Nebraska Football: Wyatt Mazour Ready to Start Making Moves

Is that Danny Woodhead in a Nebraska football uniform? No, it is Wyatt Mazour, but according to head coach Mike Riley, there are a few similarities between the two.

Riley recently spoke highly of Mazour, comparing him to Woodhead. A pretty big honor considering Woodhead will be starting his tenth season in the NFL. Looking at the two of them, there are quite a few similarities.

Both players are Nebraska natives. Woodhead played high school football at North Platte and Mazour played at Albion Boone Central/Newman Grove. Each put up huge numbers in high school but flew under the radar when it came to being acknowledged by FBS schools. Woodhead ended up playing for Chadron State in college after the Huskers did not show much interest in him. Mazour walked on at Nebraska after being recruited by Nebraska-Kearney.

Woodhead was a missed opportunity for the Huskers. However, Riley did say he would have definitely offered him if he had been the Big Red’s head coach at the time. Luckily, Mazour is in Lincoln and ready to show what he can do.

An All-Purpose Player

In high school, Mazour was a quarterback. According to Maxpreps.com, he threw for 3,471 yards and 36 touchdowns. He averaged 151 passing yards per game and only threw 15 interceptions out of 358 attempts. Even more impressive, he rushed for 2,860 yards, 50 touchdowns and averaged 124 yards per game. To add to the stat line, he had 871 kickoff return yards and 305 punt return yards.

Mazour was no slouch on defense either. He had 28 tackles and five interceptions. He also notched two tackles for loss, three pass deflections and one fumble recovery. Talk about a guy who can do it all.

A Possible Breakthrough Season

Riley already stated that Mazour would have had a bigger role on the team last year if it had not been for injuries. If he stays healthy this year, the running back could see some significant time.

One advantage is that there is still not a clear leader at the running back position. If Mazour has a good spring and fall, he could work his way into the rotation. Take a look at his game film and you can see why Nebraska wanted him as a running back.

Even though he was playing the quarterback position, he runs like a tailback. He has great field vision and runs tough. An electric player, he has the ability to make guys miss and possesses breakaway speed. Mazour is a homerun threat with the ball in his hands.

Nebraska football fans have longed for a dynamic running back with breakaway speed, tough running ability and moves that make guys miss since the departure of Ameer Abdullah. Coaches have said they want one guy who can do it all. An all-purpose back. Could it be Mazour?

The sophomore could also see time on special teams. With the impressive numbers he put up in high school on kickoff returns, It would not be surprising if he got a shot at returning some kicks this season for the Big Red. He might even be given a look at punt returner.

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This season could be huge for the homegrown Husker if he can avoid injury and keep impressing the coaches. Mazour is a hard worker and a do it all player. Don’t be shocked to see him making moves in the depth chart and on the field.