JD PicKell: Nebraska must improve on special teams
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are poised for a comeback season in 2022. However, there are still some possible obstacles that could derail their season and have head coach Scott frost looking for employment elsewhere. And on a recent episode of The Hard Count, On3’s JD PicKell explained how Nebraska special teams must be a point of emphasis in the upcoming season.
“First and foremost, there needs to be improvement on special teams. You don’t even need to be special at Nebraska. Quite frankly, you just need to have a higher success rate — eight for 16 on field goals a season ago. When you’re eight for 16 on field goals and lose eight games by a score, come on, y’all.
OK, I understand there’s some degree where you don’t want to kick a field goal. You want to get seven points when you’re in the red zone. But ultimately, if you can make field goals, at the very least, that puts more pressure on the opposition. It just changes the complexion of the game if you’re more effective at the field goal kicking spot.”
The Cornhuskers operated with two placekickers last season. They finished the season with a 50 percent successful field goal mark. Their primary kicker, Connor Culp, was three for four on kicks inside 30 yards and two for three when the distance was greater than 50 yards. However, between 30 and 49 yards, he was an abysmal one of five.
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But it wasn’t just the field goal unit that was a significant missed opportunity for the Cornhuskers on special teams. Their ability to protect their punter was also an issue that reared its head at the wrong time, costing them their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
“In addition to that, Scott Frost said that punt that got blocked against Iowa lost the game. So it’s not just field goals; it’s all across the board,” PicKell said. “If you can be solid on special teams, that’s a positive step in the right direction for Nebraska. Really it was the Achilles heel for them because when you’re giving away points on special teams, you’re just poking holes in the raft. It’s not necessarily something you need to be phenomenal at, but be good enough to not put holes in the raft.”
While the offense and the defense are the two more polarized aspects of the game of football, special teams is as equally important. If you do not have a kicker who can consistently make chip-shot field goal attempts or have the ability to get a punt off and flip the field for the opposing team, you could be in for a very long season. Frost and Cornhusker fans know that all too well, given last season’s results. And if Nebraska has not found a way to remedy this conundrum, then they better hope they have either a high-octane offense, a suffocating defense, or a combination of both. Otherwise, the Cornhuskers will be in for a repeat of their 2021 season.