The Weekly Rundown: Nebraska turns the page to the final week of Fall Camp

Nebraska turns the page to the final week of Fall Camp.

We hit on that and more as we start your Monday with The Weekly Rundown column.

RELATED – Steven Sipple: Credit Rhule for cultivating “win now” mentality for Nebraska, which has the goods to make it happen

Sure bets

You have to feel good about these things right now:

Finalizing the depth chart and QB position: We still don’t know what Nebraska’s depth chart will look like for the opener against UTEP, but that should all come to light this week as preparation for the Miners begins.

Matt Rhule has yet to name a starting quarterback, which is surprising in some ways, but after last year’s disaster with Jeff Sims I think he’s learned his lesson. Sims was handed the job before camp even started, as he represented the Huskers at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis and signed major endorsement deals with AKRS Equipment , Amigos and Gary Michaels Clothiers, among others. It all blew up in a hurry.

I think we all know where this is going, but Rhule is pushing it as late as possible, in my opinion, to keep some of the pressure off Dylan Raiola and also continue to show the other quarterbacks the respect they deserve.

LB Vincent Shavers’s value moving forward: Given the situation at linebacker, freshman Vincent Shavers’s value heading into the 2024 season becomes that much more valuable.

You have to think he’ll play a similar role in the defense that we saw former Husker and now Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann had as a true freshman in 2022.

Marques Buford as a cornerback: Rhule said in so many words that Marques Buford , Tommi Hill , Isaac Gifford , Malcolm Hartzog and DeShon Singleton are all poised to step into the starting five roles in the secondary.

All of this makes sense. What makes more sense now is that Buford looks like he’ll be the Huskers’ Game 1 starter at cornerback opposite of Hill.

An extra week of Fall Camp: Because of the calendar’s format, Nebraska will get one more week of Fall Camp. That means Rhule and the Huskers will have 22 practices before classes begin at UNL.

This gives Rhule and his staff one more week to have unlimited hours with his team before classes begin Aug. 26, when the rule switches to 20 hours of organized time per week.

Surprises

These were my surprises of the week:

Javin Wright’s setback: By all intents and purposes, linebacker Javin Wright was poised for a breakout senior season that could lead to him possibly having a chance to be drafted.

That’s why the news of his latest medical setback is tough. Wright suffered a preseason injury in 2020 and a medical setback in 2021. He has finally started to come on the last two seasons, playing in 22 games. You hope he can return from this latest setback sooner rather than later.

T.J. Hollowell is joining the Husker staff: Rhule added another sneaky good addition to his coaching staff this week. Former Husker and NFL linebacker T.J. Hollowell accepted a position in the recruiting department. He served as the 10th full-time assistant at Michigan State a year ago after Mel Tucker was fired. Before that, he was an analyst for the Spartans.

Hollowell is in his second coaching stint at NU, having served under Bo Pelini from 2010 to 2013. I love the idea of adding players like Hollowell back into the program who not only played here when the Huskers were successful but also were part of the coaching staff on some NU teams that nearly won conference championships.

WR Jaylen Lloyd’s physical gains: I think we all figured wide receiver Jaylen Lloyd would make some physical gains, but seeing his weight go from 158 pounds to nearly 180 pounds caught my attention.

You have to give Rhule and his staff a lot of credit on this one. They saw the big picture on Lloyd and they bought every bit of stock on him they could right away. It’s paid off.

The jury is still out

Questions still surround these things:

The running back position: One position we still don’t have a for sure read on with how snaps are going to be divided is running back.

We have a good idea of the top options— Emmett Johnson , Rahmir Johnson , Gabe Ervin Jr. , and Dante Dowdell . However, we still have no idea if there is a back who can be a 1,000-yard rusher in that group.

It feels like a running back by committee today, but you sure would like to see someone emerge instead of a depth chart with a bunch of ORs listed on it.

Tristan Alvano at kicker: What is the outlook for kicker Tristan Alvano as we are less than two weeks away from the season opener?

One thing appears certain: Rhule has confidence in newcomer John Hohl to do the job if Alvano is not ready to kick against UTEP.

Single-digit jerseys: What is Rhule and the team’s timeline for announcing the single-digit jerseys this week? I imagine we might know the answer by Friday.

This has my attention

Moving forward, this has my attention :

Former Husker Niles Paul: Congratulations to former Husker wide receiver and Omaha North standout Niles Paul for earning his degree on Saturday. After a long NFL career, Paul returned to Lincoln and took care of business.

Growing up, Paul was always a good student and overcame a lot after the death of his mother, Marjorie, when he was 12. When he arrived at Omaha North from Virginia, he immediately made a significant impact on the track, and it didn’t take long for him to get on the Huskers’ radar for football. He, along with QB Phillip Bates and former Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren’s son Tommy (WR), played a big part in reviving Omaha Public Schools Football at that time under Larry Martin. That group also won a state championship in track.

No Week Zero HS football: Speaking of high school football, we unfortunately won’t get any in Nebraska this week. For the first time in several years, no Week Zero games are scheduled around the state. Week Zero football has become pretty regular in accommodating odd numbers of teams in different classes.

This year, the season will kick off on Aug. 29. I’m looking forward to seeing how Millard South does against Arizona powerhouse Basha in Week 1. We’ll also see Omaha Creighton Prep play at St. Louis De Smet Jesuit on Aug. 31, and Millard North travels to Cherry Creek in Colorado on Sept. 6. These are some of the more intriguing Nebraska high school football match-ups we’ve seen in several years.

Aug. 24 Fan Day: Also on Saturday, Nebraska will host its annual Fan Day event from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. inside the Hawks Indoor Facility.

This will be the latest I can ever remember Fan Day falling on the calendar, and it’s the first time in years it’s fallen on a Saturday. Credit Rhule and his staff for making this event as accessible as possible to Husker fans.

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm .

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