Nebraska Football: This is a crucial spring for Luke McCaffrey

The Nebraska football quarterback has a lot of scenarios at play this spring.

The 2020 spring is going to be an interesting one for Nebraska football sophomore Luke McCaffrey. It’s going to be a spring of uncertainty. Perhaps the only certain part about it is that he is a good athlete.

For starters, McCaffrey will probably look to challenge Adrian Martinez at the quarterback spot. With Martinez still healing from surgery, McCaffrey will probably get an extended look over the course of the spring.

Steven M. Sipple raised the possibility that McCaffrey could move positions if he were to fall to third on the quarterback depth chart. However, we won’t worry about that until August. With Martinez on the mend, it would make sense for him to show what he can do at quarterback right now.

Here is where the questions come in. Will he be able to win the starting job? Given how head coach Scott Frost loves Martinez, I would say it’s an uphill battle. But, you never know. McCaffrey did impress during the times he came in at quarterback.

Secondly, should McCaffrey worry about switching positions? Right now, I would say no. I don’t really see a quarterback that could challenge him for the presumed second spot on the depth chart during the spring.

Lastly, could this all change come August? I would say yes, especially since the quarterback race hinges on how Martinez heals. Sipple seems to think that every rep he takes during the spring should be at the quarterback spot. I would agree, he has shown the most potential there. However, the fact that McCaffrey is a Swiss Army knife of sorts certainly gives Nebraska football the flexibility to move him around if need be.

There are a lot of scenarios surrounding McCaffrey and questions about where exactly he fits into the quarterback picture. Just based on pure talent alone, he is definitely in the picture. Where on the depth chart he will be and how much time he will see in 2020 remains to be seen. Martinez should be able to heal from his surgery, and I certainly hope for his sake that he is fully healthy.

In the meantime, McCaffrey has to make the most of this spring. If I were Frost, I would tell them the following things. Get as many reps in as you can. Study the playbook as often as possible.

Now in his second year, things should be a little bit easier than when he came in as a wide-eyed, bushy-tailed freshman. This spring is crucial for him because it may springboard him into the starting quarterback conversation. Whether it be based off talent or something wrong with Martinez remains to be seen.