The weekly rundown: The receivers then and now

We set the tone on Monday with HuskerOnline’s weekly rundown report as we hit on several things from this past week and what to watch going forward.

You have to feel pretty good about these things right now:

The benefit of adding Fordham: Nobody is probably jumping with excitement to watch Fordham in Memorial Stadium on Sept. 4, but it was a huge win to get this game for several reasons.

Besides saving Nebraska $100,000, it most likely gives the Big Red a night home opener in Memorial Stadium on the BTN to bring several recruits in, along with providing a huge boost to the Lincoln economy on Labor Day weekend.

It also is a game that’s going to get several young players a chance to play early in the season. As we’ve seen over the years, those opportunities are hard to find. If you are wondering, the only FBS schools Fordham has played since 2006 are Temple, Army, Navy, Ball State, Cincinnati and Connecticut.

Will Bolt: The weekend is not over yet, but did anyone ever doubt Will Bolt? He got his guys to bounce back strong with impressive wins over ranked Indiana and Rutgers on Saturday and Sunday. He’s quickly becoming one of the most popular coaches amongst the Husker fan base.

2021 Nebraska wide receivers: Scott Frost said this week that his 2021 wide receiver group is the deepest and potentially most talented he’s had since arriving at Nebraska. It’s hard to argue that, as the Huskers appear to be at least eight-deep right now, and we still have yet to see any of the 2021 incoming freshman wide receivers.

These were my surprises of the week:

The 2019 receiver class: As I talk about the 2021 wide receivers for Nebraska, I’d be remiss not to mention NU’s 2019 recruiting class.

With the entries of Jamie Nance and Demariyon Houston this week in the transfer portal, that means all four receivers the Huskers signed in the class of 2019 have left the program. It’s safe to say that was one of the bigger misses we’ve seen at NU to have all four players in a position group out of the program already.

Nebraska golf coach Mark Hankins left for an assistant job at Missouri: I get that men’s golf is way down the totem pole at NU, but the departure of head coach Mark Hankins to Missouri is notable for several reasons.

Hankins is the first true Bill Moos coaching hire to leave Nebraska. Before the pandemic hit, Hankins had the golf program at their highest place in years placing 5th at the 2019 Big Ten Tournament. This year they placed 12th in the league and now he’s leaving for Mizzou to be essentially their “head coach in waiting.”

Something obviously wasn’t right there, as Hankins is a very proven golf coach. My read is the unknown timeline of the promised golf facilities on Innovation Campus played a major factor in his move, along with being in the SEC, which offers a better-recruiting base and competition.

North Platte’s Vince Genatone: The most under-the-radar recruit in Nebraska for the Class of 2022 is North Platte linebacker Vince Genatone.

Find me another 205-pound athlete that made 102 tackles, won state wrestling with a 52-3 record and runs 10.87 in the 100-meter dash. In the last week, his Twitter following from Power Five schools has grown dramatically. He’s a name to watch closely in June.

Questions still surround these things:

Future golf and swimming facilities: We have a pretty good idea why Hankins is leaving Nebraska. Moos said it on his radio show before the spring game as well. The only facilities NU is lacking at his point are for the swimming and golf programs. It sounds like swimming will be the next one to go now that football is underway, based on Moos’s latest comments.

So when will golf get their new facilities? Or will they? Currently, they use both Firethorn and Wilderness Ridge Golf Clubs in Lincoln, but they remain one of the only major conference schools not to have an on-campus practice facility. In 2019 Moos said what they have proposed for the golf programs would cost around $15 million.

Ticket renewals: The long-awaited football season ticket renewals and invoices went out this week. They are due back on May 24. What will May 24 bring? Traditionally, NU has seen a 98 percent renewal rate or better on football season tickets. If they are way under where they want to be, how transparent will NU be in trying to keep the streak alive?

Will Honas’s future: We still don’t know linebacker Will Honas’s future after suffering his third major knee injury over his football career. In two public statements, head coach Scott Frost said they don’t know Honas’s timeline and if he could potentially return.

Moving forward, this has my attention:

The new proposed Fall Camp practice rules: Nebraska will still get 25 practices over 29 days before their season opener with Illinois. However, the big proposed change will be going from 21 fully-padded practices to just eight. The meeting on these proposed changes with the Football Oversight Committee will take place on May 19.

Ireland in 2022 vs. Northwestern: There will be no trip to Ireland in 2021, but it appears to be a near-lock the Huskers will now open in Dublin vs. Northwestern in 2022. If that happens, we will see several thousand NU fans in Ireland vs. Evanston. No matter where this game is played, expect a red invasion.

Big Ten Media Days: Still nothing official, but the early word I’m getting is the Big Ten plans to hold a Media Days event this summer, potentially in Indianapolis on July 22-23. Stayed tuned. It normally is in Chicago, but with their unknown COVID protocol landscape, Indianapolis makes a lot more sense.

Northwestern’s COVID situation: The Huskers’ next baseball opponent this weekend is Northwestern, who is set to travel to Lincoln for a three-game series starting Friday. The Wildcats have missed the last two weekends in COVID protocol. When will we find out the status of this weekend’s series? The last game Northwestern played was on Apr. 26.

Baseball regional host sites: The NCAA will name 20 potential spots this week as baseball regional host sites. That number will later get whittled down to 16. Will Nebraska be named one of those host locations, or will the sweep vs. Rutgers last week keep them out of the conversation? It’s going to be close.