Nebraska Football: Could Zach Schlager find a role on the team in 2020?
The Nebraska Football linebacker looks to play well in his backyard.
You hear me talk about the linebacker position quite a bit. With so many veteran names, Nebraska football should be very deep at the position. One name that kind of gets thrown under the radar is Zach Schlager.
He joined the Nebraska football program in August 2019. Following his transfer from Colorado State, he sat out one season per the NCAA transfer rules.
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He did not see a ton of playing time while at Colorado State. Playing in three games on the season, he did just enough to preserve his redshirt status.
Although his college career to this point has not been eye-popping, his high school career was certainly something to be proud of. He was a two-way starter at McCook. McCook went to three straight district titles and made the semifinals during his sophomore and junior season. They went to the quarterfinals his senior year.
He was a beast defensively. He recorded 138 tackles as a sophomore, and record 119 tackles as a junior. He also proved very apt at running the football. He recorded 1,134 rushing yards and was a key component of that rushing attack.
As far as how he could fit in with Nebraska, I can see them putting him at the linebacker position. They are extremely deep at running back, and they have a bunch of bona fide playmakers. They certainly have depth at the linebacker position too, but Nebraska needs more playmakers on that side of football. He will certainly have to fight for playing time, as Nebraska football did a nice job of recruiting the position. However, he definitely has the skills to play at a high level.
Schlager will undoubtedly look to make a name for himself defensively. He is not going to put up major numbers, but he could prove to be a solid depth piece. He already has some experience at the collegiate level, so that certainly helps his case. As far as overall talent goes, he is on the outside looking in. I’ll be interested to see how Nebraska uses him and how often they use him.
Next. Huskers will most to prove in 2020. dark
It will be nice to see a Nebraska kid play in Lincoln. It seems like the coaching staff is trying to get as many players from the state as possible. We have seen with the commitment of Heinrich Haarberg that Nebraska definitely has pull in the state. Now, they need to continue to capitalize on it. If Schlager plays well, that would certainly be a proverbial notch in the belt for the coaching staff.