Brian Christopherson: 7 Huskers to watch this spring
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Prognosticating doesn’t take a day off when it comes to Nebraska football.
Walk into a Lincoln sports bar in March, while most people are consumed by what the madness has done to their brackets, and hear a conversation between strangers trying to predict who might start in Nebraska’s secondary this fall.
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Basketball drama dances before them on the television, but spring football is on the doorstep, and so why the heck wouldn’t they talk about Big Red’s secondary?
Spring practice begins in just three days, so, naturally, hope has wings among the faithful, especially with new coach Bo Pelini at the helm.
The change in the coaching staff also brings plenty of questions, a favorite one being: Which players might experience a breakout season with a new staff and fresh slate?
Pelini has said coaches will try to distribute repetitions among the players equally, making sure they know what everyone can do.
“Our job is to take guys in the program and develop them,” Pelini said. “You can’t always assume what a player was is what he’s going to be. Players are going to grow as they move along. We have to keep putting them out there and giving them opportunities.”
So what Huskers might be ready to take the next step this spring?
Prognosticating is never a safe venture, but here are seven names anyway.
Rickey Thenarse
Jr. / Safety / 6-0 / 190
Thenarse unloaded his share of bad news on kick returners the past two years.
You might remember it was Thenarse who ripped the ball out of a USC returner’s hand last year. Granted, the fumble bounced right to another Trojan, who picked it up and ran 50 yards. It was that kind of season for NU, but it was also the kind of play by Thenarse that has fans wanting to see more of him.
“He comes at you 100 mph like a kamikaze,” is how former Husker head coach Bill Callahan described Thenarse last year.
Still, the Los Angeles native didn’t see as much time as he’d like at the safety spot, mostly serving as a backup last season to Tierre Green.
With Green now graduated, Thenarse seems to have a great opportunity to start.
He’s a big hitter and known as a guy who will do the extra work in the film room. His great athleticism has already been revealed covering kicks. Now, will he emerge as an every-down player?
Niles Paul
So. / Wide receiver / 6-1 / 210
Husker fans are anxious to see what Paul can do, if you couldn’t tell from the standing ovation he got after he caught his first pass in last year’s season opener.
It seemed at the time that Paul might develop into a serious player in NU’s offense last season. But minimal playing time followed. The Omaha North graduate didn’t catch another pass.
“Sometimes it’s tough to take, but I know that my time will come,” Paul said last year. “There’s a lot of seniors in front of me, so I respect that they’ve been here for four years or five years.”
With receivers such as Maurice Purify, Terrence Nunn and Frantz Hardy no longer in the fold, it would appear Paul’s chance to shine is here.
Prince Amukamara
So. / Cornerback / 6-1 / 180
Amukamara was regarded as a playmaker in practices last season, but didn’t see too much action in his true freshman campaign, ending it with four tackles.
His lack of playing time had a few wondering why such a talent would have his redshirt burned.
“What triggered it was his play. He was a pain in the tail on the scout field,” Husker offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said last season. “I’m like, ‘Man, get him off there.’ The kid’s a natural. When a kid’s a natural player, you don’t want to sit that kind of player.”
Amukamara could probably fit into a variety of roles. You might remember he worked with the offense at the running back spot during a few practices last season.
With the secondary losing Cortney Grixby, Zack Bowman and Andre Jones, and with Anthony Blue trying to come back from an ACL tear, the door seems plenty open for Amukamara to contend for serious action this fall.
Mike Smith
So. / Offensive line / 6-6 / 290
The native of Las Vegas seems a likely candidate to take over the left tackle spot vacated by Carl Nicks.
If that’s the case, it will be no minor job guarding the back side of Nebraska’s quarterback, likely senior Joe Ganz.
Smith is one of those young guys — other sophomores being Jaivorio Burkes and Keith Williams — who are really going to have to be impact players if the NU line is going to be the strength that coaches think it might be for this team.
Barry Turner
Sr. / Defensive end / 6-3 / 265
Turner has already broken through to starting status, but his stats haven’t been overwhelming. He had three sacks last season, part of a defense that had just 13, which tied for 112th out of 119 teams in the country.
Buddy Wyatt, defensive line coach last season, once said Turner is “one of the smartest football players I’ve ever coached,” but that sometimes he was maybe too smart for his own good. Turner would analyze things instead of just reacting.
Turner is a formidable presence — like being next to an NFL body. But this defense really needs him to take his game up a notch this year, something very possible with a fiery sort like Pelini in charge.
Menelik Holt
Jr. / Wide receiver / 6-4 / 215
After not catching a pass until the 10th game of last season, Holt finally started to show what he could do.
Given last year’s depth at receiver, he got very few snaps, but finished the last three games with four catches for 97 yards, an average of 24.2 yards per catch.
He was asked last year if he regretted not redshirting his freshman season, given his lack of playing time.
“I think everything happens for a reason,” Holt said. “I mean, everyone wants to have one more year, (but) I’m just going to work with what I have now and try to get what I can.”
With the departure of Purify, such big-play receiving abilities will need to come from someone else. Holt sure wouldn’t mind it being him.
Quentin Castille
So. / running back / 6-1 / 245
Early last season, it appeared that Castille might emerge into a freshman star.
But as the year went along, he saw his carries diminish, ending the season with 343 yards rushing. That was second on the team, but still a definite back seat to Marlon Lucky, who had 1,019 yards on the ground.
The battle for playing time isn’t going to get any easier with Lucky returning. Throw into the mix Roy Helu, Cody Glenn and Marcus Mendoza, and it could be argued that running back is one of NU’s deepest positions.
But Castille is a rare back, a bruiser who can give out as many hits carrying the ball as he takes.
One thing he’ll have to eliminate is fumbles. If he can hang onto the ball, he has the talent to emerge as one of Nebraska’s biggest weapons.
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
