Sipple: Four takeaways from Nebraska football team’s Friday media availability
Nebraska roared through its ninth practice of preseason camp Friday morning, a spirited session in full pads. Afterward, Husker running backs coach E.J. Barthel and receivers coach Garret McGuire as well as a handful of players were available to media.
Four takeaways:
Neyor’s confidence glaringly apparent
Isaiah Neyor, at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, has the sort of physical presence that Nebraska’s receiving corps too often has lacked in recent years.
He’s enjoying an excellent camp, and is clearly dialed-in.
“I’m so hungry,” he told reporters Friday, noting the past two seasons at Texas — where he was slowed by a knee injury — were difficult.
Neyor appears set to return to the type of production he enjoyed in 2021 for Wyoming. That season, he caught 44 passes for 878 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore. His 19.95 yards per catch and 12 receiving touchdowns both led the Mountain West Conference.
Since 2021, “I’ve grown a lot from a physical standpoint and in my understanding of the game of football,” Neyor said. “From a physical standpoint, I’m just as good or better than I was at that point.”
Rahmir Johnson, Emmett Johnson atop pecking order
My early read is the top two in the race for starting running back duties — at this stage of camp — are Emmett Johnson and Rahmir Johnson, and it’s difficult to say what order I would place them.
Barthel’s most illuminating comment was about Rahmir Johnson, a sixth-year senior who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.
“This is the best I’ve seen him since I’ve been here,” said Barthel, in his second season on the staff.
Rahmir Johnson’s best season was 2021, when he ranked second on the team with 112 carries for 495 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 16 catches for 197 yards.
Barthel said the top four — in no certain order — are the Johnsons (no relation), Gabe Ervin, and Dante Dowdell, the touted transfer from Oregon.
Regarding Ervin, who’s coming back from a hip injury that sidelined him most of last season, “He’s continuing to get his feel and rhythm back,” Barthel said.
Observations from Nebraska’s Friday fall camp practice
Barthel details exactly what he wants in RB
Barthel was asked to lay out exactly what he seeks in his running backs.
He noted three areas:
***Big-play ability (favors the Johnsons).
***An ability to “pound the ball” for tough inside yards (perhaps favors Ervin).
***An ability to pass protect (Rahmir Johnson is very strong in this area).
Barthel noted something that was perhaps music to many Nebraska fans’ ears because they didn’t see enough of it last season. That is, Husker backs making defenders miss at the second level. That’s more of an emphasis in this staff’s second year in the program because the backs are now more comfortable with the offense and the new techniques that this staff teaches.
Plenty of Carter Nelson questions for McGuire
McGuire fielded a handful of questions about Carter Nelson, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound true freshman receiver who captures the imagination because of his size and athleticism.
I mean, the kid turned down Georgia in the late stages of his recruitment. So, yeah, he’s intriguing.
McGuire didn’t exactly pour cold water on the intrigue.
“I didn’t realize how explosive of an athlete he really is,” McGuire said.
Nelson is being used as a “jack of all trades” type receiver, McGuire said, as he grows into a future tight end. For now, McGuire said, the objective of Matt Rhule and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield was to find a way to get Nelson to the field as quickly as possible.
This story is going to get interesting.
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