HuskerOnline's Christmas Wishlist for Nebraska Athletics
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Nebraska and sports fans!
The HuskerOnline team has put together a Christmas Wishlist for Nebraska Athletics for this upcoming year. This list includes hopes for Husker football, basketball, volleyball, and recruiting. In between opening gifts and spending time with your family, dive into our wishes.
Some wishes might require more Christmas magic than others, but Christmas time is the best day to dream.
Now, onto the wishes.
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Sean Callahan’s Christmas Wishlist
A fast start to the 2024 season: Based on the last few years, this is a big ask, but my wish is to see Nebraska get off to a fast start in 2024. It’s the first time since 2019 they won’t open with a Power Five game on the road. UTEP, Colorado and Northern Iowa are all in Lincoln, followed by Big Ten games with Purdue, at Illinois, Rutgers, and at Indiana. Can they find six wins in the first seven? Will they be underdogs in any of those first seven games?
QB Dylan Raiola meets the expectations: Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola still has to win the quarterback job at Nebraska, but today, he’s the odds-on favorite. My wish for Husker fans is Raiola meets the expectations and takes this program a step forward in year one.
A 1,000-yard running back: For the Huskers to take a step forward as an offense, they need consistency at the running back position. My wish for 2024 is a 1000-yard rusher. That will open up the rest of the NU offense.
$450 million for AD Trev Alberts: For the sake of the University, my 2024 wish is for Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts to get all the money raised for his aggressive $450 million Memorial Stadium renovation project. Winning sure would help. Raiola’s play could also have an impact no different than what Johnny Manzeil’s 2012 season did for Texas A&M to jumpstart the fundraising for its stadium project.
A convincing win over Colorado: Losing to Colorado in 2018, 2019 and 2023 has devastated Nebraska fans. My 2024 wish is a convincing win over Coach Deion Sanders’s CU Buffs in Lincoln.
-Sean Callahan
Steven Sipple’s Christmas Wishlist
Super-cool sunglasses for Matt Rhule and his staff: It seems very possible that Nebraska will move to the West sideline this coming season after spending decades on the East side. For 11 a.m. kickoffs, the sun could be a factor early in the game for everyone on that East sideline. Maybe Nebraska officials could order a large shipment of Prime 21 sunglasses — Deion Sanders’ brand. Wait a minute, scratch that idea. But sunglasses of some sort could be helpful for Rhule and his staff.
A how-to bowl refresher guide for NU media relations staff: It’s possible Nebraska’s media-relations staff has forgotten how to organize media coverage for a bowl game. Let me tell you, bowl games are a joy for pretty much everyone involved. I hope Keith Mann and his staff get to tackle this challenge in 2024.
The gift of time for Rhule: He’s a family man. He seemingly pours himself into that aspect of his life. Thing is, he pours himself into his job, too, and it is a monster of a job. It’s long made an impression on me how unwieldy being a Nebraska head football coach can become. Rhule seems to handle it all with aplomb. But his days must be incredibly busy. His time is extremely valuable.
A TikTok account for John Cook: He can learn a lot about his volleyball players — OK, a few of his players — by watching their TikTok videos. The more a coach understands his or her players, the easier it is to connect with them. Plus, he also can enjoy all the other benefits of TikTok. LOL. Of course, Cook doesn’t need my advice, obviously. Ho, ho, ho.
-Steven Sipple
Robin Washut’s Christmas Wishlist
A healthy Rienk Mast: There are three players on Nebraska’s roster, in my opinion, who the Huskers can ill afford to be without in Big Ten play: Juwan Gary, Brice Williams, and Rienk Mast. We saw how much the Huskers missed Mast on both ends of the floor against North Dakota. We don’t know when he’s expected to return from his minor knee surgery, but with three Big Ten games in the first nine days in January, Nebraska needs him back as soon as possible.
Stability at point guard: Jamarques Lawrence’s move to point guard continues to be an up-and-down ride this season. He’s shown plenty of flashes in that role so far, but he’s also had his share of struggles. Fred Hoiberg loves Lawrence’s pace in transition, and the sophomore just posted 14 points, three assists, and only one turnover vs. North Dakota. But as NU moves into the grind of Big Ten play, getting consistent production from Lawrence will be critical to the team’s success.
