Nebraska Football Begins The Delicate Process Of Replacing Sam Foltz

The Nebraska football team has officially begun the process of replacing late punter Sam Foltz.

Players are replaced on the depth chart in college football for all sorts of reasons, the one that takes a heavy toll is when they’re being replaced because they passed away. This is why head coach Mike Riley has been very careful in his approach. In fact, he has held off talking about who will be the replacement for as long as possible.

With fall camp here, there isn’t any more time to wait. So with obviously heavy hearts the squad has started to look at who can fill the bill. The Omaha World-Herald is reporting the two likely candidates are Caleb Lightbourn and Isaac Armstrong.

Lightbourn may have the edge, since he was an actual scholarship signee out of the state of Washington. Armstrong won a spot on the roster through a walk-on tryout. While Lightbourn might have the edge, it doesn’t appear the coaching staff is going to be playing favorites and there will be a legit competition for the position.

The coaching staff has said they want the competition to be won by someone relatively quickly because the two punters have differing styles. Lightbourn is a righty and Armstrong is a lefty. Those two different feet will affect how the return coverage team works.

You’ve got to think the pressure on the two punters can get rather oppressive. They aren’t simply stepping into a hole in the roster. There are plenty of people on the team who will be reminded of their fallen friend whenever they see anyone step back there to kick.

The loss of Foltz, who was easily one of the best punters in the country is also felt in the extra point and field goal kicking game. Foltz was the holder for kicker Drew Brown, so the Nebraska football team must find a replacement there as well.

Next: Nebraska Football Fans Still Coping With The Loss of Sam Foltz

Former quarterback turned wide receiver Zack Darlington is the leader in the clubhouse for that job. Darlington was a holder in high school and he’s been working with the special teams unit so far in camp.