miller moss

Previously: B1G East, B1G West Part 2

Today is part three, the final piece, of our offseason series looking at the B1G football teams and how they handled the transfer portal and NFL Draft declarations. The final teams we have to check off are Nebraska and Minnesota, plus the four new teams. Since I am not as intimately familiar with the new teams, I won't go into as much detail as I have with the other teams, but will introduce these squads with a quick overview of their spring rosters and feel of the programs. 

Nebraska 

EXITS 

Nebraska's often-cluttered QB room got some clarity this offseason, as the Huskers saw both Jeff Sims and Chubba Purdy hit the transfer portal. Sims has yet to find a landing spot, but Purdy has signed on to Nevada. Elsewhere on the offense the Huskers saw eligibility expire for RB Anthony Grant and guards Nouredin Nouili and Ethan Piper, as well as WRs Billy Kemp IV and Marcus Washington. But that's mostly it, as Big Red will be able to roll over most of the rest of their production, including three RBs (two of which, Rahmir Johnson and Gabe Ervin, missed most of the season with injury), QB Heinrich Haarberg, both TEs, three tackles, and several pieces on the OL. 

Defensively they lost some pieces in the LB room and the secondary, but again come out in relatively solid position, which should allow for Matt Rhule to have a stronger second season. Starting safety Omar Brown and corner Quinton Newsome, both solid college players, have exhausted their eligibility and are moving on to further endeavors, but two separate corners (Tommi Hill/Malcolm Hartzog) and safeties (Singleton/Gifford) who gained experience this season return. Starting LB Luke Reimer moves on and LB Nick Henrich has chosen to retire after a litany of injuries, but the DL returns intact outside of reserve tackle Blaise Gunnerson, who is also retiring. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: lots of names]

Oak Park three-star WR Maliq Carr has recently seen his interest in Michigan explode, and he attributes it all to one person. As he told The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb:

“Coach Gattis is the difference there. Coach Gattis is the big difference. Before, I really wouldn’t really have considered (Michigan) as much as I do now. They probably wouldn’t have been in the top five without Coach Gattis. Coach Gattis is a huge difference.”

Carr told WolverinesWire’s Evan Petzold that he expects he’ll get the ball often if he attends Michigan because that’s what Gattis told him he’ll do. Carr visited Michigan twice last week, and though he made compelling cases for each team in his top five (Purdue, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Michigan) in his discussion with Webb, they weren’t convincing enough to stop seven people from casting Michigan crystal balls in the past week. Coinciding with that came 247’s Steve Lorenz moving Carr up to “top target” on their Michigan board, which comes on the heels of fellow MI WR Rashawn Williams being moved down to “high choice” as he apparently is more interested in other Big Ten schools. There’s plenty of time for Carr to further develop his relationship with Gattis, as he told Petzold that he’ll be committing October 11th.

Sticking with in-staters for a minute, MI ATH Cam Martinez is still listed as an athlete in 247’s database, but he has some clarity regarding how Michigan would use him should he go there after taking an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor last weekend. The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich reports that Martinez spent most of his time with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, and the two made small talk and watched film to show how Martinez would be utilized in the offense. Currently a quarterback, Martinez says Michigan is looking at him at slot receiver and possibly running back.

Martinez is one of Michigan’s top targets, but the Wolverines’ staff shouldn’t expect to know much about his commitment anytime soon; he told Marich he’ll make his decision either before or after his senior season. Martinez told WolverinesWire’s Evan Petzold he should have a slightly better idea how he feels about certain schools after the first week in April, during which he has one visit scheduled each day to predominantly Big Ten schools.

There’s even more good news when it comes to top targets, as VA DE Antwaun Powell unofficially visited last weekend and told WolverinesWire’s Evan Petzold he couldn’t have asked for a better visit. He left his unofficial having set a date in late June to come back and visit officially. If Powell’s ratings are to be believed, the Michigan staff must be ecstatic. He broke things down numerically with The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown:

"I'm feeling the love from them and it seems like they really want me," Powell-Ryland said. "I think they're recruiting me at about a 10 and I like them a solid 8, probably closer to a 9."

Powell noted that he got to spend a good amount of time with defensive coordinator Don Brown, and that Brown raved about his get-off and pass-rushing skills. He also told Brandon Brown that Virginia Tech and Duke are recruiting at a 10, and he has a Duke visit scheduled for the first week in April. Powell thinks he’ll make his final decision in the weeks after his Michigan official, as he told Brown he’ll make a decision before his season starts.

[After THE JUMP: more crystal ballz, big-time visitors, and rising 2021 players M got in on early]