Did the 2008 NU Football Team fill needs?

The 2008 recruiting class been announced. NU may add a player or two to the class but for the most part, we know who the class will be. Let's take a look at how we filled future needs.

In 2008 we will have seven defensive and seven offensive players back. However for the purposes of analyzing the 2008 recruits, we have actually moved forward to the 2009 season.

Here was our assumptions at that time. Joe Ganz, Marlon Lucky, Nate Swift, Zach Potter, Barry Turner and the many others are graduated. These are the guys that generally you want this year's recruits to replace and or move up the depth charts. Who is left and are we bringing in the right players. Of course with this analysis, we have to make some assumptions. We have also made some guesses as to what positions the new recruits will play.

This year's class includes fifteen offensive players and thirteen defensive players.

Let's start with the offense for the 2009 season.

Quarterback
1) Patrick Witt
2) Zac Lee

Recruits
Kody Spano

Picking up Kody Spano is huge for the Huskers. He has passed for 4000 yards, rushed for 900 yards, and has been involved with 75 TD's the past two seasons. He was originally a commit to Oklahoma State. He is 6'2"202 lbs and runs the 40 in 4.7. He has good feet and with two years of development, he could be our QB.

Kody Spano will play some football at Nebraska in two to three years.

Rating 6 (A high number reflects how Nebraska filled the need for this position this year.)

Running Back
1) Quentin Castille
2) Roy Helu

Recruits
Collins Okafor
Lester Ward
Justin Rogers

Nebraska ended up with three commits at this position this year. We have good talent at this position but it is a position where you could lose two or three to injuries. No four or five star recruits this year but we should be in pretty good shape at this position.
Rating 7.5

Fullback
1) Quentin Castille??
2) Justin Mackovicka

Recruits
Kyler Reed

We have three other walk-on FB's that will be on the team. The fullback needs to touch the ball by running or receiving 5-8 times each game. We have 11 men on the field and we need to utilize all of them. Remember the time Steve Kriewald ran the ball in 2004? He went 55 yards on one play against Oklahoma. He ran three times that year for 54 yards. An 18 yard average. Dane Todd ran one time in 2006 and that is four attempts for 54 yards the past four years. Look to Castille to move to fullback in 2008 so we can get him on the field. At the very least, he should play a little fullback. Kyler Reed is a good addition but he could be a tight-end, linebacker, or defensive end.
Rating 7 Depends on what recruit plays fullback in the future.

H-Back/Tight End
1) Mike McNiel
2) Dreu Young

Recruits
Ben Cotton
Tyson Hetlzer
Kyler Reed

The addition of Cotton boost this position. McNiel and Young should develop well. Hetzler and Reed are food additions. Reed could play other positions as stated above. Walk-on Damon Bechtold of Omaha Westside is scholarship quality.
Rating 9

Wide Receiver (X)
1) Menelik Holt
2) Will Henry

Wide Receiver (Y)
1) Niles Paul
2) Curenski Gilleylen

Recruits
1) Antonio Bell
2) Khiry Cooper
3) Tim Marlowe
4) Steven Marlowe

We signed four wide receivers thanks to the staff's late push. In two years, our depth will be surprising thin. The new recruits are a good group and will play football in two years.

Matt Donahue, who will transfer from Ohio and walk on at NU, is a good. He will redshirt next year and then he should see some playing time.

Rating 8

Left Tackle
1) Mike Smith

Left Guard
1) Keith Williams

Center
1) Jacob Hickman

Right Guard
1) DJ Jones

Right Tackle
1) Jaivorio Burkes

Recruits
Rick Henry
Baker Steinkuhler
Brandon Thompson
David Grant

We have some good talent in the line in two years. We also have a good recruiting class in this area. The good news is that we have four commits. Henry and Steinkuhler will have a huge impact in two years. Walk-on Brian Thorsen is very good. He was previously going to Buffalo on a scholarship.

Rating 8

Offensively, the recruiting class is very good. Spano will need to be good as one quarterback is usually not enough.

DEFENSE in 2009

Left defensive End
None

Right Defensive end
1) Pierre Allen

Recruits
Cameron Meredith
Josh Williams



Five recruits non-committed in December that played for defensive end. Defensive is the key position on defense. NU may have to switch some players around to beef up this position. Cameron Meredith and Josh Williams are both excellent recruits. Walk-ons in clude Kenny Anderson (Millard West), Conor McDermott (Creighton Prep), and Josh Molek (Omaha Skutt). At least one of the walk-ons will need to step up. McDermott could be the one.

Rating 7 (Lower rating based on the number of recruits not quality of our recruits)

Nose Tackle
1) None

Recruits
Quentin Toailoa

We will need to depend on other existing players to develop. It is possible that a defensive end recruit will develop into a line position. Toailoa is this year's diamond in the rough.

Rating 4



Defensive Line
1) Ty Steinkuhler
2) Ben Martin

Recruit
Quentin Toailoa

Again, we could use a couple of recruits in the defensive line to shore up this position. Quentin Toaliloa is a fine player out of California. He has been the main addition since we named our new coach. Eddie Brown, out of Texas, is visiting next week. NU has not made an offer to him yet, but don't be surprised if he ends up at NU. Justin Jackson of Norris is our walk-on recruit. Nebraska has a commitment from Cole Pensick at this position in the 2009 class.


Rating 4.

Sam linebacker
1) Blake Lawrence

Will linebacker
1) Major Culbert

Mike Linebacker
1) Philip Dillard

Recruits
1)Will Compton
2)Sean Fisher
3)Micah Kreikemeier
4) Alonzo Whaley

Great recruits. Add four walk-on that will play linebacker and this position should be covered pretty well.

Rating 8.5



Left Cornerback
1) Anthony Blue

Right Cornerback
1) Anthony West

Recruits
1) David Whitmore
2) Alfonso Dennard

Blue and West will be exceptional players. Adding Whitmore and Dennard will help. Prince Amukamaru is the fastest man on the team and will be a factor on special teams and defense in 2008.

Rating 8

Strong Safety
1) Larry Asante

Free Safety
1) Ricky Thenarse
2) Ricky Hagg

Recruits
1) Mason Wald
2) John Leverson
3) PJ Smith
4) Courtney Osborne

Can you imagine how good Thenarse will be for Bo Pelini? Talk about the perfect fit. Our four recruits will be impact players in two to three years.

Rating 9

Kicker
1) Alex Henery
2) Adi Kunalic

Punter
None

We will need to recruit a punter in the next year or so. A walk-on this year would give us some experience. Walk-on Brett Maher from Kearney could be our kicker after Henery leaves.

Nebraska filled needs at most positions with strengths being the offensive line, wide receiver, and defensive back. The biggest weakness in this year's class is in the quantity of defensive ends and defensive linemen we signed. Linebacker could be a concern also. Signing only one quarterback is a concern also.

Also the walk on program seems to be back in force and will be a factor in the future. The walkons will fill in nicely where we have the weaknesses.

OVERALL RATING 8