Steven Sipple: An “edgy, tough, feisty dude,” Billy Kemp also figures to be a very busy dude for Nebraska this autumn
As first-year Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule wound down his session with media Monday, he praised his players for their hard work this summer. Along those lines, unsolicited, the coach brought up Billy Kemp.
“He’s an edgy, tough, feisty dude,” said Rhule, who illustrated the point with an, um, interesting hypothetical emergency. “If someone wants to jump me, and I see Billy, I’m saying, ‘Hey, Billy, will you help me out?’ He’s a guy I’d take into a dark alley with me.”
Kemp is a guy on whom Nebraska’s offense likely will lean hard this season. It just seems like an extremely safe assumption. After all, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Kemp ranks as one of the top receivers in Virginia history with 192 career receptions for 1,774 yards. He transferred to Nebraska in January and soon after began to form strong chemistry with Jeff Sims.
That’s notable because Sims is Nebraska’s starting quarterback, and possesses a strong throwing arm.
“I have great chemistry with my receivers,” Sims said last week. “I know me and Billy, we came in together and we’ve been tight since we got here. So that’s my dog right there.”
Billy Kemp works hard at his craft
Sims spent a lot of Saturday mornings this summer throwing to Nebraska receivers in “informal” workouts. Sims appreciates that receivers often initiated contact with the QB. They wanted to get serious work done. There was an eagerness that pleases the quarterback.
Nobody has to prod Kemp to work at this craft.
“He’s a hard-working player,” Sims said of the Richmond, Virginia, native. “He’s a shifty guy. A guy who can get open no matter what.”
Sims said sophomore Zavier Betts and true freshman Malachi Coleman are probably Nebraska’s fastest receivers. Although Kemp doesn’t possess blazing speed, he has a knack for finding openings in zones and runs a variety of routes well. Keep in mind, he started 10 games for Virginia in 2021 and made 74 catches, which ranked fifth in the ACC.
In 2020, he played in all 10 games of a shortened season and caught 67 passes for 644 yards. His average of 6.7 receptions per game ranked second in the ACC.
His 192 receptions rank fourth in Cavalier program history.
Also keep in mind that in 50 games, Kemp fielded 140 punts, and dropped only three of them. He returned 63 of those punts for 367 yards (5.82 yards per attempt).
Yeah, he’s a tough hombre.
He also has ample confidence.
Asked to characterize the Nebraska offense’s potential, Kemp said, “I feel like we can be the best offense in the nation, honestly. We have weapons. We have everything we need. We have the coaches, we have the players. It’s just on us to put it together.”
Veteran WR still feels like he has plenty to prove
As accomplished as Kemp already is as a college player, he feels he has things to prove to his new teammates.
Asked what he wants to get done during the early stages of preseason camp, Kemp said, “I want to prove to the team and coaches that I’m there whenever they need me, doing whatever they need me to do. It’s just working hard and attacking every day.
“I want my role to be whatever the offense needs. Whether that’s running routes, coming out of the backfield, or blocking — whatever you need me to do, I’m here.”
No wonder Rhule likes this guy.
Same goes for Sims.
“I think (our chemistry) just comes from the way we both work,” Kemp said. “We just put the work in to ultimately get to where we need to be. If we weren’t where we needed to be the first day, we’re going to work to get closer to it the second day, the third day, the fourth day.
“That’s just been our process, just working together and knowing we have to attack.”
Kemp established a pattern of reliability for Virginia, which is attributable to — what else? — his work ethic.
“Man, I love this game,” he said. “I make catches (in workouts). I watch film at home. It’s a never-ending job. I can’t put a number (on how many hours he toils). But I’m working.”
His coaches and teammates notice.
Soon enough, Nebraska fans will be noticing #15 quite a bit on autumn Saturdays.
The post Steven Sipple: An “edgy, tough, feisty dude,” Billy Kemp also figures to be a very busy dude for Nebraska this autumn appeared first on On3.
