Nebraska Football: Connor Culp major addition to revamped special teams

Nebraska football continues tinkering with special teams.

Nebraska football continues to overhaul the special-teams unit, and Friday they added another kicker to the fold. Connor Culp, formerly a  LSU Tiger is coming to Lincoln.

He was a back-up kicker in 2018 and 2019. That was not a reflection on his skill. Rather it was a result of how good the two kickers ahead of him were. Cole Tracy and Cade York were ahead of Culp. Tracy is in the NFL, and York will be beginning his sophomore season at LSU in 2020.

Culp becomes one of Nebraska’s most experienced kickers upon arrival. He went 11-of-16 on field goals and 20-of-23 extra points last year. As the Omaha World-Herald notes, no current kicker on the roster has attempted a field goal at the Power Five conference level. Lane McCallum has assumed a role at outside linebacker.

Again, Nebraska is putting emphasis on special-teams. That’s the smart move for the program moving forward. I really like the addition of Culp. He has experience kicking in a big-time college football setting. Not only that, he has experience with the SEC. I always say that the SEC is the college version of the National Football League. Having experience with the rigors of the conference should help him in Lincoln.

I really like this move for Nebraska. This gives them an experienced kicker who has played Division I college football before. He has a very strong leg, he made  two-of-four field goals from the 20-29-yard range. He also proved to be successful at the 30-39-yard range, making six of seven field goals. In particular, his success from deep is what’s going to help Nebraska. He went three-of-four on field goals that ranged from 40 to 49 yards out. Nebraska football did not have a kicker that could do that last year.

It will be interesting to see how he impacts the roster. Nebraska football has a ton of kickers as the season looks to resume. Now, they will have to figure out where Culp will fit. Given how Nebraska football’s kicker competition is wide open, he definitely has a chance to become a starter. That will be one of the most interesting positions to look at once football resumes.

Nebraska football lacked options at the kicker position in 2019. That will not be the case this year. Now, it’s all about seeing who can get the job done most efficiently. It is sure going to be nice to have stability at the position.