Luke McCaffrey could be the future of Nebraska football.
There are a lot of intriguing storylines with 2019 commitment and early enrollee Luke McCaffrey. First, let’s start with the obvious. He comes from a family of freakishly good athletes. Perhaps the two most notable in his family are father Ed McCaffrey, who was a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos and brother Christian McCaffrey who is a star running back for the Carolina Panthers. If everything goes according to plan, Luke McCaffrey could be the next one in the family to make it big.
McCaffrey is part of a Nebraska recruiting class that ranks No. 21 nationally and number four in the Big Ten per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. This past season for Valor Christian High School, McCaffrey threw for 2,202 yards, 21 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He averaged 157.3 yards per contest per statistics from Maxpreps.com. This kid could be another gem for Nebraska as unfortunately, they probably have to prepare for life without Adrian Martinez sooner rather than later.
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Let’s face it, Martinez is already getting Heisman-worthy hype. He is probably a sure bet to leave school early, and if that’s the case the program needs a backup plan at quarterback. Martinez can leave after 2020 to be eligible for the 2021 draft. By that point, via studying under Martinez and just because he has tremendous overall skill, McCaffrey should be ready to take on the starting role. That certainly would not be a bad transition plan for the Huskers.
Nebraska’s great work on the recruiting trail has begun to pay its dividends. Per a tweet from Nate Clouse of Rivals.com, McCaffrey has been selected to play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame World Bowl. The game is slated to be held on December 22 at Azul Stadium in Mexico City. There, McCaffrey will hopefully be able to show off some of his skill set. It should be exciting to see him play there.
Looking more into the future, there is a very good chance McCaffrey could play next year. Martinez’s slated back up transferred after losing the starting job. As result, the program has to use walk-on quarterback Andrew Bunch for the backup role heading into the 2019 season. Per the new redshirt rule for the 2018 season, a player will now be allowed to play in up to four games and still qualify for a redshirt season. This could be huge for McCaffrey, especially in the experience department. Four games plus another season via the redshirt option could prepare him well for the NFL Draft if the opportunity arises.
We all know talent is not an issue with him. He is the apprentice waiting in the wings. That is something Nebraska fans should be very excited for. The quarterback position has a very bright future.