Can 2025 Be the Year Nebraska’s Wide Receivers Finally Live Up to the Hype?

When Brian Christopherson came on the Common Fan Podcast earlier this year, he summed up how a lot of Nebraska fans have felt about the wide receiver position over the last several years.

“Every offseason, about now...I talk myself into, man, they’ve got like eight or nine guys. How are they going to get the ball to all these guys? This is awesome. And then you get to November and…there's only like three guys. There's nobody else.”

I shared a similar sentiment in an article about the wide receivers in the spring: For whatever reason, Nebraska football missing on wide receiver recruits has become an unwelcome tradition over the last ten years or so. Mike Riley’s “Calibraska” movement comes to mind, with some big name, four star recruits that got the fan base excited but either never ended up committing, or didn’t see the field once they got to Lincoln. Scott Frost brought in six wide receivers in his first recruiting class, as he tried to infuse his team with speed from a mix of the high school and junior college ranks. Most of those guys ended up transferring or having a limited impact. I could go on and on.

There have of course been some standouts, with Trey Palmer and Stanley Morgan in particular coming to mind. They are the only two receivers in Nebraska history to have 1,000+ yard receiving seasons, both having accomplished that feat within the last seven years. But it seems to be an all-too-regular occurrence that the Huskers go into the season with plenty of optimism about the position, only to find themselves struggling to find impact players, or even regular contributors.

Painful Recent History

Nebraska fan and stats wiz @stewmanji – a great Twitter follow for all Husker faithful – recently sent me an email with some statistics on just how dire things have been when it comes to Nebraska’s ability to retain and develop wide receivers. He’s been tracking this exact issue, and keeps a spreadsheet dating back to 2013 (man I love Husker fans).

Here’s the quick and dirty:

Only two of the 45 high school wide receiver recruits since the class of 2013 have graduated and/or exhausted their eligibility at Nebraska (De'Mornay Pierson-El and Stanley Morgan Jr).

Three switched positions (7%)
Five were kicked off the team or failed to enroll (11%)
Eight are still active WRs on the team (18%)
27 transferred or left the team (60%)

Two out of 45! That is absolutely mind-boggling. It feels like it should be impossible. The instability at the position has been a serious drag on Nebraska’s offense.

If Lloyd departs, he will become the 24th WR recruited out of HS to leave NEB before the start of his 4th year in Lincoln since 2016.

The last WR to stay for a 4th season was JD Spielman (2016-2019).

The 32 HS WR recruits since JD have combined for 9 career receiving TDs. https://t.co/eHIIapNgot
— Eric (@stewmanji) December 31, 2024

Will 2025 Be Different?

Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen had plenty to say when talking to the media last Friday, especially about his group of wide receivers. One comment in particular caught my attention: “We’ve been explosive at times, which I haven’t seen since I’ve been here.” Now, Holgorsen hasn’t been in Lincoln all that long, but nonetheless it’s encouraging to see that he’s encouraged.

Jacory Barney and Janiran Bonner are the top returners at the position. Barney was excellent in 2024, catching 55 passes for 447 yards, rushing 10 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns, and returning 14 kickoffs for 285 yards. He was electric with the ball in his hands, and he proved to be durable as well, playing in all 13 games. Bonner caught 11 passes for 67 yards and one touchdown in 2024, while also rushing twice for 11 yards and a touchdown. While the numbers are modest, Bonner made some critical plays at key moments. Holgorsen noted Bonner’s physicality in his comments on Friday, and he can be utilized in a variety of roles.

The Big Red also made some important offseason additions, adding Dane Key from Kentucky and Nyziah Hunter from Cal. In his career at Kentucky, Key compiled 126 catches for 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns. He left Lexington in the top 15 in Wildcat history in both all time receptions and career receiving yards. Hunter, meanwhile, had 40 receptions for 578 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver at Cal in 2024. He redshirted in 2023, so he comes to Lincoln with two years of experience at a major college program under his belt. Key is the proven stud, while Hunter is a young guy who has shown it on the field and also has room to grow.

Redshirt freshmen Quinn Clark and Keelan Smith are two names that have consistently come up during fall camp, and it will be interesting to see if either is able to make meaningful contributions in 2025. Meanwhile, true freshmen Cortez Mills and Jeremiah Jones were both prized recruits who have a shot to get on the field early in their careers. Both were on campus early and participated in spring practice, which should help their cause.

And, of course, there’s the coaching staff. Holgorsen took over as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator nine games into the Huskers’ 2024 season, so he still has not coached a full season with the Big Red. Holgorsen hired Daikiel Shorts Jr. away from Kentucky in the offseason to be his wide receivers coach. Shorts has both played and coached under Holgorsen, and is considered an up-and-comer in the profession.

Throw it all in the blender, and could we see Nebraska’s wide receivers take a big leap forward in 2025? If the offense is to show meaningful improvement, and the Huskers are to take Matt Rhule’s patented year three leap, the answer has to be yes.

And with a forward-thinking offensive coordinator, and year two of Dylan Raiola under center, you would think the conditions are as good as they’ve been in a long time for the receivers to show serious improvement.

Let us know what you think, Common Fans. Send us an email at commonfangbr@gmail.com or find us on YouTube. We’d love to hear your contribution to this discussion!

As always, GBR for Life.

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