The Huskers have to replace their top WR for the third straight season. Here’s the picture moving forward | Football

“There are a dozen other guys who have the ability to play or to start,” Frost said before camp in 2019. “We are going to let those guys compete. There are a lot of guys with talent that are going to come down to consistency and reliability. …

“I’m really confident we are going to have a lot more receivers capable of going in and playing this year.”

To some degree, that proved true. NU had two good options in Spielman and Robinson and bumped up from 32 20-plus yard receptions by receivers in 2018 to 39 in 2019 despite struggling to identify consistent options down the depth chart. No. 3 receiver Kanawai Noa graduated, Spielman left the program before eventually transferring and Frost and company readily admitted after that year that they’d have to rely on young and unproven players in 2020.

“When you look at that position, just being honest, when we came in as a coaching staff we only had four receivers on scholarship,” he said in December 2019.

Without Spielman, NU had four scholarship receivers available at the beginning of spring ball for 2020, as well, before the pandemic shut it down.

Instead of making progress, though, production from the receivers backtracked in a shortened 2020 campaign and then Robinson transferred last month.

The Husker receivers turned in just 12 20-plus-yard receptions in 2020 (1.5 per game compared with 3.3 the year before) and only four came from players still on the roster: one each from freshman Zavier Betts (a 45-yard touchdown on a fly sweep), freshman Alante Brown, junior Oliver Martin and senior Levi Falck.