The Nebraska football team has a freshman player that has made the list of the best first year players in the Big Ten, and it shouldn’t surprise.
One of the reasons there is as much excitement as there is around Matt Rhule is that he and his staff were doing some impressive recruiting from the first few days of their time in Lincoln. The impressive recruiting efforts include the best player in the state and one of the best in the country in Malachi Coleman.
Now we’re almost at the start of the 2023 regular season and Malachi Coleman is no longer touted as a top recruit. Now he’s touted as one of the best incoming freshman in the Big Ten conference.
On3 recently put together a list of the 10 first-year players that Matt Zenitz believes has the best chance to make an impact in 2023, and Coleman is very much among them.
"“Even aside from the physical talent, Coleman continues to impress the Nebraska staff with his approach and what’s been described to On3 as a “tremendous work ethic.” There’s plenty of physical ability, too. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Coleman posted a 10.4 100-meter dash time in high school. The combination of work ethic and physical traits has the Cornhuskers believing they could get immediate help from the local product.”"
Nebraska football looking to rely on Malachi Coleman
The Huskers are certainly hoping that the hometown hero can be someone who gets a lot of reps in 2023. When they were recruiting him, there was some question about just what position they might look to put him.
It appears that’s settled and Coleman is going to be trying to be one of the starting receivers in this offense. Of course, he’s got a mountain to climb to get a starting spot.
Zavier Betts, Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda and Marcus Washington all return. Rhule also added guys like Joshua Fleeks and Billy Kemp to compete for a starting role at wideout.
That kind of depth at the position for Nebraska football is a big reason why it’s even more impressive that Malachi Coleman is considered a top candidate to be an impact player this season.