Marlon. Roy. Quentin.



During fall camp and the initial month of Nebraska’s football season, the first names of NU's three running backs set up camp on the tongues of reporters and NU's offensive coaching staff, as the Cornhuskers' ground game resembled the Exxon Valdez.



Should senior Marlon Lucky still be the starter, or should sophomore Roy Helu, Jr. supplant him? What about sophomore Quentin Castille, the gifted-but-fumble-prone big back? Running backs coach Tim Beck would offer up patient smiles and the occasional "jeez oh man" to the same questions posed a different way.



While that drama continues to unfold, Nebraska's top three receivers - Nate Swift, Todd Peterson and Menelik Holt - have quietly, but effectively, gone about their business, combining for 74 catches for 944 yards and seven touchdowns. More than 20 percent of their production (20 catches, 202 yards) came in NU's 37-31 loss to Texas Tech.



Among his five grabs, Holt caught two on third down plays. Peterson caught three on Nebraska's game-tying drive - two "tiptoe jobs" nesr the sideline and the touchdown itself. Swift ignited the Huskers' second-to-last touchdown drive with an over-the-shoulder 43-yard play on a first down.



“On a consistent basis, those guys along with Joe (Ganz) have been the MVP’s,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “They’re playing very well. Not only running routes and catching balls, but blocking on the perimeter. They’re playing at a high level, I really like it.”



Swift and Peterson, both seniors, and Holt, a junior, have experience in offensive coordinator Shawn Watson's attack, and a solid rapport with senior quarterback Joe Ganz. Peterson, in particular, seems more in sync with Ganz than he ever was with Sam Keller.



For Ganz, the crucial development has been in Holt, the San Diego native who plays opposite Peterson in Mo Purify's old outside position, allowing Swift to return to slot receiver, where he spent most of his time in 2006.



"Nate's at his best in the slot," Ganz said. "His ability to get open, his ability to shake people in the slot has really been big for our offense. To have Meno come in and develop and play outside, play big, play physical. It’s not a real surprise but it's been a nice thing for us to have."



At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Holt was billed as the heir apparent for the now-graduated Purify, who could dazzle with his acrobatic catches and big play ability. Through six games, Holt hasn't been that guy, partly because NU's opponents are shutting down the routes on which Purify did most of his damage. Since the Western Michigan game, defenses have mostly kept their safeties conservatively deep, and Nebraska's so-so running game hasn't been able to consistently draw those safeties into run support.



So the deep post and 'go' routes that Holt's body is suited for just haven't been there for the taking.



"We save those routes," Holt said. "Those are big shots, and we practice those a lot. They're shots we know we can take, but it's all about timing.



"The defenses we've been playing, these "Cover 2" and "Tampa 2" teams, the middle of the field is pretty much closed and the outside lines are taken care of, so it's kinda hard to take those shots deep. You've got to pick and choose."

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