{"id":50315,"date":"2024-05-04T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-04T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=50315"},"modified":"2024-05-04T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T16:00:00","slug":"ranking-nebraskas-five-breakout-spring-newcomers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/ranking-nebraskas-five-breakout-spring-newcomers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking Nebraska\u2019s five breakout spring newcomers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nebraska recently put a bow on its second spring under head coach Matt Rhule<\/a><\/strong>. Along the way, several new faces made immediate impressions.<\/p>\n

Here are our five breakout Husker newcomers of the spring\u2026<\/p>\n

5. Vincent Shavers, LB, Fr.<\/h2>\n

No defensive freshman has made an impact quite like\u00a0Vincent Shavers Jr.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0has over his first few months in Lincoln. The Miami, Florida, native opened eyes with his play in practice, maturity, and business-like approach. He still has plenty of work to do this offseason, but Shavers is quickly putting himself firmly in the conversation for playing time this fall. Rhule doesn\u2019t generally like to throw too much praise for true freshmen, but Shavers earned it after his first few practices. \u201cLike, he plays football the way you want it played\u2026\u201d Rhule said. \u201cHe\u2019s earned the right to have someone talk about him. He flies around.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Jacory Barney, WR, Fr.<\/h2>\n

Nebraska\u2019s revamped wide receiver room was one of the top storylines of the spring. No player at the position stole the show more than true freshman Jacory Barney<\/a> <\/strong>during the Spring Game. The 6-foot, 170-pound native of Florida City, Florida, hauled in three passes for 61 yards, highlighted by a 41-yard touchdown catch. He also added an impressive 78-yard kickoff return that would have gone for a score had he not thought kicker Tristan Alvano<\/a><\/strong> was on his team. Barney\u2019s do-it-all skillset should get him on the field early and often this season.<\/p>\n

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3. Blye Hill, CB, So.<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest question marks on Nebraska\u2019s defense entering the spring was who would fill the starting cornerback role opposite\u00a0Tommi Hill<\/a><\/strong>. It didn\u2019t take long for junior college transfer\u00a0Blye Hill<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to vault to the forefront of that discussion this spring. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore brings the size, length, and ball skills that NU covets at the position. His spring ended on a sour note with a knee injury during the Red-White game. But he\u2019s expected to fully recover by fall camp and push for the No. 2 corner job this season.<\/p>\n

2. Jahmal Banks, WR, Sr.<\/h2>\n

After registering more than 100 catches and 1,400 receiving yards during a four-year All-ACC career at Wake Forest, Jahmal Banks<\/a><\/strong> arrived at Nebraska with lofty expectations. The senior wideout met all of them and then some during spring ball. Though he hardly played in the Spring Game, Banks instantly emerged as one of NU\u2019s strongest leaders since his first winter workout. The 6-4, 205, native of Washington, D.C., is now the Huskers\u2019 projected No. 1 receiver going into the summer. His bar for 2024 only continues to rise.<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

1. Dylan Raiola, QB, Fr.<\/h2>\n

The most obvious player on this list, Dylan Raiola<\/a><\/strong> has been the top Nebraska football storyline since his late flip to the Huskers from Georgia. It\u2019s hard to imagine a true freshman exceeding the hype the former five-star recruit had on his shoulders, but Raiola found a way. After impressing by the day during spring ball, the NU legacy dazzled in the Red-White game. He completed 16-of-22 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with 14 different targets in the process. Raiola never flinched in his first taste of the Husker spotlight, building even more excitement about what might come during his official debut this fall.<\/p>\n

Never miss breaking news or another HuskerOnline article again. Click HERE to sign up for our Daily and Breaking News Newsletters.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

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The post Ranking Nebraska\u2019s five breakout spring newcomers<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nebraska recently put a bow on its second spring under head coach Matt Rhule. Along…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50315"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50336,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50315\/revisions\/50336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}