Give Danny Nee the mic on Alumni Night: It’s so cool that former Nebraska coach Danny Nee will return to Lincoln for the Alumni Weekend game vs. Northwestern on Jan. 20. Just having him and the rest of the 1993-94 Big Eight championship squad back in town will be fun enough. But imagine Nee getting on a microphone and firing up the PBA crowd at halftime of an important Big Ten home game. Nebraska might need to incorporate some sort of censoring method, but the fans would eat it up.
Less Paul Szelc, please: Some of you don’t know who Paul Szelc is, but if you watched Nebraska’s games against Florida A&M, Creighton, and Kansas State, you definitely noticed him. That’s because Szelc has become notorious for his oddly inconsistent officiating of NU games this season. In the three contests he’s worked, the Huskers have been called for an average of 15 fouls per game. That includes hitting Keisei Tominaga with a technical for complaining about a questionable foul Szelc called on Brice Williams at the first-half buzzer vs. Creighton. Szelc is a regular in the Big Ten officiating rotation, so he’ll inevitably work more NU games this year. My wish is we can at least get a bit of a break after seeing him three times in the first 12 outings.
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Win an NCAA Tournament game: This one goes without saying, and I’ll wish for every year it until it happens. This feels like by far the best chance Nebraska has had since Hoiberg’s arrival. My one taste covering a Husker NCAA Tournament game 10 years ago was short but amazing. NU basketball fans have been through so much. I would love for them to experience that again and finally get the monkey off the program’s back.
-Robin Washut
Abby Barmore’s Christmas Wishlist
A consistently dominant outside hitter: At multiple points in the season, Nebraska had one really hot outside hitter. Freshman Harper Murray showed off at the beginning of the season and had many great matches. Junior Lindsay Krause was playing the best stretch of her career before a season-ending ankle injury. Nebraska needs an outside hitter who is consistently hitting at a high percentage.
An elite server: Nebraska’s greatest weakness all season was its serving. It improved as the season continued. But they ranked in the bottom half of the Big Ten in aces per set for the second season in a row. The Huskers need at least one server to become an ace machine.
Sign Larson on for another season: Jordan Larson did a great job as an assistant coach for NU. She had great tips and tricks for all of the Huskers’ passers and hitters. Each player has a list of things they learned from the Olympian. Barring her playing schedule, Cook should sign Larson for another season after her first contract was up in December.
A WCWS appearance: The addition of pitcher Jordy Bahl is one of the biggest gets in Nebraska softball history. She is surrounded by experienced and talented players. This team could win another Big Ten Championship and compete for a WCWS appearance.
NCAA tournament bid and win: The Husker women’s basketball team is 9-3 and receiving a couple of votes in the AP rankings. They rank No. 21 in the NET rankings. NU made the NCAA Tournament in 2021-22 but lost to Gonzaga 68-55. Nebraska hasn’t won a NCAA tournament game since they defeated Fresno State 74-55 in 2014. NU has been to three tournaments since 2014.
-Abby Barmore
Bryan Munson’s Christmas Wishlist
Raiola is the answer: I’m not sure it will get much more straightforward in 2024. The Huskers are looking for an answer at quarterback and landed a terrific one in the 2024 recruiting class. I am sure it will have its ups and downs, but Dylan Raiola needs to be prepared to play early in his career at Nebraska. The Huskers need him to be a missing piece to the equation that gets this team closer to competing for bowl games and conference championships.
Land Christian Jones: Jones will be the best player in the state next year, and he has offers from some of the nation’s top programs already. His popularity is only going to continue to increase. You can fully expect Jones to take several visits, including official visits. He’s a must-get player for the 2025 class.
Make a bowl game: Next year’s schedule gets more daunting as the season progresses, and the first five games are very winnable. If the Huskers can be just one game away from bowl eligibility by the end of September, the odds would be in their favor to make a bowl game. Going 5-0 to start the season builds in a win against the Buffaloes.
A first-team all-conference selection: Nebraska had just one all-Big Ten selection last year. Luke Reimer was third-team a year ago, and it’s felt like there have been some significant snubs of Nebraska players for post-season recognition by the conference over the past few seasons.
-Bryan Munson
