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Jeremy Pernell: Righting the Huskers’ Ship at Wide Receiver
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New Husker associate head coach and wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph has a big job ahead of him. He's tasked with stabilizing a position that has had as much turnover as any on the team during head coach Scott Frost's tenure.
Think about this: Between the 2018 and 2021 recruiting classes, Nebraska football signed 18 wide receivers.
- 2018: Jaron Woodyard, Andre Hunt, Miles Jones, Justin McGriff, Mike Williams, Dominick Watt.
- 2019: Wan'Dale Robinson, Darien Chase, Demariyon Houston, Jamie Nance.
- 2020: Zavier Betts, Marcus Fleming, Omar Manning, Alante Brown, William Nixon.
- 2021: Latrell Neville, Shawn Hardy II, Kamonte Grimes.
Of those 18, twelve ended up transferring and Dominick Watt never made it to campus because of academics. Junior college transfer Mike Williams is the only one who finished his career at Nebraska. Omar Manning, Alante Brown, Shawn Hardy and Kamonte Grimes are the only ones still on the roster.
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Clearly, Joseph had his work cut out for him when he got to Lincoln in December. He has spoken of how the culture needed to change. He was forthright with the guys in his room, telling them he would hold them to a high standard and whoever didn't welcome that wouldn't be around very long.
He was also blunt about the room needing a boost of talent. Joseph's acumen as a recruiter has already paid dividends on that front. He signed two four-star players in the 2022 high school class and added three promising players through the transfer portal. Joseph wants to have 10 or 11 players he's comfortable playing. He thinks he's close to that number now.
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If there's an early favorite for the No. 1 receiver, it's LSU transfer Trey Palmer. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior out of Kentwood (La.) High School is a former Rivals five-star prospect. He chose the Tigers over notable offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M, among others.
Palmer arrived in Baton Rouge with one of the best three-sport profiles of any recruit in the 2019 class. As a senior, he helped Kentwood win a state title in football and also made an appearance with the Kangaroos in the state title for baseball.
Trey was also one of the best young sprinters to come out of the Pelican State in several years. As a senior, he won the Louisiana Class 1A state title in both the 100 and 200 meters. Palmer ran a 10.42 to claim the 100, and won his fourth-straight state championship in the 200 with a head-turning time of 21.11, which broke a 34-year old Class 1A meet record. He also ran a leg of Kentwood’s state champion 4×200 meter relay team.
When Palmer enrolled at LSU in the summer of 2019, he joined a wide receiver room that was absolutely stacked. He spent his first two seasons behind Justin Jefferson (22nd NFL draft pick, 2020), Ja'Marr Chase (fifth pick, 2021), Terrance Marshall (59th pick, 2021) and Racey McMath (sixth round, 2021). Current Tiger standout Kayshon Boutte, who is considered a top prospect for the 2023 draft, will eventually join that group.
Though he saw limited action as a receiver in 2019 and 2020, Palmer was LSU's primary punt and kick returner after arriving on campus. He's a dangerous return man and should give the Huskers a jolt in that department. As a true freshman in 2019, he returned a punt 54 yards for a score against Northwestern State. A year later, against South Carolina in 2020, he brought a kickoff back 93 yards for a touchdown. He also had 18 punt returns for 115 yards this past season. Nebraska had 27 yards last season as a team.
This past season, Palmer started to develop into an every-down player, seeing action in 11 games for the Tigers with five starts. He finished the season with 30 receptions for 344 yards and three touchdowns.
Palmer had formed an extremely tight bond with Mickey Joseph, whom he has known since the ninth grade. When Joseph left Baton Rouge for Lincoln, Palmer decided to follow. He put his name in the transfer portal on Dec. 16 and really only considered the Huskers.
Although he had planned on touring Nebraska the weekend of Jan. 14-16, Trey decided to commit sight-unseen instead. That's how much he trusts Joseph. Palmer announced on Instagram he was transferring to Nebraska on Jan. 8, although Husker fans, being who they are, already had spotted his name in the student registry on the 6th.
