Nebraska Football: Program depth a great thing for Wan’Dale Robinson

Nebraska football is better prepared for 2020.

Depth. When you look at the Nebraska football roster, that’s exactly what I see. Not only is depth good for the program. Depth is also good for one of the program’s biggest stars. Wan’Dale Robinson was counted on heavily to lead the offense in terms of both rushing and receiving last season. This year, that will not be the case.

Robinson recorded 453 receiving yards and 340 rushing yards, scoring five total touchdowns. However, you could definitely sense that he was hurt in some games last season. The post-Thanksgiving matchup against Iowa was the perfect example of that.

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Aside from just the injury portion of it, you could sense that Nebraska football was lost at times last season without him on offense. They lacked dynamic playmakers last year, and it showed. It put both Robinson and the entire program quite frankly, in a tough spot. There were some games when Robinson was literally required to carry the offense.  When Robinson was out of the game, so too was the offense.

The game against Illinois was a perfect example. In what was a career night for Adrian Martinez, Robinson was a big part of that.  He caught eight passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns, as well as carried the ball 19 times for 89 yards and a score. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his efforts.

The Northwestern game was also a perfect example of him carrying the offense. He caught seven passes for 123 yards and rushed the ball seven times for 44 yards and a touchdown. He truly did it all last season for Nebraska.

Now, Nebraska has several running backs in the proverbial stable. In addition to Dedrick Mills, Henry Gray, Marvin Scott III,  Sevion Morrison and Rahmir  Johnson should be able to help at running back. This is a great thing for Robinson.

Should he get as many touches as possible? Yes, he should. However, Nebraska football also has the flexibility to allow him to stay healthy without any major drop-off. That was not the case last year.

The ability for Robinson to get a bit of a break this year in games is crucial. That way, Nebraska football can still have their weapon while keeping him healthy. They don’t have to force him into the game due to lack of options. They now have the flexibility to give him rest while allowing for  impact playmakers to still be on the field.

This will only benefit Robinson and the future of the program. The more Robinson sits, the more snaps they get. The more snaps they get, the more opportunities Robinson has to be healthy. At the end of the day, it works out for everybody. It’s just another example of how the page can be turned on last year.