Its not going to be easy to replace Ozigbo. He turned out to be major surprise this year, and gained alot of yards- and first downs- after contact. Toughness at RB will have to come from a yet-unknown player, as will a complimentary threat at WR. None of the new kids we brought in this off-season showed up, except Kade Warner. That caught up with us at Iowa.
That said, AMart is a great place to start. The only Nebraska player I can remember who even remotely approaches his combined ability to pass and run was Turner Gill. As a senior. I look forward to a wiser, and more physically mature, AMart in 2019. Hopefully he'll be a little more accustomed to throwing in cold weather too.
Defense is where the greater concerns lie. IDK what we're going to do up front...its one those situations where the good news and bad news is that everybody is coming back. Deontre Thomas missed the year due to injury, and has shown flashes of high-level play. Damien Daniels is the NT we need, but can only play one quarter per game. Other than that, we know what we have and it ain't great. I don't see any miraculous improvement at the second level with what's on-hand either...Caleb Tannor is a redshirt with potential at OLB. The secondary could improve a good deal with Cam Jones and Deontai Williams moving into significant roles in their second year.
Punting and placekicking will excel, and hopefully special teams will continue to improve to the point where they become a strength.
Ohio State, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa are at home. Games at Purdue and Maryland will be tough. Hope to see 8+ Ws.
