By: Dave Collins, Sports Director
At 1-4 and with three games to go the Huskers are hoping the view of what鈥檚 ahead for the football program can become clearer in December.
That starts on the field at Purdue this Saturday then against Minnesota the following week, although the Gophers have canceled its game this week against Northwestern because of COVID-19 concerns.
But beyond this season, what will Scott Frost and the Huskers see for 2021, 2022 and beyond? Attrition has become an issue with players transferring including another one of the team鈥檚 high-ceiling future prospects from Florida, Marcus Fleming.
Scott Frost confirmed the departure Monday at his weekly media conference.
Fleming had a strong game against Northwestern with all five of his catches this season, but he鈥檚 been mysteriously not a part of the offense much since, and he didn鈥檛 travel to the game at Iowa.
Even with a full stock of wideouts a football team can鈥檛 move the ball if it can鈥檛 get it snapped. And that was a huge issue again for Nebraska in the loss to the Hawkeyes.
Despite the persistent problems, Coach Frost is staying loyal to his center Cam Jurgens.
Meanwhile, Husker quarterback Adrian Martinez has seen his role go from pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate last year to simply the starter this year, to splitting game time with freshman Luke McCaffrey.
But as a captain and an upperclassman, Martinez isn鈥檛 just sitting and sulking in disappointment. He鈥檚 taking the troubles head on and wants to help his teammates by leading and motivating them in ways unique to what they respond well to.
And according to Martinez, those ways have changed over the years and his generation of players aren鈥檛 always as willing to bear the brunt of harsh coaching as others have in the past.
The Husker quarterback knows getting his team back on track is also about the details and executing them more cleanly on offense.
Audio clips courtesy: NU Athletic Communications, Huskers.com