The Weekly Rundown: What questions are left to answer this spring?
What questions are left to answer this spring for Nebraska? We hit on that and more as we start your Monday off in the Weekly Rundown Column.
Sure bets
You have to feel pretty good about these things right now:
QB Casey Thompson: Back in January we all thought we'd at least be entertained with a QB battle this spring with Casey Thompson, Logan Smothers and Chubba Purdy.
It's safe to say it's been anything but a battle this spring. Purdy has been out or limited for the entire spring and all reports are Thompson has the upper hand over Logan Smothers, taking all the top reps with the No. 1 offense. This shouldn't be a surprise, but there was at least the thought we'd see some sort of push by another QB.
RBs Anthony Grant, Rahmir Johnson and Jaquez Yant: These are the top three running backs this spring. Gave Ervin remains out/limited from knee surgery last September. I'm very encouraged with what I've heard about Anthony Grant and what he's brought. He's going to be a factor.
Bryan Applewhite has also been a great addition to this staff. He probably gets the least attention of any of the five hires, but I know head coach Scott Frost is very high on what he's brought to the table.
WR Trey Palmer: This is your top receiver right now. If there is a chance of a 1,000-yard receiver in 2022, my money is on Trey Palmer.
OLB/DE Garret Nelson: The defense lost a lot of leadership from 2021. Today, Garrett Nelson will be the vocal leader of this group and one of the voices of this football team. If I were handicapping captain odds for 2022, Nelson would be towards the top of the list.
Surprises
These were my surprises of the week:
The Zavier Betts situation: Nothing surprises me anymore. Doing this job now for over 20 years I've seen just about everything one can imagine happen to Nebraska.
However, just the way the whole Zavier Betts situation happened/went down was very disappointing. You hate to see someone with so much talent just throw it all away like that.
Betts is different athletically than just about every player on the Nebraska football team, but there is only so much you can do. If a guy doesn't "love it" or "want it" at this level, what can you do?
TE Nate Boerkircher: Between the Travis Vokolek off-season shoulder surgery, Chris Hickman spring shoulder surgery and the Thomas Fidone injury, the player that should benefit the most is tight end Nate Boerkircher. Even when some of those guys return, I expect Boerkircher to be a factor in the tight end rotation.
RB Jaquez's Yant's weight: Running back Jaquez Yant cut out things like Raising Canes from his diet and he's all of a sudden gone from 250 to 230 pounds.
With a little hard work and discipline, Yant has dropped 20 pounds, and he's back in the running back discussion after a disappointing end to the 2021 season.
The jury is still out
Questions still surround these things:
Lincoln East's Malachi Coleman: Washington is the latest to offer Lincoln East's Malachi Coleman. His scholarship list continues to grow. He was a visitor at Nebraska again this weekend, and Mickey Joseph continues to build a strong bond with the talented Coleman.
The thing about Joseph is he's used to competition. Yes, Coleman is an in-state prospect with a Georgia offer, but Joseph has plenty of experience battling for recruits against top SEC programs.
Safety: When I look at this position group, I see Marques Buford, Myles Farmer, Noa Pola-Gates and DeShon Singleton all battling this spring.
Who is going to come out of this group? Farmer is a smart football player, but does he have the athletic ability as a tackler on the back end to be a starter?
Today, I feel good about Buford's chances of winning one of the jobs. The other is up for grabs, but I would not be surprised if Singleton came out on top. Travis Fisher is going to continue to try different combinations this spring.
This has my attention
Moving forward, this has my attention:
RB Markese Stepp: In the big picture where does running back Markese Stepp fit right now? Is he seeing any time with the No. 1 offense this spring, or just working with the No. 2 group? When Gabe Ervin Jr. returns, where does he factor in?
TE AJ Rollins: I mentioned earlier about the opportunities at tight end this spring, another guy who should get a good chance to make some plays is redshirt freshman AJ Rollins.
A different role for Frost this spring: Of the five springs Scott Frost has been in Lincoln, this is by far the most unique. This is the first time Frost is not running the offense.
He truly has become a walk-around head coach now from people I talk to who have been at practice. He's not locked into the install of the offense. He's going back and forth between the offense and the defense. How will Frost continue to grow in this role?
No scrimmage this week: With no scrimmages or live to the ground tackling now until the Apr. 9 spring game, what will this week of practice bring?
Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and he can be heard each day at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week he appears on NET's Big Red Wrap-Tuesday's at 7 pm.