Among the first items on Mickey Joseph’s to-do list when he first arrived in Lincoln last month were to meet with rising senior wide receiver Omar Manning and sophomore Zavier Betts.
The new Nebraska wide receivers coach spent quite a bit of time on the recruiting trail in his first days after being hired by coach Scott Frost, but he made it a priority, too, to meet with the players who have a chance to lead the room in 2022.
Joseph also got a chance to talk with the rest of the receiver room, too, introduced himself to a member of the 2022 recruiting class in Victor Jones Jr., landed another receiver for the class in Decoldest Crawford and also saw Nebraska add New Mexico State transfer Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda.
“I think it’s a talented room with 'Zay' and Omar and you’ve got Oliver (Martin), you’ve got Alante (Brown), you’ve got Latrell (Neville)," he said. "You’ve got a talented room and you’ve got some guys in there that can play. You’ve got some young kids. You’ve got three older kids that have played a good amount of snaps, but I think you’ve got to bring them all along at the same time.â€
The three that have played extensively, of course, are Manning, Betts and Martin, who finished third, fourth and seventh on the team in receiving in 2021, respectively, and combined for 836 yards and three touchdowns.
NU, though, has to replace its two top receivers in wideout Samori Toure (898 yards) and tight end Austin Allen (608). Overall, Toure and senior Levi Falck (223) accounted for 53.8% of the Husker wide receiving production. In terms of total receiving yards, Nebraska has to replace about 54.6% assuming no further attrition.
“I’m going to push them to a level that they’ve never seen before,†Joseph said of the returning group. “And I tell them, I have proof with this that it’s going to work. My thing is getting them fundamentally sound. Working with them. The other thing, over-communicating with them. Sitting down and talking with them and seeing where they’re at.â€
It’s no surprise that Joseph was familiar with Neville, the Louisiana native who played his high school ball in Houston, given Joseph is a New Orleans native and spent the past five years at LSU. Among other young receivers, Shawn Hardy was NU’s offensive scout player of the year, and Joseph will be tasked with evaluating fellow redshirt freshmen Kamonte Grimes and Will Nixon, as well. Junior Wyatt Liewer took part in Nebraska’s senior day ceremony in November, but could return.
“It’s going to be friendly competition within that room,†Joseph said. “We’re going to get after each other, because if we can battle each other within that room, when we get to the DBs, we’re about to eat them up. I’m going to make them compete against each other. I already told them, everybody’s going to be held accountable, but the best man wins. The best man wins. I think, with younger kids, they need to hear that because, just because you started last year doesn’t mean you’re even going to play this year if you don’t do it my way. I have a certain way I like to do things.â€
The infusion of talent into the group should foster competition, too. Jones (6-2 and 200 pounds) arrives from Orlando as one of the most intriguing members of NU’s 2022 class, and Crawford (6-2 and 190) as maybe the biggest name. NU has had only one real difference-maker as a true freshman — Wan’Dale Robinson in 2019 — but maybe one of this pair can make a charge at a big role. Garcia-Castaneda is fast, capable of playing in the middle of the field and turned 37 catches into 578 yards (15.6 per catch) last year at NMSU.
The Huskers could still add more, too. Currently, they stand at 12 scholarship players, but the transfer portal is chock full of productive pass-catchers. From LSU alone, there are three former Joseph pupils in the portal — junior Trey Palmer, sophomore Koy Moore and freshman Deion Smith — any of whom on paper would look like impact additions for NU.
Whether Nebraska’s receiving group hits spring ball in late February looking just as it does now or slightly different is just one on the heap of many questions that remain about the offense for 2022. Regardless, Joseph said he expects his room to be competitive.
“I don’t really want it to be friendly. I want it to be professional,†Joseph said. “It don’t matter if they don’t like each other. Now, when we get off the field, we like (each) other. Let’s keep it professional, but I don’t want it to be friendly. I want them to be upset at each other because that might be part of losing close games, that we’re not getting that (attitude), that, ‘I’m about to deal this dude a hand.’ So, I want them to stay grimy like the kids say. I want it like that.â€
The turning point in every Nebraska football game in 2021