Nebraska Football: 3 questions that need answers against North Dakota
Yes, Travis Vokolek is still listed at #1 at the tight end spot, but there is more than a little talk flying around Nebraska football that not only won’t he play against North Dakota, he won’t play against Georgia Southern either.
Whether or not he’s really out for the next two weeks, one thing is clear, one of the reasons the offense struggled late in the game is because Vokolek was on the sidelines. That’s a plenty good reason on its own that the Huskers should spend the next two weeks looking to see what they have at tight end after the former Rutgers Scarlet Knight.
Nate Boerkircher is listed as the man who will take the snaps at TE if Travis can’t go and he did see some action against Northwestern. Unfortunately, it also looked like there was a definite dropoff when he came into the game.
It’s about more than losing a bit of talent too. Casey Thompson looked at his best when he knew he had Vokolek to dump the ball off to as a kind of safety valve. He tried to do that with Boerkircher but the red-shirt freshman looked like a red-shirt freshman and simply couldn’t fill Vokolek’s shoes.
The pressure should be dialed down a bit against North Dakota. Especially if Boerkircher is starting and has a chance to really take a breath and make the position his own. Will he be able to step up and take over the role? Will someone else? It’s gonna be something to watch for the Nebraska football team.