Post-spring progress for Nebraska football receivers, TEs

To appreciate where the NU position group is now is to know its recent checkered past. The team’s leading pass-catcher in the last three campaigns has been a one-year portal addition. Five different wideout coaches have passed through in seven seasons. Injuries, attrition and recruiting misses turned the room into a revolving door.

Pick any fall since 2016 — when five receivers caught at least 20 balls each — and the Husker offense hasn’t featured more than three difference-making aerial playmakers at once. This spring suggests that drought may be about over.

The Red-White scrimmage unveiled the potential of a busy offseason of acquisition and development among pass catchers. Sophomore Jaylen Lloyd — previously known mostly as a track star out of Omaha Westside — sprinted past the defensive secondary for an over-the-top touchdown. True freshman Jacory Barney did the same as the do-everything Miami prep talent fully focused on receiving for the first time.

“A whole lotta touchdowns, a whole lotta getting the crowd rowdied up,” Barney said when asked what NU receivers have in store for next season. “Turning short catches and short plays into 90-yard touchdowns and bringing that tradition back and getting this program where it used to be.”

Lloyd and Barney are younger, smaller burners — at 5-foot-10 and 6 feet, respectively — now paired with older bigger edge threats. Texas transfer Isaiah Neyor (6-3, 215 pounds) and Wake Forest transfer Jahmal Banks (6-4, 205) give Nebraska jump-ball and fade options it hasn’t had of late. Both are proven college producers.

“Neyor’s probably a little bit faster — kind of your long-speed type of guy that might be able to take the top off (the defense) a little bit more,” NU position coach Garret McGuire said. “Jahmal is a big-bodied receiver that when you press him, he actually probably gets a little bit better just because he can be a little bit more physical with you at the line of scrimmage and within the route.”

Then there’s Alex Bullock, the team’s third-leading receiver last year with 15 catches for 221 yards. And the 6-2, 220-pound Janiran Bonner who coach Matt Rhule sees as a future NFL fullback but a “dynamic wideout” now. Redshirt freshman Jaidyn Doss played both receiver and cornerback this spring. Redshirt freshman Demitrius Bell was headed for a larger role before suffering a serious knee injury in the Spring Game.

Meanwhile, 6-4 Malachi Coleman — the former speedy four-star Lincoln East prospect who made eight grabs for 139 yards and a score last year — is returning from offseason shoulder surgery. Senior Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda is working his way back from a torn ACL last September. Freshmen like Dae’vonn Hall and Keelan Smith have also flashed early.

“They’ve definitely got some speed to their side now — they are really fast,” linebacker Javin Wright said of the receivers.

Nebraska’s run of impact pass-catching tight ends — from Travis Vokolek to Austin Allen to Jack Stoll and others in recent years — remains alive and well with Thomas Fidone, whose catches (25), receiving yards (260) and receiving touchdowns (four) are all team-highs among returners. The junior has suffered two ACL injuries in college but emerged from spring ball fully healthy and a potent 6-6, 250-pound target. Nate Boerkircher (6-5, 245) and Luke Lindenmeyer (6-3, 260) are other knowns in a room that will add dynamic four-star talent Carter Nelson (6-5, 225) this summer.

“He’s a physical freak, and he’s loyal,” Rhule said of Fidone. “Every team in the country’s trying to get him to leave and go there, and he’s a Nebraska Cornhusker through and through. I love that guy, and I love his approach and it’s so good for our players to see a guy who’s so obsessed with being great and never happy.”

Oh, and everyone figures to benefit from a revamped quarterback position with former five-star recruit Dylan Raiola the star of the spring game.

Who’s here: Receiver: Jahmal Banks, Isaiah Neyor, Jaylen Lloyd, Malachi Coleman, Jacory Barney, Alex Bullock, Jaidyn Doss, Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, Janiran Bonner, Dae’vonn Hall, Keelan Smith, Demitrius Bell, Elliott Brown, Cooper Hausmann, Roman Mangini.

Tight end: Thomas Fidone, Nate Boerkircher, Luke Lindenmeyer, Ismael Smith Flores, Ian Flynt, Cayden Echternach.

Who’s the coach: Garret McGuire (receivers), whose age is no longer front of mind for most Nebraska observers. The 25-year-old — who started with Rhule with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in 2021 and 2022 as an offensive assistant — has quietly recruited well and retained talent. Development is the next step and already showing encouraging signs through the spring breakouts of Lloyd and Barney, among others. A salary of $285,000 may soon prove to be a bargain for a young coach Rhule projects to rise high in the industry during his career.

Marcus Satterfield (tight ends) remains Nebraska’s offensive coordinator and play caller, shifting positional responsibilities from quarterbacks to tight ends in a move Rhule has said fits Satterfield’s hard-hitting and uber-aggressive mentality well. Satterfield has called the transition “very easy” as the $1.4 million coordinator also continues to work with the quarterbacks and their new coach, Glenn Thomas, whom he has known for 20 years.

Snapshot: Nebraska under Rhule prioritizes verifiable track speed and showcased it in the spring game with the likes of Lloyd and Barney wowing a national audience with their ability to extend a defense and make the home-run play. Veteran transfer additions Banks and Neyor bring steadying personalities and established college production with larger frames and their own special skills. Coleman and Bullock — two top NU contributors from 2023 — can thrive while sharing more of the offensive load.

Fidone made three catches for 45 yards in the spring game, including a 25-yard score from quarterback and former roommate Heinrich Haarberg. He’s been fully healthy for more than a year and appears ready to remind why he was once billed one of the nation’s best tight end prospects in the Class of 2021. Boerkircher and Lindenmeyer continue to stack snaps as more in-line blockers who double as threats to leak out for a pass.

Arriving this summer: Receivers Quinn Clark and Isaiah McMorris; tight end Carter Nelson.

Post-spring depth chart: Receiver: 1s: Banks, Neyor, Lloyd; 2s: Barney, Coleman, Bullock; 3s: Bonner, Doss, Garcia-Castaneda. Tight end: 1 Fidone, 2 Boerkircher, 3 Lindenmeyer.