Broadcaster Rose bullish on upcoming Husker football season

The college football season is just three weeks away. With the promise of better things to come, it has some people in Nebraska feeling absolutely giddy, like a kid around Christmas.

“We’re coming upon the most wonderful time of the year, as we all know around here, and that’s Husker football season and volleyball season,” said longtime Nebraska radio broadcaster Jim Rose at Monday’s Executive Club luncheon at the Graduate Hotel in downtown Lincoln. “It’s an exciting time. It’s an exciting time for a fan. It’s an exciting time for everybody.”

Rose said he thinks that the football program, in its second season under head coach Matt Rhule, is poised for a strong run in the newly expanded Big Ten Conference with 18 teams. He said the Huskers show improvement at every position, and the defense is looking to capitalize on what it accomplished last season.

“Defensively, it’s a Top 15 defense. You can win championships with a Top 15 defense,” said Rose, who works as a host at KFAB Radio in Omaha. “We’ve got two NFL guys up front in (Nash) Hutmacher and (Ty) Robinson.”

The impact guys on defense who are heading for break-out years, according to Rose, are senior linebacker Javin Wright, sophomore defensive end Riley Van Poppel and senior corner Tommi Hill. He also listed as underrated junior defensive back, Malcolm Hartzog Jr., and senior safety Isaac Gifford, who had 86 tackles last year for the black shirts. Rose also likes what he sees from defensive linemen Cam Lenhardt and Jimari Butler, who had 34 tackles last season. He expects great things from JUCO transfer defensive lineman James Williams, a sophomore.

“I think this freshman linebacker from Miami, Vincent Shavers (Jr.), is going to be a great player,” said Rose. “This guy is going to be one of those guys that really bursts onto the scene, a really terrific athlete with great physical skills.”

Despite the stalwart efforts and talent on the Husker defense, a good offense is one of the primary things Rose and Husker fans are hoping to realize this fall. Especially since five-star freshman recruit and quarterback phenom Dylan Raiola has arrived on campus.

“This quarterback has everything you want in a QB except one thing. He’s not done it before,” proposed Rose. “I’m anxious to see how he responds to a really challenging environment, which is what it will be going from high school to Division Power 5 College football. It’s really hard. Every indication is he is remarkably well grounded and does not have a social media account.

“Let’s hope he makes incremental progress every week, which freshmen tend to do. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to throw interceptions. He’s going to make the wrong turn. He’s going to do the things that freshmen do, but he gives us our best chance to be good on offense,” said Rose, who’s been a part of Husker football broadcasts in the past.

Speaking of the passing game, Rose likes what’s going on in the wide receiver room at Nebraska. He thinks it has become a lot better with some good depth and speed. In particular, he pointed out that Raiola and Jahmal Banks, a transfer from Wake Forest, have established some chemistry already this fall. Rose believes that Banks, a senior, is an NFL-caliber player.

As for the prediction and prospects for Nebraska football this upcoming season, you might say the broadcaster has on “Rose-colored” glasses awaiting to watch the schedule unfold.

“This season looks awfully favorable if you look at those first seven games,” Rose said. “I’d like to know which of those first seven games we won’t be favored to win. After that, you have a shot for a 9- to 10-win season.”

Then Rose broke down the three levels of the Big Ten football conference as he sees it. He said there’s top six teams, a middle six and a bottom six. He said the current top six consists of Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Washington, Penn State and USC. He said those teams or schools are entrenched and not going anywhere unless you move them out. He added that they all have elite national recruiting profiles, great facilities, great NIL money and huge brand names.

“So, you’re going to have trouble toppling any of those top six, but you’re gonna have to,” he said. “Nebraska has to find a way to go from middle six to top six.”

The author, Tim Brusnahan, is program chair for Lincoln Executive Club and employed by Lincoln Data Centers.