In football, as in life, it’s good to have options.
Nebraska’s coaching staff believes it has several with freshman defensive back Noa Pola-Gates. More broadly, really, the Huskers have several new versatile parts in the secondary that is going to make life interesting as NU steams toward spring ball and then on through the summer.
Pola-Gates is only the latest addition to a four-man defensive back class for Nebraska in 2019. He actually signed his National Letter of Intent in December, but NU didn’t announce it at the time because he wanted to announce his commitment in January during the Polynesian Bowl. That meant that this week, on Wednesday’s late signing date, marked the first time Husker coaches talked publicly about what the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder adds to the program.
"Noa plays all over the field,†defensive backs coach Travis Fisher said in a video produced by the school. “He can play a little corner. … He's going to play safety for us. Very explosive kid. Great kid. Great family. Hard hitter. Knows how to get it done in the secondary. He also returns kicks. Plays all over the field, very athletic kid, and he's very fast and explosive. Great ball skills."
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Pola-Gates joins a trio announced in December that includes Myles Farmer, Javin Wright and Quinton Newsome. Each is listed at 6-foot-2 or taller and each could theoretically play in different spots in the secondary over time. Frost indicated around the early signing date that Wright will start his career as a cornerback, but the other three will likely begin as safeties.
Said Fisher of Pola-Gates, "I'm going to use him at safety and then if he's too good at corner, I'll use him at corner.â€
That sounds a bit like what Frost said about Wright and Farmer back in December, but intimated that either could potentially end up closer to the line of scrimmage if they continue growing from their current 6-3 and 200-plus pounds.
It all lines up the secondary — and particularly the safety group — as one of the most interesting to watch through spring ball and on toward preseason camp. The Huskers return their entire two-deep at corner — including veteran starters Dicaprio Bootle and Lamar Jackson and promising sophomore Cam Taylor — and contributors at safety that include juniors Deontai Williams, JoJo Domann and Marquel Dismuke.
Joining the young corps of up-and-comers are redshirt freshmen Cam’ron Jones (shoulder) and C.J. Smith (knee), each of whom redshirted after serious injuries last year, plus Braxton Clark.
“'T Fish’ has had great players everywhere he’s been,†Frost said. “He does a great job managing his room, he does a great job recruiting to get talent in his room. That’s going to be a really talented group of kids. … Some of those old guys are going to have to keep playing well. They’re going to have to compete a little more and they’re going to have to show that they can be leaders.â€
It all sets up the coming months with plenty of unknown but also plenty of intrigue. In some ways, the secondary is a microcosm of the roster overall. A big group of talented young players — seven freshmen and redshirt freshmen in this case — are looking to find a way up the depth chart.
There are enough options that it’s easy to wonder if perhaps some of them will eventually help fortify the cornerback or outside linebacker spots in some way, shape or form. After all, those are two groups Frost said NU wanted to address in January but didn’t. For now, though, it simply gives Fisher a lot to work with.
“I think that’s going to be a deeper unit than we've had,†Frost said. “To be honest with you, that group struggled a little bit to adapt to the way we wanted to do things early on in the year (last year).
“The message to me coming out of the weight room is that group’s about the best one in the weight room right now. Between the strength and conditioning group and Coach 'Fish' and (defensive coordinator Erik) Chinander, I think that group's in a really good place and will be for a while.â€