Three legitimate questions for Nebraska ahead of the 2022 season

This offseason was a big one for Scott Frost and Nebraska with staff changes and a new quarterback entering the mix. But the Cornhuskers still have three legitimate questions heading into the season, according to ESPN’s Greg McElroy.

Frost revamped the offensive coaching staff, highlighted by new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. But there are other additions as well, including wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph and offensive line coach Donovan Raiola. McElroy said he wants to see how that staff collaborates as they get settled in Lincoln.

“How does the new offensive staff come together?” McElroy said on Always College Football. “It’s been documented. Mark Whipple, the new offensive coordinator, he comes over from Pitt … I think this is actually probably a pretty good move. Part of the reason why, if you look at the Big Ten numbers against the run, it’s very, very difficult to run the ball in the Big Ten. Across the board.

“You can look whether it’s Wisconsin, Ohio State had their fair share of challenges, Michigan was of course great against the run. Several teams in the Big Ten that have prided themselves forever … in being able to stop the run. Well, it’s hard to run the ball in the Big Ten. So what do you do? Go hire a coordinator that’s pretty dang good at finding completions and finding yards through the air.”

‘Is this offensive line going to be able to protect anybody?’

Since Whipple likes to pass the ball so much, McElroy directed his next question at Raiola. He wants to know if the offensive line can hold its ground and protect new quarterback Casey Thompson. Nebraska lost some key players to the 2022 NFL Draft and, more recently, Nouredin Nouili failed a drug test and will miss the year, which could make things tougher.

“Is this offensive line going to be able to protect anybody? … This offensive line, last year, I don’t want to say they were atrocious or horrible,” McElroy said. “No, I’m not going to say all that. But they didn’t give Adrian Martinez much help. And if you look at how often they got beat, it was really, really jaw-dropping. Probably among the worst in not just the Big Ten, but arguably in all of college football. … So will the offensive line be able to step up in a new pass-happy scheme?

“That, to me, is a huge question mark because if you struggled in pass-blocking last year with a major dual-threat quarterback, what are you going to do when you have a slightly more prototypical drop-back quarterback and an offense that’s going to throw the ball a little bit more often?”

‘Is Casey Thompson an obvious upgrade over Adrian Martinez’ at Nebraska?

McElroy’s final question was about Thompson, who comes in from Texas after Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State. The sense is Thompson can be a big boost for the Nebraska offense under Whipple, but McElroy said he’s not ready to declare an “obvious upgrade” just yet.

“Is Casey Thompson an obvious upgrade over Adrian Martinez?” McElroy said. “Does it go without saying? Are we positive? I don’t know for sure. … I think Adrian Martinez got a little bit of a bad rap. And don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of things that bothered me about Adrian Martinez the last few years. The constant struggles, up-and-down play, turnovers — especially late in games. There are things that I can understand why Nebraska fans would get a little sour. I get that.

“But right now, Casey Thompson, it’s not like he led the Texas Longhorns to a Sugar Bowl berth. There were still some things that he did and can probably improve on, as well. So I think while Nebraska fans are excited … the guy that they just had does have a pretty impressive skill set. It just never came to the forefront.”