Three Reasons to Believe the Hype Around Nebraska’s Wide Receivers

Author

TJ Birkel
April 03, 2025

It feels a bit like Lucy with the football, doesn’t it? For whatever reason, Nebraska football missing on wide receiver recruits has become an unwelcome tradition over the last ten years or so. Mike Riley’s “Calibraska” movement comes to mind, with some big name, four star recruits that got the fan base excited but either never ended up committing, or didn’t see the field once they got to Lincoln. Scott Frost brought in six wide receivers in his first recruiting class, as he tried to infuse his team with speed from a mix of the high school and junior college ranks. Most of those guys ended up transferring or having a limited impact. I could go on and on. 

Don’t get me wrong, there have been some standouts as well. Trey Palmer and Stanley Morgan in particular left their mark. They are the only two receivers in the history of Nebraska football to have 1,000+ yard receiving seasons, both having accomplished that feat within the last seven years. But more often than not, the Huskers seem to go into the season with wide receivers aplenty, only to find themselves scrambling for help at the position by about October. As Common Fan co-host Matty O joked in our recent deep dive into the wide receiver room, fans often feel like Nebraska has weapons all over the field, only for the team to end up with one reliable option being supplemented by walk-ons from Weeping Water (with all love and respect to Weeping Water!). 

This year might be different. The hype is as strong as ever, but it might actually be warranted for the 2025 season. Maybe our recent episode got the Big Red Kool Aid flowing a little too strongly, but it got me thinking that this year’s batch of receivers might be the real deal for Matt Rhule’s offense. With that in mind, here are three reasons to believe the hype around Nebraska’s wide receivers in 2025. 

Proven Production

Let’s start with what we know. 

  • Jacory Barney will be back, and folks, he’s only a sophomore. Barney was…