Trey arrived in Lincoln and almost immediately became the vocal leader of the room. Having already spent three years with Joseph, he's helping set the culture. Trey is very outgoing and is brimming with confidence. He reportedly had a great spring and is poised to take over the spot vacated by Samori Touré in the starting lineup as the team's primary target. He has two years of eligibility remaining, plus a potential redshirt season if needed.
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Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda hasn't gotten as much offseason publicity as he probably should have. That's due in part to missing spring ball with a partial hamstring tear. Even so, Mickey Joseph likes what he brings to the room. Entering fall camp completely healthy, the 6-foot, 185-pounder is expected to vie for a starting spot.
Garcia-Castaneda has been productive at every place he's been. He played his freshman season in 2019 at Mission Viejo (Calif.) Saddleback College, where he led the Bobcats in receptions (56), yards (953) and touchdowns (13). He earned National Division Southern League first-team honors for his play.
He transferred to New Mexico State in 2020, but the Aggies' season was postponed to the spring of 2021 and limited to just two games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This past fall, he hauled in 37 receptions for 578 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games.
NMSU fired head coach Doug Martin on Nov. 27, and Garcia-Castaneda entered his name into the transfer portal two days later. He drew immediate interest, receiving offers from Iowa State, Minnesota, Utah, Arizona, Utah State, Hawai'i, Western Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky.
Scott Frost visited Garcia-Castaneda at his home in Twentynine Palms, California, in early December and secured an official visit for Dec. 10-12, the last weekend before the dead period began. It was a whirlwind week for Isaiah, having also visited Iowa State and Minnesota in the same week.
On his visit, Garcia-Castaneda had an opportunity to sit down with Joseph and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple and learn how they planned to use him in their offense. The two coaches explained they would play him at all three receiver spots, moving him around to find mismatches.
Garcia-Castaneda announced his transfer to Nebraska on Dec. 17, choosing the Huskers over the Gophers and Cyclones. He has two years of eligibility remaining, plus a potential redshirt season if needed.
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Despite adding Palmer and Garcia-Castaneda prior to spring ball, the Huskers kept their eyes open for another receiver. The strategy shifted a bit from luxury to necessity, though, after Zavier Betts decided to leave the team in late March.
Marcus Washington entered the transfer portal right at the May 1 deadline to retain eligibility this season. Despite being in the mix with Texas' top wide receivers during spring practice, Washington decided to look for another opportunity.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Washington was a consensus four-star recruit out of Trinity Catholic (Mo.) High School in the 2019 class. He was ranked as high as the No. 105 overall recruit by Rivals and played in the prestigious Under Armour All-American Game. He collected nearly 40 offers and chose Texas over Ohio State and Nebraska, while also holding notable offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee and USC, among many others.
Washington played sparingly during his first two seasons in Austin, although he did see action in 19 games with one start. It wasn't until this past season, however, that he made a significant contribution. In 12 games last fall, including seven starts, he had 18 receptions for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
Nebraska became a logical destination when Marcus decided to transfer from Texas. The obvious connection was his relationship with quarterback Casey Thompson, who had transferred from Texas to Nebraska over the winter. The pair practiced together for three years and shared prominent playing time together last season.
Washington also had a history with Mickey Joseph, who recruited him in high school when Joseph was at LSU.
A deeper dive reveals that Marcus' father, Nu-Nu Washington, grew up on the north side of St. Louis, one door down from a cousin of former Husker defensive back Kenny Wilhite, Nebraska's director of high school relations. The two grew up friends, and that connection and trust played a big part as well.
The Huskers brought Marcus in for an official visit the weekend of May 20-22, but it wasn't his first time in Lincoln. He was an early target of former wide receivers coach Keith Williams and visited campus for a Friday Night Lights camp back when Mike Riley was head coach. When Frost was hired, Troy Walters prioritized Washington and got him to take an official visit to Lincoln in September 2018.
On May 24, Washington announced on Twitter his intention to transfer to Nebraska over fellow finalists Purdue and Utah.
While at Texas, Washington showed the ability to play multiple receiver positions. According to Pro Football Focus, last season he played 244 snaps at wideout and 188 snaps in the slot. That versatility should help him get plenty of reps for the Huskers. Like Palmer and Garcia-Castaneda, Washington has two years of eligibility remaining, plus a potential redshirt season if needed.
