Has the Portal Worked for Nebraska Football?
Nebraska is moving into the dog days of summer, grinding through workouts and getting bodies ready for the torrid fall ahead. In today’s college football landscape, the transfer portal has become the fastest way to flip a roster. Development alone no longer dictates whether a weak position group can become a strength.
With NIL money and roster fluidity, programs can patch holes almost overnight before the first ball is snapped at Memorial Stadium. That sounds great in theory. But has it actually worked for Nebraska?
Hits Wide Receiver If there’s one position group that embodies both the frustration and utility of the portal, it’s wide receiver. Development here has been underwhelming for years, but the portal has provided necessary reinforcements. Rewind a bit and you’ll remember Trey Palmer turning into a one-man wrecking crew, capable of torching any secondary left in single coverage.
Since then, names like Jahmal Banks, Dane Key, Isaiah Neyor, Billy Kemp, and Nyziah Hunter have come through. Serviceable? Yes.
Game-changing? Not really. That says as much about the revolving door of high school recruits who never panned out as it does about the portal itself.