There were several Nebraska football players that played well on Saturday. One player I was extremely excited to see play well was wide receiver Omar Manning. There has been talk all spring about how well he has done over the course of the past couple of weeks. He got to show the fruits of his labor on Saturday, and there was certainly something to build off there.
He had three catches for 24 yards, with a 12- yard reception being his longest of the afternoon. In what was a day in which several members of the wide receiving core played well, Manning certainly fit that description as well. He was able to get his reps in, and he was able to make an impact.
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He looked comfortable within the offense, and he took what the defense gave him on Saturday. Granted, there was not a ton of defense to be had while he was out there, given the fact that the first half was non-contact. Even still, you saw a bit of what he could bring to the table. His size was evident, and he was able to make plays.
More so than anything else, Saturday was a combination of all the hard work he put in over the course of the spring. After what was a bit of a tumultuous year last year for him personally, it is safe to say that he really made strides this spring. The good performance on Saturday was a testament to all the hard work he has put in not just this spring quite frankly, but since he’s gotten here.
Several of his Nebraska Football teammates have taken notice of his hard work, including new wide receiver Samori Toure.
"“Me and Omar have actually gotten pretty close. I love the guy,” Toure said. “He’s just starting to have a handle on everything. He’s getting the playbook down more, and he’s just putting in maximum effort all of the time. You can just tell he wants to be great. I’ve heard things about last year, and I don’t know what happened, but from what I’ve seen Omar wants to be great, and I think he can be.”"
Between his work ethic, the strides he has made this spring, and his good day on Saturday, Omar Manning is heading in the right direction. It is great to see he is in a good place. I hope he can continue this momentum into fall camp and the season as well.
Manning has the potential to be dangerous offensively for Nebraska Football. Now, he is one step closer to showing it.