JD PicKell: Week 0 is an opportunity for Nebraska transfers to gel together

Nebraska is in a prime position to get their season off on the right foot, taking on Northwestern in Ireland on Saturday. Victory will go a long way towards a successful season, and JD PicKell of On3 believes coming back to America with a win could change everything for the Cornhuskers.

Previewing Nebraska’s prowess on the latest episode of The Hard Count, PicKell explained why Week 0 isn’t just an opportunity for victory, but a chance for the Cornhuskers’ many transfers to begin to gel.

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“It gives you a chance for your transfers to gel. Fifteen new faces at a lot of premier positions. Whether it’s Ochaun Mathis at EDGE, whether it’s quarterback Casey Thompson. Whether it’s Trey Palmer likely being your WR1. All of these guys are going to have their first outing in the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ big red,” stated PicKell. “So to be able to gel right away in that first game and have a strong showing, put some good things on tape. Again, creating that belief. That would allow you to have something to build on going forward.

“If you come out shaky against Northwestern, and then you get it together against North Dakota. You get it together against Georgia Southern. The confidence level is vastly different if you do it in those two games but not in the first. It just legitimizes everything you’ve done up to that point. Because there is no way to simulate the resistance you’re going to get from Nebraska in the next two games. So this is crucial for these transfers to all get synched up, to all get on the same page and to gel.”

As you can see, Nebraska will be relying on plenty of new faces in 2022 — there’s no better time to begin to gel than Saturday.

PicKell: Questions remain for Nebraska transfers after positive start

Moreover, PicKell also believes Nebraska could be looking for leadership with so many new faces in the locker room. Earlier this month, the On3 analyst said more players will have to step up besides Casey Thompson and Trey Palmer.

“When you have so many new faces, it causes for some hesitation with stepping up into the leadership roles,” PicKell said, in part, on The Hard Count. “Doesn’t sound like that’s so specific to Casey Thompson, but in this team in general — especially on offense — they need more leaders to step up because what happens is when you get a bunch of transfers, there’s that first day of school syndrome.

“You don’t really want to ruffle any feathers, you don’t want to step on anybody’s toes. You just want to keep your head down, go to class, do what’s right in front of you. That’s good, but for Nebraska to get to where they want to be, they need leaders.”