Steven M. Sipple, Parker Gabriel and Chris Basnett get together to discuss several transfer portal topics, including Casey Rogers' entrance.
Spring ball is in the rearview mirror and Nebraska football now moves into the next phase of the offseason.
There is plenty of movement on the horizon in the transfer portal around the country, so every team is constantly in at least some state of flux. However, it’s a good time to look at the Husker roster and recap spring developments and forecast the coming weeks and months.
We now look at a group with the potential to be explosive.Â
Wide receivers
What we learned this spring: We learned Trey Palmer, a transfer from LSU, is prominent in Nebraska's plans. Don't be surprised if he ends up as the team's leading receiver in 2022.Â
“Trey’s fit great,†Nebraska coach Scott Frost said. “He fits in great because of his personality. He brings energy every single day, he’s made a lot of plays out there, he can really run. I think with some more time working with him, we have a chance to do some special things and I’m looking forward to seeing that develop.â€
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Palmer caught 30 passes last year for the Tigers, and his calling card is indeed his speed. He likes the deep ball.Â
All told, new Nebraska receivers coach Mickey Joseph had 20 receivers in spring camp. He wants to narrow the rotation to nine or so. During the course of spring, it seemed five or six receivers emerged as safe bets to be in the main rotation. The starters for the Red-White Spring Game were Palmer, Oliver Martin and Alante Brown. Omar Manning, a key cog last season, will almost certainly be counted on again.Â
A couple of seasoned walk-ons, Brody Belt and Wyatt Liewer, are prominent in the plan. Another walk-on, redshirt freshman Ty Hahn, drew praise from Joseph late in the spring season. Others could emerge when preseason camp begins in late July.Â
Questions remaining: Sophomore speedster Zavier Betts, a Bellevue West graduate, did not return to the team when it resumed practicing after the university’s spring break in late March. Betts, who had 20 catches for 286 yards last season, was not hurt or suspended, and the decision to leave the program appears to have been his. Is there any chance Betts will rejoin the team? Is the door still open?Â
Can any or all three redshirt freshman scholarship players from the class of 2021 — Kamonte Grimes, Shawn Hardy and Latrell Neville — break through to become regular targets? Grimes is the definite leader of that group.Â
How well will Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, a transfer from New Mexico State, fit in the group when he returns from injury?Â
And what about 2022 signees Janiran Bonner, Decoldest Crawford and Victor Jones? Jones was on hand for spring drills, which theoretically gives him an edge. But Bonner and Crawford will get their chance to shine when preseason camp commences.Â
Quotable: Martin, a senior playing for his third school, describes Joseph as "a big relationship guy."
"That's one thing that stands out to me compared to the other coaches I've had," Martin said. "He's made relationships with all the guys, and they're pretty tight knit. There's a good brotherhood in the room.
"He holds a lot of people accountable. You need to be at meetings on time. You need to be at the right place at the right time. You need to execute your assignments on the field. If not, he'll let you know."Â
Best-case scenario: If Palmer is as good as advertised, he could be a tone-setter. Keep in mind, new Nebraska offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s offenses have typically featured a go-to player who has compiled major numbers. Just sayin'.