Five players who could impact the 2022 Huskers but are in wait-and-see mode this spring | Football

Nebraska gets spring ball rolling on Feb. 28. Between now and then, the Journal Star is compiling lists of players who are at particular points of their careers. We already covered a group of players who really need a big spring, potential impact newcomers and breakout candidates.

Today, a look at five players who could be critical for the Huskers this fall, but who are in something like wait-and-see mode this spring.

NU coach Scott Frost said when he watched Allen’s film in December, “He was one of my favorite guys that I watched all year.” The Monroe, Louisiana, native won’t be on campus until the summer, but he could shake up the running back competition when he arrives.

It’s always worth letting a player get to campus and get himself into the mix — and to remember that the learning curve is steep for all young players, even at positions like running back where real talent tends to find the field early — before going too overboard, and there are plenty of guys (including another on this list) already on campus. However, Allen was new running backs coach Bryan Applewhite’s guy for the 2022 class at TCU, and he put up a huge senior season against good competition in Louisiana.

Another summer addition who is going to have a chance when he gets to campus. Frost said “it takes about two plays” of watching Bonner’s film to realize he’s a talent. At 6-foot-2 and 200-plus pounds, he’s built for a quick transition to the college game.

Will it actually happen? Only time will tell. Mickey Joseph’s group should be deep and midyear enrollee Victor Jones, who the staff is also high on, has a head start in that he’ll take part in spring ball.

The staff, though, thinks Bonner is the kind of player who can potentially make an impact early in his career. We’ll just have to … wait and see.

Nebraska took Brown, a midyear transfer from FCS Northern Iowa, as a transfer even after stocking up on defensive backs because they just thought he was too talented to turn away.

More than what he can add to the defense, the question is how much he’ll be able to do this spring. Brown (6-foot, 180 pounds) missed the final five games of UNI’s season with an undisclosed injury, and it’s not clear if he’ll be full-go when spring ball begins in less than two weeks.

Even so, he could well push for playing time, whether it’s in the next weeks or over the summer and into camp. He was an FCS All-American as a freshman in 2019 and played well in 14 games across UNI’s spring and fall seasons in 2021.

The first returning player for the Huskers on the list.

The question here isn’t so much of whether Corcoran is going to be an important part of the 2022 team — he clearly is — but more so how he fits in.

Frost said earlier this month that he thinks the sophomore, who has spent all of his college career so far at tackle, is capable of playing all five spots up front. It would have been very interesting to see how Corcoran looked at center this spring, but he is going to miss most or all of spring ball with an injury.

The former blue-chip recruit from Lawrence, Kansas, also missed most of preseason camp with an injury and struggled at tackle for most of the 2021 season. He’s certainly got talent and now he gets a fresh start under new offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, but when he actually gets to try to hit full stride remains uncertain at this point.

As a freshman, Ervin made a charge at the starting running back job with a strong spring and summer, and was just starting to look a little bit more comfortable with NU’s scheme when he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Oklahoma. The Georgia native, at 6-0 and 215, has the physical skill set to be an every-down back and impressed last year by establishing himself, even as a true freshman, as the Huskers’ best pass protector.

Frost said that Ervin will be close to full-go this spring but may still have some limitations, so he might not fully get to show Applewhite what he’s got until preseason camp. But he’s a promising young player who had a chance to establish himself as NU’s top back in 2021 until the knee injury. He’s going to factor into the equation at running back at some point this offseason.