the offensive side of the ball.
Quarterback
Leaving Senior: None
Needs: 1
Junior quarterback Taylor Martinez will enter 2012 as the front runner for the starting spot in the fall. Last season’s back up redshirt sophomore Brion Carnes returns, along with sophmore to be Jamal Turner. Who made the switch from quarterback to receiver, but still has ambitions to play quarterback in college.
The Huskers added 6-foot-2, 210 lb., quarterback Tommy Armstrong. Armstrong comes in with high hopes of playing early, and has all the talent in the world to do it.
With all the depth at quarterback in Lincoln, Nebraska has their eyes on a couple big time signal callers of the 2013 class.
Wichita Falls, TX., Rider High Schools J.T. Barrett who has hauled in offers from Nebraska and Texas A&M, and Malik Zaire who has pulled in an offer from multiple schools, including Nebraska.
One quarterback Nebraska has not offered but is showing major interest in is Brookfield, CT. quarterback Boeing Brown. Brown doesn’t have an offer from any school yet, but after camps this spring and summer, the offers should start rolling in.
Running Back
Seniors Leaving: 1 (Rex Burkhead)
Needs: 1-2
One of the staples in Nebraska’s offense for the last three years has been running back Rex Burkhead. Rex enters his senior season with 2,657 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns.
Nebraska returns two talented sophomores to be in Ameer Abdullah, and Aaron Green. Head coach Bo Pelini said that running back Braylon Heard may be moving to cornerback.
The Huskers landed big back Imani Cross. He is 6-foot-2, 210 lbs., and is the type of back that Nebraska has been missing in the backfield. Cross’ size could be the perfect combination to Green and Abdullah’s speed.
Tulsa, OK., Union High School’s 2013 running back Kendall Holmes has not received an offer from Nebraska yet, but has shown high interest in the Huskers. He could be a huge get for Nebraska. The Huskers will have to pull him away from the home state Sooners.
Tight End
Leaving Seniors: 2 (Kyler Reed, Ben Cotton)
Needs: 2-3
Seniors to be Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed have been the only tight ends to make an impact in the last three years. They leave Nebraska with a combined 65 catches for 972 yards for 1 touchdowns.
The Huskers missed out big on tight end Brent Wilkerson. The Huskers hosted the 6-foot-4, 245 lb tight end when he was on the fence about his commitment to Penn State. Nebraska was the only other school to host him. His visit went well, but it wasn’t enough to pull him away from the Nittany Lions.
Nebraska did land Cottons brother Sam Cotton in the 2012 class.
West Palm Beach, FL., Cardinal Newman tight end Matt Burke will be a guy to keep an eye on in 2013. He is 6-foot-6, 215 lbs., and has great hands.
Wide Receiver
Seniors leaving: 3 (Tim Marlowe, Steven Osborne, Khiry Cooper)
Of the leaving seniors Marlowe is the only player to see significant playing time. Most of Nebraska’s main receiving core is either sophomores or juniors.
Sophomore to be Kenny Bell was Nebraska’s leading receiver last season. He hauled in 32 passes for 461 yards and 3 touchdowns. Freshman Jamal Turner was the leading receiver 7 games into the season, and then ended up in the coaches dog house. Turner came in to Lincoln as an All-American quarterback out of high school. He moved to receiver, bu may be moving back in the fall.
Nebraska landed 4 star wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp in the 2012 recruiting class. Westerkamp may be able to compete for playing time, but the player to watch will be redshirt freshman Taariq Allen. Allen made waves on the scout team this year and coaches raved about his talents. He is 6-foot3, 190 lbs., and could be a force if he lives up to the hype of this season.
Marcell Ateman is a player drawing offers from all over the country. He does not have one from Nebraska yet, but it would be in the Huskers best interest to get involved with the 6-foot-4, 190 lb. receiver out of Wylie, TX.
Offensive Line
Senior Leaving: 1 (Brandon Thompson)
Needs: 5
Thompson is the only senior leaving after this season. He has not been a major player in his time in Lincoln, but loosing depth on the offensive line is always a big deal.
Nebraska will have two junior walk-on prospects that will contend for scholarships this season in Seung Hoon Choi, and Spencer Long.
Nebraska has a slew of talented scholarship athletes who will see major playing time this season in juniors Nick Ash, Brent Qvale, Cole Pensick, Andrew Rodriguez and Jeremiah Sirles.
In 2012 Nebraska landed big time offensive linemen, Paul Thurston and Corey Whitaker. They missed out on big time recruits Ronnie Stanley to Notre Dame, and 5 star prospect Andrus Peat to Stanford.
With all the juniors in the offensive line rotation, addressing the need for the offensive line a year early could be a necessity in 2013. There is a long list of players from the 2013 class showing interest in playing offensive line at Nebraska.
Take a look at the defense needs for 2013 https://huskercorner.com/2012/02/06/taking-a-look-ahead-at-2013-needs-offense-2/
By Jimmie Allen
Contact the writer at JAhuskercorner@gmail.com
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