Nebraska football has added a bunch of players from the transfer portal, so who will make the biggest impact for the Huskers? We have three names to know.
The Nebraska football season is right around the corner — literally just more than a week away. Yet, there is a mixed feeling from fans as the Huskers are fresh off a 3-9 season but have enough talent, it seems, to contend in the Big Ten West.
Scott Frost has been a massive disappointment. There’s no debate about that. But adding former Texas QB Casey Thompson in the transfer portal was a huge win. So was the addition of Ochaun Mathis, who was named to 247 sports’ All-American Transfer team.
The freshman class has talent and there will be impact players from there too. But like Michigan State before the 2021 season, the Huskers needed an influx of talent, and the hope from Nebraska football fans has to be that they have hit on some game-changers.
Otherwise, it could be a long season, although the schedule isn’t all that difficult, outside of Oklahoma in September and the entire month of November.
Who will emerge to help the Huskers get back to a bowl game? We start with the most important position on the field.
QB Casey Thompson
Earlier this week, Thompson was named the starting quarterback by head coach Scott Frost and it seemed like it was only a matter of time.
Chubba Purdy has turned some heads in fall camp too and the former top-200 QB and Florida State player still has a bright future in Lincoln.
But Thompson is going to be the most impactful transfer on the offensive side of the ball. The Huskers have always had enough talent to win under Frost, at least according to 247 sports talent rankings which consistently has them among the most talented in the Big Ten West.
Nebraska football recruits as well as any program in the Big Ten West, but Frost never figured out the quarterback position and stuck with Adrian Martinez for way too long.
Martinez is at Kansas State and Thompson, the Big 12 leader in TD passes a season ago, is taking over in Lincoln. With Mark Whipple running the offense (see what he did with Kenny Pickett), Thompson is poised for a big season and I don’t think a prediction of 3,000 yards and 20-25 touchdowns is unrealistic.
If that happens, Thompson will be the toast of Nebraska as the Huskers will win 8-9 games. The defense is solid and was last year, but it’s hard to overcome bad QB play.