Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Husker Dan: Casey Thompson - A Cornhusker Catch?
Admit it, Husker football fans. You haven't had much to cheer about for a long time. In fact over the last seven Husker football seasons, there has been only one year with a winning record. Of those seven years, Nebraska played in only two bowl games (one win and one loss). And sadly, the Huskers have won just 15 games over the past four seasons during Scott Frost's tenure at Nebraska.
You've heard this all before. Pretty painful, no?
Well, hang on to your hats, Husker fans. Things might be getting better soon.
Why? During the past week, the Huskers received some potentially great news with the signing of two players from the transfer portal: QB Casey Thompson (University of Texas) and WR Trey Palmer (LSU). Both have two years of eligibility remaining.
Thompson is a 6' 1" 195 lb junior QB from Oklahoma City, OK. Casey might be just what the Husker football program has been looking for. Last season, Thompson played in 12 games for the Longhorns. He had 165 completions on 261 attempts for 2,113 yards and a 63.6% completion rate. He also had a 24-9 TD-to-INT ratio.
Despite Casey's numbers, Texas finished the season with a 5-7 record that included a 57-56 loss to bottom-feeder Kansas. The Longhorns' "signature" win may have been their last game of the season when they beat bowl-bound Kansas State, 22-17.
So how good will Thompson be at Nebraska? No one knows that answer until after the '22 season. I'm an optimist. I think CT is going to do some great things at Nebraska.
I know it's way too early to be handing out any awards to the recent Husker transfer players, but Husker fans looking for some optimism may have found reasons to be happy with the additions of Thompson and Palmer.
Busch Special
As many expected this morning, Husker head football coach Scott Frost named former Husker defensive analyst Bill Busch as the new special teams coordinator. Busch, from Pender, Nebraska, has the task of developing a unit that has been one of the worst special teams programs in the entire country. It's a tall task - Herculean, some would say. All I can say is good luck, Mr. Busch!
Long of Tooth
Because I'm rather long of tooth, my Husker memories go back a long way. Some great memories, some painful.
The only time I ever paid a scalper for a Husker football ticket was back on November 21st, 1987, for a game some were calling "The Game Of The Century II." It was No. 1 Nebraska vs No. 2 Oklahoma.
Steve Taylor, who was the Husker QB, had declared days before the game that the score wasn't going to be close. Nebraska, Taylor assured, was not only going to win the game, they were going to embarrass the Barry Switzer-led Sooners.
Of course, I drank the Kool-Aid. I couldn't wait for the Huskers to rub the Sooners' nose in it. It was going to be payback time, or so I thought.
Finally, it was game day in Lincoln.
It was unseasonably warm (50s) for late November in Lincoln. But when the Huskers led only 7-0 at the half, I turned to my buddy, Bill, and said, "We are going to get killed." And sadly, I was right. Charles Thompson was a freshman QB for Oklahoma in that game and led his team to 17 unanswered points and left Memorial Stadium with a 17-7 Sooner win.
By the way, Charles Thompson (Casey Thompson's dad) gouged the Huskers for 126 yards on 21 carries that day. More importantly, the Sooners ran all over the Huskers for a total of 419 yards! Ouch!
A Touch of Irony?
I know it's way too early to be making predictions, but wouldn't it be ironic if the son (Casey Thompson) of a player who wrecked Nebraska's national championship hopes back in 1987 (Charles Thompson) is the player who helps Nebraska beat the Sooners in Lincoln come September 17th? I know. But I can dream, can't I?
