Nebraska Football Spring 2017: Five Players Who Must Step Up

Nebraska football spring practice begins Saturday and this is a big year for head coach Mike Riley. The 63-year-old enters his third season at Nebraska with soaring expectations — and urgency to match.

Riley needs his young talent to come in and push the older guys in order to accelerate the development of the entire team.

If the assessments of the 2017 recruiting class are accurate, that seems likely to happen.

That’s why it’s also a big year for a few veterans whose time of reckoning may be coming. Some have lasting legacies on the line.

Here is a list of five players who need to step up and have big performances this spring.

Devine Ozigbo, Running Back

Ozigbo played as a freshman and showed ample future promise, but his current outlook seems uncertain.

After rushing for 80 yards on 20 carries against UCLA in the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl, the 230-pounder looked primed to get the lion’s share of the carries in 2016. Instead, senior Terrell Newby separated himself from the pack.

At the same time, Tre Bryant flashed as a true freshman while Ozigbo was injured. Even after returning from injury, the sophomore was sidelined for entire games. Meanwhile, Bryant impressed in a backup role and looked to have a leg up on Ozigbo at season’s end.

The tables did seem to turn in the season-ending loss to Tennessee, however. In that game, Ozigbo gained 66 yards on seven carries (including a 42-yard burst) while Bryant didn’t get a single offensive touch.

As he enters his junior season, “Zig” needs to transfer that momentum over to this spring. After all, the talented Bryant will be incessantly nipping at Ozigbo’s heels. 

If he wants to stay ahead of the talented sophomore-to-be, Ozigbo needs to leave his coaches no doubt he’s the man. That quest starts right away.