Tuesday practice hot takes: Reimer could be wearing a Blackshirt soon
Here are some quick hot takes and reactions from what we learned following Tuesday's Nebraska football post practice interview session.
Luke Reimer could be wearing a Blackshirt very soon
I am very confident you are going to see sophomore linebacker Luke Reimer in a Blackshirt very soon at Nebraska, perhaps by this season.
The more you hear both on camera, and behind the scenes, it's obvious Nebraska got a steal.
The former eight-man player from Kansas moved to Lincoln for his junior season. Lincoln North Star had a coaching change before Reimer's senior year, and he battled hamstring injuries that prevented him from running track as a junior. All of this kept Reimer under the radar and allowed NU to convince him to walk-on vs. taking a scholarship at South Dakota State.
The gamble paid off, as Reimer is on record as earning a scholarship as fast as any other walk-on in program history. The only other walk-on I can think of that earned a scholarship in his second year at Nebraska is fullback Andy Janovich, and it was agreed upon when hen committed to former head coach Bo Pelini.
Janovich also saw the field as a true freshman. The last walk-on true freshman I can remember playing before that was linebacker Matt Holt in 2008, who saw action in nine games that year.
Ty Robinson is another player that could be in a Blackshirt very soon
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Ty Robinson is just one of those guys I have a good feeling about.
You can tell he is poised to have a good season, and the playing time he got a year ago should really pay off.
My question is where will we see him more? I think he's more of a defensive end, but they really like his versatility to play nose tackle as well.
And just like Reimer, I would not be surprised at all if we saw Robinson wearing a Blackshirt by sometime this season.
Outside linebacker still has it's questions
Just like the secondary depth, I still have my questions today about Nebraska's outside linebacker position.
Can JoJo Domann, Caleb Tannor and Garrett Nelson get it done? Then after that, what are the other options? One would assume Niko Cooper is one, while Jackson Hannah, Simon Otte, Ryan Schommer are some other names in the conversation.
It appears Blaise Gunnerson could be battling bumps and bruises still, while Javin Wright announced on Tuesday he's having surgery reportedly on his knee.
The wildcards to me are freshmen Jimari Butler and JUCO transfer Pheldarius Payne. Will they be a factor this year at outside linebacker? Payne brings more size, but is an explosive pass rusher.
Finding that fourth guy at OLB is one of the biggest questions I have right now.
Then there were seven
If we learned anything from Tony Tuioti on Tuesday, the biggest piece of information we walked away with is he appears set on a seven-man rotation on the defensive line.
Ben Stille, Damion Daniels and Deontre Thomas are the most experienced veterans returning, while Keem Green, Casey Rogers, Jordon Riley and Ty Robinson are the four other players that will work in the rotation.
We know Daniels, Green, Riley and Robinson have all shown they can play the nose position. Daniels is the only player that exclusively plays nose, while Robinson, Green and Riley can play both nose and defensive end.
The notable names not in this group is are Chris Walker, Tate Wildeman and Mosai Newsom. Freshmen Marquis Black and Nash Hutmacher were also not mentioned, but that's not a surprise since they are both first-year players.
As we sit here at least on Oct. 6, Tuioti has options. He needs this group of seven to stay healthy and fresh now in 2020.