Receiving corps rounding into form as spring ball closes out

A position group with maybe the widest window of opportunity for Nebraska this spring is wide receiver, and slowly but surely some talented-but-unproven players are starting to make their moves.

Offensive coordinator and receivers coach Troy Walters said his unit still needed to improve its overall consistency, but it had made up a lot of ground the past month in trying to fill the void left behind by the record-setting Stanley Morgan Jr.

The lone known commodity in the room is junior J.D. Spielman, who returns after two impressive seasons and will one of the focal points of the Huskers’ offense in 2019.

But others have made some noticeable jumps as well, particularly redshirt freshman Andre Hunt.

"The biggest jump would probably be Andre Hunt,” Walters said. “He's working with the first string, he's making plays. He's just matured and he understands the offense. He can play fast, and what kind of impressed me the most is last year he had some days where the focus and concentration wasn't there.

“Now he's focused, he's seeing the ball in. He's probably the most consistent pass catcher that's been out there, so he's done a great job.”

Walters added that senior Mike Williams was starting to match his undeniable athletic ability with a firm understanding of the offense and what’s expected of him on every play.

“Mike Williams is doing a good job,” Walters said. “As I say all the time, he's explosive, but as a whole, we just have to be consistent.”

Walters also singled out a couple of newcomers in true freshmen Wan’Dale Robinson and Jamie Nance. Robinson has been everything NU’s staff had hoped coming in as the centerpiece of the 2019 class, even while he’s trying to learn two positions at the hybrid Duck-R role.

When Robinson wasn’t in class or on the practice field, Walters said the former four-star was meeting with coaches or studying film and the playbook on his own.

"He's a student of the game,” Walters said. “He understands football... He's a pro."

Nance has also been thrown in the fire as an early enrollee, and he’s gone through an expected learning curve this spring. By the end of NU’s summer conditioning program, though, Walters expects the four-star recruit to be ready to make an immediate impact come September.

“Jamie Nance, we've thrown a lot at him, so it's good that he's here and he's able to go through spring and know what it takes and know what this offense is all about,” Walters said. “He'll make a jump this summer obviously.”

Walters said redshirt freshman Miles Jones would provide similar versatility as Robinson in the Duck-R role, while sophomore Jaevon McQuitty had shown flashes but needed to work on his consistency.

“When your number is called, when his number is called, he's got to make plays but all of them are working hard,” Walters said of McQuitty.

“I tell them all the time we've got two freshmen coming in (Darien Chase and Demariyon Houston) so we're going to have even more competition so that's what I like about the group is they know something is on the line every time they take the field."