The Nebraska football team has been slowly building up a very good roster since Matt Rhule arrived in Lincoln. On Monday night, about the same time that Georgia was scoring its 7,000th point against TCU, the Huskers landed the impact player that could be the cherry on the sundae.
Former Virginia wide receiver Billy Kemp took to Twitter and announced he would be part of the Nebraska football team in 2023. In doing so, the Huskers landed a wide receiver that can ably fill in the hole that was left by Trey Palmer’s departure. In fact, it’s almost as though the Huskers are now a program that will be bringing in at least one “mercenary” wide receiver who is polished enough to step in right away and lead the receiver corps every year.
While mercenary can have a negative connotation, in the current era of college football it’s simply the way of the things. Other teams are going and getting great talent from all over the country and getting them to put in at least one season of impact football. Now the Nebraska football team has joined those ranks with Billy Kemp.
In the former Cavalier, the Cornhuskers get a receiver who amassed over 60 receptions in a season not once but twice. That includes 67 receptions in the shortened 2020 campaign where he had about 30 more catches than anyone else on the team.
🌽🌽 @HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/D3oLODCE35
— BK4 (@billykemp_4) January 10, 2023
Nebraska Football lands a star
He followed that up with 74 catches in 2021 for a high-powered passing offense that was among the best the university of Virginia has ever seen. All told, Billy Kemp finished fourth on the all-time list at Virginia in career catches and 10th in career yardage.
Want another to get excited about the newest member of the Nebraska football team? He should add an electricity from the punt return game that’s been missing since De’Mornay Pierson-El. He was the first Cavalier ever to lead the team in punt returns and punt return yardage in four straight seasons.
Those just taking a look at his 2022 numbers might be a bit deceived. The season was a wash for a number of reasons including two different injuries and then that horrific shooting that saw Virginia end its season early.
Now Billy Kemp gets a fresh start with Nebraska football and one last season to put a capper on a stellar career.