The depth chart for the first week against Cal:
Offense
Quarterback — Kain Colter, Trevor Siemian
Running Back — Venric Mark, Mike Trumpy OR Treyvon Green
Y Receiver — Mike Jensen, Cermak Bland
X Receiver — Tony Jones, Kyle Prater OR Mike McHugh
Z Receiver — Rashad Lawrence, Cameron Dickerson
H Receiver — Christian Jones, Andrew Scanlan
Superback — Dan Vitale, Mark Szott
Left Tackle — Jack Konopka, Shane Mertz
Left Guard — Geoff Mogus, Adam DePietro
Center — Brandon Vitabile, Matt Frazier
Right Guard — Ian Park, Hayden Baker
Right Tackle — Paul Jorgensen, Eric Olson
Defense
Defensive End – Tyler Scott, Ifeadi Odenigbo
Defensive Tackle – Sean McEvilly, C.J. Robbins
Defensive Tackle – Chance Carter, Will Hampton
Defensive End – Dean Lowry OR Deonte Gibson
SAM Linebacker – Collin Ellis, Joseph Jones
MIKE Linebacker – Damien Proby, Timmy Vernon OR Jaylen Prater
WILL Linebacker – Chi Chi Ariguzo, Drew Smith
Cornerback – Daniel Jones, Dwight White
Safety – Ibraheim Campbell, Terrance Brown OR Davion Fleming
Safety – Traveon Henry, Jimmy Hall
Cornerback – Nick VanHoose, C.J. Bryant
Special Teams
Kicker – Jeff Budzien
Punter – Brandon Williams
Long Snapper – Pat Hickey, Chris Fitzpatrick
Kick Returner – Venric Mark, Tony Jones
Punt Returner – Venric Mark, Tony Jones
Initial Reactions
- There's only one OR among the starters, and it's at defensive end. Dean Lowry and Deonte Gibson are listed as co-starters, and both will see plenty of playing time. However, defensive line coach Marty Long said last week that Lowry will be first on the field, so we'll see if that's true for the Cal game.
- The offensive line battles were settled with little drama. The starters everyone projected last week are listed as the starters today.
- Some interesting notes at receiver: Pierre Youngblood-Ary, who seemed to be having a good camp, isn't on the depth chart. Walk-on senior Mike Jensen earned a starting spot. Fitzgerald called him the spring MVP. Walk-on Cermak Bland made the second string, while Kyle Prater is sharing a second-string spot with redshirt freshman Mike McHugh. Also look out for Andrew Scanlan. He's a redshirt freshman and a big receiver who had a nice camp and should be a starter down the road.
- Terrance Brown cracked the depth chart in somewhat of a surprise.
- Collin Ellis won the starting spot at SAM linebacker, and in a somewhat interesting move, Drew Smith is listed as the backup at WILL. He had been practicing mostly at SAM — he'll surely play there a lot this year too — but NU prides itself in having linebackers who know how to play multiple linebacker spots, so it's not a huge surprise.