Nebraska set out this offseason to find reliable specialists after a 2020 season once again marred by special teams disasters.Â
The Huskers believe they addressed one element on Sunday after landing a verbal commitment from Furman transfer kicker Timmy Bleekrode.Â
Bleekrode, an Atlanta native, actually handled both punting and kicking at the Football Championship Subdivision school, but he is expected to most likely focus on place kicking at Nebraska.Â
Bleekrode is a scholarship addition for the Huskers, the second out of the transfer portal from an FCS school in as many days after NU landed former Northern Colorado offensive lineman Kevin Williams Jr. on Saturday.Â
In 2021, Bleekrode made 15-of-18 field goal attempts with a season-best of 51 yards. That included making eight of his final nine tries from Sept. 25 on after missing twice in Furman's first three games. Bleekrode also connected on 30-of-32 extra points this fall.
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In 2020, he made 6-of-7 attempts for Furman with a long of 47 yards.Â
Bleekrode was on campus for an unofficial visit late in the season to take in a game and then Nebraska analyst Bill Busch visited him in Georgia not long after the season wrapped up. Bleekrode then took an official visit to Nebraska this weekend.Â
The Huskers, of course, desperately need consistency out of its kicking operation. After senior Connor Culp was named the Big Ten's kicker of the year in 2020, he struggled mightily in 2021 and was eventually replaced -- against Oklahoma by freshman walk-on Kelen Meyer and later in the season by walk-on Chase Contreraz.Â
On the season as a whole, NU made just half of its 16 field goal attempts and missed four extra points, including Meyer's only attempt, which was blocked against the Sooners and returned for two points.Â
The Huskers were No. 13 in the Big Ten in both field goal kicking and extra points. Only Northwestern (46.2%) had a lower field goal conversion rate and only Maryland matched NU with four missed extra points. Nobody else in the Big Ten missed more than two.Â
Bleekrode graduated from Marist High in 2019 and redshirted that year. Factoring in the free year in 2020 and his full season of work this fall, Bleekrode has three seasons of eligibility remaining.Â
Nebraska last week also added a walk-on commitment from his Furman teammate and 2021 backup, Spencer Pankratz. Pankratz went to high school in Colorado but was born in Lincoln. Nebraska also has a commitment from 2022 kicker Charlie Weinrich (Stillwell, Kan.) That means the Huskers have already added three kickers and walk-on Georgetown long-snapping transfer Brady Weas to the mix in the past three weeks.
Bleekrode immediately becomes the favorite to handle the place kicking duties in Lincoln, while Pankratz, Weinrich, Meyer and Contreraz will try to factor into the equation, too. Brendan Franke handled kickoffs for NU in 2021 and recorded touchbacks on 61.3% of his attempts.Â