Nebraska Cornhuskers Football: Who’s your favorite receiver?
The emergence of the Nebraska Cornhuskers passing game has been a great sight in 2015. One of the concerns this season, happened to be about the productivity of the wide receivers. Due to Nebraska changing their entire offensive philosophy, there was intrigue about how the receivers would adapt to Mike Riley‘s new system. So far, the entire unit has been superb in most games.
Coming into the Big Ten conference season, the Huskers have the 19th rated offense in the country. While the Cornhuskers have the 51st ranked ground attack, averaging 194.8 yards per game, they’ve really exploited defenses, using the aerial attack. Currently, the Huskers are No.17 in passing, throwing for over 324 yards per game. With those numbers, the receivers must be playing a great brand of football.
Despite having a record of (2-2), there’s been little fault to find with the receiving corp. However, there was turmoil before the first game. De’Mornay Pierson-El had an injury before the season started. His loss was met with a gasp by the entire Husker Nation, but the coaching staff felt there were enough players to make up for Pierson-El’s absence. Now Pierson-El maybe returning to the deepest set of wide receivers in college football. In addition, Pierson-El could be the player that takes Nebraska’s offense over the top.
Jordan Westerkamp
While many eyes were focused on Pierson-El’s big play ability, the most consistent receiver in the Huskers’ program was Jordan Westerkamp. Last season, Westerkamp had a career high 44 receptions. After four games, he’s more than halfway to smashing most of his single-season offensive records. Westerkamp leads the Huskers with 26 catches and four touchdowns. He’s definitely maintained his status as Tommy Armstrong‘s go-to guy. Could he find himself with more opportunities for big plays during conference play? Once Pierson-El gets back in the fold, defenses must pay attention.
Brandon Reilly is also having a career year the Nebraska Cornhuskers. After an injury plagued 2014, Reilly has burst on the scene with huge plays. With 17 catches, Reilly is averaging 19.8 yards on each reception. He also had his first career touchdown this season. Reilly’s consistently making big plays, so the only thing he’s missing are those touchdown celebrations.
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There was one person the Nebraska coaching staff looked to replace Pierson-EL. Alonzo Moore is tied for third on the team with 11 receptions. He’s also third on the Huskers with three touchdowns. Like the rest of the receiving unit, Moore has made some big plays for the Huskers’ offense. However, it will be interesting to see how his role changes as Pierson-El gets back to action.
The only newcomer on the list is freshman Stanley Morgan Jr. At 6’0 185 pounds, Morgan catches the ball and runs with authority. Let’s face it, at some point, he’s supposed to be the best receiver to come through Nebraska in a long time. So far, Morgan Jr. has not disappointed in his young career. With 11 catches, and a touchdown, Morgan might be ready to have a strong conference campaign in 2015.
Lane Hovey is part of a trio of receivers making their mark this season. Along with Hovey, Taariq Allen and Jamal Turner have been in the rotation of this deep receiving corp. While they haven’t been featured in most games, all three players are capable of making big plays for the offense. In fact, if Armstrong didn’t short arm the pass in overtime, Allen may have been the hero of the game with a second touchdown. Likely, one of these players will make something happen in each game the rest of the way. With all the close games, Nebraska plays, they better come through.
As a unit, the receivers caught 78 passes in non conference play. They are almost halfway to their season total from last season. If Armstrong continues to connect with the receivers, there’s no question the Huskers will break team records in 2015. For the Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the Big Ten, the receivers have to be a dominate group.