Nebraska’s 2021 trip to Ireland hasn’t been formally canceled, but it probably isn’t a good sign that coach Scott Frost talked about the game in the past tense on Thursday.
While Frost did maintain that he hopes his team gets to go in August to open its 2021 season against Illinois in Dublin on Aug. 28, that seems increasingly unlikely.
Originally, single-game tickets were set to go on sale to the public on Feb. 13. It is possible a final determination on the game could be made before that.
“I miss traveling overseas, my wife and I love to travel overseas,†Frost said. “Just haven’t been able to with COVID. Never been to Ireland, have been to a lot of other countries in Europe, so I was looking forward to it. Hopefully our program gets to do it at some point, either this year or down the road if it doesn’t happen this year.â€
The Huskers and Illini could either play Week 0 or Week 1, but Frost said NU doesn’t make that decision. There could also be other changes to Nebraska’s 2021 schedule on the horizon, too.
As the Big Ten tried to build flexibility into the 10-game schedule that it eventually threw out after six days last summer, it flipped the venue of NU’s games with Purdue and Wisconsin. The game against UW was canceled anyway because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the Badger program, but that would have been the second straight year they played in Lincoln. Nebraska then traveled to Purdue for the second straight year.
Instead of those streaks running to three, the Big Ten may well have NU travel to Madison and host the Boilermakers this fall. Athletic director Bill Moos has also made no secret about the fact he’d like the Huskers and Iowa to play on Black Friday. The game is currently set for Nov. 6 in Lincoln and Nebraska closes its season at Minnesota.
How much of the schedule will actually change? Only time will tell.
“A lot of things still up in the air right now,†Frost said.
Staff hires getting close: Nebraska is in the process of hiring a director of player development and has analyst openings in special teams, offense and defense.
“I think we’re getting really close to making some announcements,†Frost said. “We have to go through a process here and try to do a good job with following the rules here to make sure that we post things and do interviews and background checks before we hire people.
“We’ve had some guys identified for a while and I think it will be announced soon.â€
Manning, others getting healthy: Junior receiver Omar Manning only appeared in one game in 2020 and was targeted one time after arriving in Lincoln as a heralded junior college prospect, but Frost said he’s encouraged by where the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder is currently.
The head coach maintained, as he has all along, that the key for Manning is to be healthy. Frost last year made references to both physical and mental health.
"I just don’t want to put too much pressure on him," Frost said Thursday. "We’re all expecting him to be a good player, but I don’t want him to feel overwhelmed by the pressure of that."
Frost said he’s also encouraged by the progress of several other players who suffered injuries in the past year, including defensive backs Myles Farmer and Javin Wright and wide receiver Will Nixon.
All three will be involved in spring practice, though Farmer and Wright in particular may be limited to some degree.
“Myles and Javin are young, talented kids that we’re really excited about,†Frost said. “Javin was having an unbelievable camp until he got hurt during a drill. We really could have used him this past year. … Both have a chance to be good players around here, both good kids. They’re working hard to get back. They’re both on a good track."
— Parker Gabriel
Photos: Our favorite staff images from the 2020 Nebraska football season