Cam Jurgens raising the bar on, off the field for NU offensive line
From being heralded by his head coach as the next Dave Rimington to being the brunt of fan criticism for struggling to snap the ball to his quarterback, peaks and valleys have defined Cam Jurgens' career at Nebraska.
Now heading into his third season as Nebraska's starting center, though, Jurgens' mantra for 2021, both on and off the field, is stability.
Along with figuring out his snapping issues, which got noticeably better late last season, the fourth-year sophomore from Beatrice, Neb., has established himself as one of the offensive line's most prominent leaders.
Much has been made about the upgrades in talent and depth NU has made along the o-line going into this season, but the group's biggest weakness is its relative inexperience. That's why Jurgens has put it upon himself to set the standard not only for himself but for the entire unit.
"I'm kind of a lead-by-example guy," Jurgens said. "The more I can do the right thing and show them what's the right way to do it, they see that and can follow. Also, if I see them stepping out of line, the older guys step in and say, 'This is how you do things around here.'
"There's a certain level of a product that needs to be put on the field, and each year we need to raise that."
The individual gains Jurgens made over the offseason were impressive, to say the least.
At 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, Jurgens ranked in the top-six on the team's strength index with a hang clean of 405 pounds and a squat of 723 pounds. But, maybe most impressive was that he also registered a top-10 vertical jump on the team at 34.5 inches.
But for his coaches and teammates, the command Jurgens took of the offensive line from the start of winter conditioning was the most notable change of all.
"He's in a good spot," NU offensive line coach Greg Austin said. "Cam's in a good spot mentally. He's in a good spot physically. He has a good rapport with his quarterback, and he's one of our emerging leaders. When I say emerging, I'm not talking about just doing your job. It's about the guy to the right and to the left of you…
"There's a lot of horizontal leadership going on right now, and I'm proud of where Cam is in terms of his emergence as a big-time horizontal leader for us."
Redshirt freshman Ethan Piper, the projected starting left guard this season, has had a front-row seat in watching Jurgens' development as a player and a leader.
"Out of everyone, he's probably the focal point at center," Piper said. "Cam is a person that comes to practice every day and demands everyone to be perfect. If you screw up, he'll let you know. Those are the guys that we need in the offensive line room. I am extremely blessed to be the left guard next to him right now. I feel like he just helps me elevate my game. I try to do the same for him. If he messes up, we're on each other's backs…
"Cam, he's really killing it right now."
Jurgens said part of his newfound emphasis on leadership was sparked from offseason conversations with former Husker "pipeline" greats such as Brenden Stai, Rob Zatechka, Adam Treu, and Aaron Taylor.
A native Nebraskan and life-long Husker fan, Jurgens knows all about the great NU o-lines of the past and what made them so dominant. There is plenty of work to be done, but Jurgens is determined to raise the back to that level starting this year.
"Just having that gritty attitude and talking to guys in the past and what made up the pipeline," Jurgens said. "Just, guys going against the person across from you and kicking ass and making sure they're having a tougher game than you are. That's what we need to get back to."