With a year under his belt, Jaylen Lloyd doesn’t feel like a ‘young guy’ anymore

Jaylen Lloyd only caught six passes in 2023. He didn’t have a single multi-reception game. But in mere seconds with the ball in his hands, Lloyd gave Nebraska’s offense something it was desperately searching for all season:

A glimmer of hope. He looked like a superstar in the making.

The Omaha Westside product turned those six catches into 237 yards and three touchdowns, good for top-3 among Nebraska’s receiving corps in both categories. Seven players caught more passes than Lloyd. None came close to his efficiency.

That’s a mind-boggling depiction of just how anemic the passing attack was last season. A true freshman, thrown into the fire, was one of the lone bright spots.

Nebraska expects to be much improved through the air in 2024. The QB and receiver rooms have seen major upgrades. With a full season of experience under his belt, Lloyd should be one of the main beneficiaries.

“It makes this year a lot easier for me,” Lloyd said of playing as a freshman. “A lot of things are slowing down and they’re not as fast. I know the playbook a lot better than I did last year. I just think it’s smooth out here now.”

Lloyd certainly looked smooth during the spring game. A 64-yard touchdown connection with Dylan Raiola had shades of three memorable deep balls against Purdue , Wisconsin and Iowa . Those bombs won’t come as a surprise this year. Lloyd is no longer just a promising rookie.

“Me and Malachi [Coleman] getting in was big for us,” Lloyd said. “You don’t know what you’re doing at first. It’s now like, we’ve been there before. We feel like we’re vets. We don’t want to be treated like the young guys anymore.”

Lloyd bulked up but maintaining speed

At 5-foot-10, Lloyd came to Nebraska at 158 pounds. One of his main priorities this offseason was to put on size, and he did just that. Lloyd is up to 179 and still working to add another five pounds.

“That’s huge confidence when you look in the mirror and see a bigger man,” wide receivers coach Garret McGuire said of Lloyd bulking up.

The additional weight hasn’t slowed him down though. On Tuesday, Lloyd hit 22 mph, even while recovering from a minor hamstring injury.

“Adding size in the Big Ten is going to be important, along with my speed,” Lloyd said. “It gives me a lot more I can do. I can go out on the perimeter and block which is going to be key this year. Beating second-level defenders is also a big thing we’re working on.”

If Lloyd becomes a significant factor in the run block, watch out.

Outlook at wide receiver with new weapons

Transfer wide receivers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor add a veteran presence that Nebraska severely lacked last season. Lloyd is a big fan of both.

“Jahmal and Isaiah are great additions,” Lloyd said. “They bring in a lot of wisdom and experience of the game. They’ve been in these types of big games that we’ll be playing in this year. They just tell us little things that we can do better.”

Banks and Lloyd are both currently working at the Z receiver spot. Lloyd said the two get competitive and have enjoyed learning from each other.

“Jahmal is very good at being patient,” Lloyd said. “He’s teaching the younger guys like, we don’t have to go 1,000 miles per hour every single moment of the route. But when you need to go, you can turn that back on.”

Adding two experienced veterans could mean fewer targets for Lloyd. There’s only so many to go around. But he’s never viewed it that way. Winning is the No. 1 priority.

“I just took it as a chip on my shoulder,” Lloyd said. “You can’t be mad at it, you’ve just got to work with it. I think it’s actually good for us. We’ve got some older guys in a young group that can lead the way for us and help us win.”

As for who’s the fastest of the bunch?

Lloyd says he’ll have to race Neyor and Jacory Barney for that title.

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