Nebraska wide receiver Will Nixon finding his own game

Nebraska wide receiver Will Nixon is back after injury, fully healthy and desperate to make his mark on the field.

The second-year freshman suffered a season-ending injury during the summer of 2020 while trying to cut in front of former Husker cornerback DiCaprio Bootle, he said.

“I’m 110, I’m feeling great,” Nixon said. “I worked so hard to get here, get back to playing football, and I’ve never felt better.”

Now, he’s striving to develop his own game, learn from his elder receivers and become a contributor in Huskers’ offense.

Nixon had to battle to get back on the field after his ACL injury. He said during recovery he watched a lot of film. The receiver had to find his ‘twitch’ again after sitting out for so long.

“I’m proud of myself, I came back, I came back pretty early,” Nixon said. “I’m just proud of myself for working hard and getting over that hump because it’s a hard hump.”

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound athlete switched from running back, his primary position at Midway High School in Waco, Texas, to wide receiver at Nebraska. Nixon said he will be lining up mostly in the slot this season.

New to the receiver world, he has been working closely with Montana graduate transfer Samori Toure and trying to soak up as much of Toure’s knowledge as possible.

“He played slot his freshman and sophomore year of college, so he gives me a lot of pointers,’ Nixon said. “He’s a true receiver. He’s helping me out, trying to learn the deal because I made that switch from running back to receiver. He’s a great mentor.”

This summer, Nixon said he ran cone drills with Toure every day and the duo worked on their cuts, quickness and twitch. He also worked with quarterbacks Adrian Martinez, Heinrich Haarberg and Logan Smothers to build chemistry and work on his hands.

Nixon not only had to learn a new position but also had to do it in the Big Ten against much more physical defenders than in high school. He had a message for incoming receivers and specialists learning to battle the Big Ten.

“You got to get devoted. Everybody is great in high school, but you have to devote in college,” he said. “It’s a lot more difficult trying to get through linebackers, the physicality of the cornerbacks, everything. It’s a feel thing, it takes time.”

The slot receiver is working hard to develop his own unique game. Because of his background in running back, he said he gets handoffs occasionally.

“I’m just working towards being a tough receiver. That’s my strength, being tough, quick, short-game guy,”’ Nixon said. “I’ve definitely worked on my deep game, that’s gotten way better since I came back in the spring.

“Just trying to be a tough guy because being in the slot, you got to be tough, you got to take on those linebackers, and take hits, that’s what I’m trying to be best at.”

The competition in the wide receiver room is intense. Nixon and wide receiver coach Matt Lubick said they are playing with nine receivers.

“We’re looking way better than last year,” Nixon said. “We have a great dynamic, we’re all running fast, we’re all playing hard, we go three-deep, so we’re going to get good rotation. I can’t wait. We’re looking amazing.”

Head coach Scott Frost said on Friday that they will have to widdle that nine down to six main receivers.

Nixon will have to continue to battle to be in that group and/or be Nebraska’s go-to short game receiver. Battling seems to be the attitude of this group of receivers.

“It’s a different mentality,” Nixon said. “I remember last year, our mentality would be like great one day, and then, all right the next. Every day it’s been 110 (percent).”