Nebraska Football Player Power Rankings: Game One – Ohio
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Welcome my most recent edition of my Nebraska football player power rankings. As I have said before, this list will be completely subjective in several ways and may not follow a logical path. Or maybe it will.
This power ranking list will be a combination of the most important, most impactful, a recent contribution, waiting in the wings, rumors of greatness, rumors of not-so-great, players that made one great play to change a game (for better or worse) or any other type of metric that I think should go with this subjective list of ranking over 100 players on a football team.
So without further ado, here is my most recent definitive and completely subjective Nebraska Football Player Power Ranking.
Here are links to prior Nebraska Football Player Power Rankings.
Start of Fall Camp
Halfway through Fall Camp
10. Anthony Colandrea – Quarterback
Prior Ranking: 10th
Yep. Just leaving him sit right here in this spot just waiting for jump him up a few positions.
One concern I have had is that I expect Colandrea to play extremely well for the first two games. He will probably make a bunch of plays with his feet and then we will get to Big Ten play. I expect the Big Ten defenses to keep in him in the pocket and force him to make throws from the pocket.
It reminds me of Adrian Martinez. Big Ten defenses kept him in the pocket and Nebraska struggled.
9. Archie Wilson and Kyle Cunanan – Punter and Place Kicker
Prior Ranking: 9th
I am looking forward to Archie Wilson pinning Ohio inside the ten yard line multiple times on Saturday. That’s going to happen right?
Also, Kyle Cunanan is going to go 3/3 with one over 50 yards.
Or maybe Nebraska should just steal this guy.
8. Luke Lindenmeyer – Tight End
Prior Ranking: 8th
Yesterday, Dana Holgorsen doubled down on Luke Lindenmeyer having a great fall camp. Holgorsen said that it was the other tight ends that weren’t performing up to their standard. Though he did admit that Carter Nelson and Eric Ingwerson have stepped up.
If you want to feel excited (or if you want to roll your eyes), yesterday Luke Lindenmeyer said that he expects the offense to be explosive and things “fans haven’t seen in a while.”
7. Cameron Lenhardt – Defensive End
Prior Ranking: Unranked
If I were to have a vote for somebody who takes off this season I think it might be Cameron Lenhardt. I believe he has probably been playing out of position over the past three seasons. This year however, he will be playing on the edge in a four man defensive line instead of a three man front.
He continues to fight off the former five star Williams Nwaneri who is sitting right behind him on the depth chart.
I am interested to see if Jeremiah Jones make run for playing time after spending his redshirt freshman season as (checking notes) a wide receiver.
6. Andrew Marshall
Prior Ranking: 6th
It isn’t always good when nobody is talking about you. In the case of Andrew Marshall, the fact that nobody is talking about him is great because everybody knows he’s the starter at his corner spot and all of the discussion is who will be starting on the other side.
The depth chart indicates it is a battle between Victor Evans and Jeremiah Charles with five star true freshman Danny Odem backing up Marshall.
5. Janiran Bonner – Swiss Army Knife
Prior Ranking: 5th
Wide Receiver coach Daikiel Shorts said that Bonner is essentially his own position for the offense as he can be a tight end, wide receiver, running back or fullback.
As we have said before, he is clearly Dana Holgorsen’s favorite player on the team and I am excited to see what the offense looks like with a healthy Bonner for a season (hopefully.)
4. Jacory Barney Jr. – Wide Receiver/Punt Returner
Prior Ranking: 4th
Jacory Barney was named Athlon’s preseason all-conference team as a punt returner. Some have said (looking at Steven Sipple) that he’s the best punt returner Nebraska has had since De’Mornay Pierson-El who was a second-team All-American punter returner in 2014.
I am waiting to put Kwazi Gilmer on this list as I think he might end up being the best wide receiver on the team by the end of the season.
I am hoping that Barney breaks a big punt return (or two) for touchdowns this season against Ohio State, Indiana or Oregon.
3. Jahsear Whittington – Defensive Lineman
Prior Ranking: Unranked
When Whittington transferred here from Pittsburgh I was concerned that he would be too small for the Big Ten at 250 pounds. To his credit, since he arrived he has gained 25 pounds and is listed at 275. His major strength in the interior is his quickness and he apparently has a list of pass rushing moves that was lacking in the Nebraska pass rush last season.
If he can be good enough to stop the run this his pass rushing ability should take over.
This is definitely a projection type of pick as he had one sack last season for Pittsburgh which as I am typing this makes me really think this is quite the stretch.
The rumors out of camp have indicated otherwise but we shall see.
2. Owen Chambliss – Linebacker
Prior Ranking: 3rd
With the exception of Colandrea, I might be most excited to watch Owen Chambliss lead this defense. He was essentially handpicked by Rob Aurich to follow him from SDSU where he had 110 tackles and was first team all-conference.
His teammates have raved about his knowledge and ability to communicate in the defense. There have been some concerns about his health this fall but hopefully everything was just precautionary.
1. Justin Evans – Center
Prior Ranking: 2nd
Prior to this I had Riley Van Poppel in the first spot because I thought (and still think) his ceiling is incredibly high and he plays at a premium position that might make or break the team this year as far as the ability to stop the run.
Then the depth chart came out and he isn’t even starting. Owen Stoudmire is starting in his spot and thus we go down the road.
Even if that depth chart would not have come out I was planning on putting Justin Evans first because at the Monday press conference, Matt Rhule said that Justin Evans got the most votes for single digit jerseys as an offensive line that he has ever seen. That is even after he asked the team to not vote for offensive lineman (because of the jersey number issue). I think that in incredibly illustrative of how important Justin Evans is to this team.
Most Recent Ranking
10. Anthony Colandrea – Quarterback
9. Archie Wilson and Kyle Cunanan – Punter and Place Kicker
8. Luke Lindenmeyer – Tight End
7. Isaiah Mozee – Running Back
6. Andrew Marshall – Defensive Back
5. Janiran Bonner – Swiss Army Knife
4. Jacory Barney Jr. – Wide Receiver
3. Owen Chambliss – Linebacker
2. Justin Evans – Center
1. Riley Van Poppel – Defensive Tackle
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