This is it, Nebraska fans. The final few days without football are upon us. While the season opener is still over a month away, fall camp kicks off later this week. That feels good enough for now.
There's going to be news this week. Nebraska's fall camp press conference is scheduled for Thursday at 2:30 p.m. CT, which feels like a good time for a roster update. Could that mean we finally learn the official status of 3-star wide receiver Dominick Watt and 4-star running back Maurice Washington?
Coach Scott Frost kind of updated the status on both at Big Ten Media Days, but it was hardly clear what would happen based on that report alone.
"There are two or three kids we're still waiting right up until the end with but we're very optimistic about those two," Frost said last Monday. "Hopefully they'll be in our program. We think they're both special players who can help us."
Since then, both Washington and Watt have shared vague tweets that seem to allude to eventual good news.
For Washington, he was in need of a specific ACT score to qualify for an academic redshirt. Friday was right around the time people expected Washington to hear about his most recent ACT attempt. If the tweet is what we think it is, it would appear he received the score needed and he's Lincoln-bound.
https://twitter.com/Mo_is_blessed/status/1023038537921249282
As for Watt, he had course work to complete. Similar to Washington, he kept his tweet simple. And if it's related, the course work appears to have been taken care of. That would make Watt Lincoln-bound, too.
All Finished✅#GBR 🔴⚪️
— Dominick Watt (@1Way_Dom) July 29, 2018
Whatever the case, it seems like Frost will have some good news to share come Thursday. From there, it will be full steam ahead with fall camp. So settle in, everyone. There will be plenty to keep an eye on.
Whether it's the quarterback competition brewing, a look at the Huskers' gains over summer or the mindset of the team, we won't be at a loss for topics in August. Are you ready?
Or, should I ask: Can you feel it?
The Top Spot
I can't say I was too familiar with Popular Mechanics before this weekend, but it's been all over my Twitter timeline recently. The website ranked the top 25 college football stadiums, and well…
Here's what they had to say about Memorial Stadium:
"Get wowed by the 2013 expansion that offered Big Red faithful a new towering brick façade, while creating a new corridor and a three-story glass window that displays historic domed Gate 20 in the original exterior. The remodel uses the original exterior as an interior wall.
The 'Sea of Red' has now grown to around 85,000, which famously qualifies the stadium as the third-largest city in Nebraska anytime the Cornhuskers take the field. Memorial Stadium creates one of the country’s most canyon-like bowls for a steep seating rake."
Needless to say, Popular Mechanics has been very popular in Nebraska as of late.
The Grab Bag
- Miss any of our stories from the weekend? We looked at the targeting rule in 2018, the top Big Ten storylines heading into the season, a random roommate story from Mick Stoltenberg and Jerald Foster, and the "formula" that Wisconsin took from Nebraska. Plenty more to come this week.
- Apparently no one is safe in the SEC. Every single coach, Nick Saban included, is listed among recently released odds regarding the first SEC coach to be fired. OK, so Saban's odds are 50/1. That's pretty safe. LSU's Ed Orgeron though? This could be an interesting season for him.
- Speaking of Saban, he really isn't going anywhere any time soon. Alabama extended his contract by one year on Friday. He's now coaching until at least 2025.
Today's Song of Today
In honor of their concert in Omaha this upcoming Saturday, let's kick the week off with my favorite song from Chvrches' lastest album.
Erin is the Deputy Editor and Digital Marketing Strategist for Hail Varsity. She has covered Nebraska athletics since 2012, which has included stops at Bleacher Report, Cox Media Group’s Land of 10, and even Hail Varsity (previously from 2012-2017). She has also been featured on the Big Ten Network, NET’s Big Red Wrap-Up, and a varsity of radio shows nationwide. When not covering the Huskers, Erin is probably at Chipotle.
