Offseason Roster Shakeups Begin

4 comments so far December 18, 2009 by Steve Hanway

The good news was that Nebraska landed a highly rated junior college recruit at midyear in former LSU commit Jermarcus Hardrick. While a redshirt is possible, the rumblings seem to be that they will preparing him to start in 2010. For those who blame the 2009 offensive woes on the o-line, help is on the way. Hardrick is considered a four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Rivals ranked him as one of the ten best junior college recruits, regardless of position along with teammate (and Nebraska commit), linebacker Lavonte David who is expected to join the team next fall.

Beyond that arrival, a couple of departures have been reported. First, linebacker Chris Williams is set to depart. Rumor is that the knee injury he suffered as a high school senior hasn't healed as hoped. Williams looked like the crown jewel of last year's recruiting class. So in that sense, his departure is a blow. But when you look at the NU roster and recall how often Nebraska plays with just one or two linebackers you begin to wonder, how many linebackers does this team need? Will Compton and Sean Fisher are incumbents with three years to play. Eric Martin, Micah Kreikemeier and Alonzo Whaley similarly have three more seasons. David would also be here to graduate with that group. Matthew May is just a year older as is Matt Holt. There are a slew of other walk-on options as well. So there's certainly no immediate need at linebacker. Williams departure will make it that much more important that the Huskers recruit a good class of linebackers next year though.

Lineman Quentin Toailoa is reportedly leaving the team as well. Toailoa's departure might be a bit more noticeable. The depth and more specifically the youth on the offensive line isn't yet exactly where you'd want it. Next season, the Huskers lose Mike Smith, Cruz Barrett, Keith Williams, D.J. Jones, and Ricky Henry. That's about half of your two-deep. A player like Hardrick helps in the near term but look ahead to 2012 and the remaining players would be Jeremiah Sirles, Nick Ash, Jesse Coffey, Brent Qvale and Brendan Thompson, along with walk-on Brian Thorson from the current roster. The Huskers needs at least five new young players over the next two seasons to build a competitive two-deep and ten wouldn't be too many. 2010 recruits Andrew Rodriguez and Mike Moudy would be a huge help as would 2011 recruits Tyler Moore and Ryne Reeves. But Toailoa was seemingly well positioned for playing time as an upperclassman in 2012.

The upside of the departure of both Williams and Toailoa is that it should open up two more recruiting slots for 2010. That would help the Huskers capitalize on some good momentum and buzz for the program after the Big 12 title game. Would it have been better if Williams and Toailoa had panned out? Sure. But every problem presents an opportunity and the opportunity here will be to land a few more quality players for the roster.

Did you enjoy this article?

Get Husker news by email
Follow us on Twitter

NextPrevious