Nebraska Football: Blaise Gunnerson in prime position to succeed

Nebraska football has a talented linebacker on their hands.

Nebraska football outside linebacker Blaise Gunnerson certainly has an interesting story.

For starters, he came to the Nebraska football program from the rival state of Iowa. Secondly, he had a rocky high school career that was marred by injuries. However, he is looking to stay injury-free in Lincoln, and help out this addition of the Blackshirts.

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When you take a look at what his measurable’s are and what he can bring to the table, Gunnerson is certainly intriguing. At six-foot-six, 250 pounds, he is certainly built for the Big Ten. As a freshman, he could see playing time. That certainly wouldn’t be a knock on anybody else on the roster.  That type of size is just perfect for big-time college football.

As a high school senior, he recorded 47 tackles, 8.5 of those for a loss. He also recorded six sacks. Despite missing his junior year with an injury, that never seemed to deter him. As his official biography on the athletic website notes, he was the first Kemper Catholic high school football player to earn an FBS scholarship in at least 20 years.

There is no doubt that he could help form the backbone of a talented defensive line for Nebraska.  There is also the possibility that he could step into the outside linebacker position sooner than some may think. The Lincoln-Journal-Star profiled him on Sunday. As Parker Gabriel noted, coach Mike Dawson likes what he sees from Gunnerson.

"Said Dawson this spring, “Blaise has the measurables that you look for. If you were going to draw up or write up, ‘What does an NFL outside linebacker look like?’ He kind of checks off all those boxes.”"

Personally, I could see him starting sooner rather than later. He has the capability to do so, and Nebraska football lacked bona fide playmakers at the position last year. Now, it’s time to see what he is made of. He was thought of as a big get when Nebraska landed him. Now, he has to go out and prove that he is worthy of the praise.

I definitely think that he can be a staple on the defense over the course of his Nebraska football career. He has the playmaking ability to be able to get the job done. I would definitely consider him one of the key recruits for Nebraska. That type of distinction is a lot to put on his shoulders. However, he should definitely be up for the challenge. If he can play as well as he did at the high school level, Gunnerson is going to look like a steal for Nebraska.