In the summer and fall, Husker Locker created its “50 Huskers to Know” list for the 2009 season. We now review our list by examining production, injuries and depth chart position.

We’ll present these in five-player increments. Here we go!

No. 50 Lester Ward and Austin Jones: Both backs were leapfrogged by true freshmen Rex Burkhead and Traye Robinson during the season; Ward appeared to be the No. 4 back based on his late appearance in the Holiday Bowl, while Jones slightly more time in midseason against Texas Tech and Iowa State. With the recruitment of Braylon Heard, Jones’ playing time seems limited in 2010. Ward actually looks like a capable running back; it’s the other stuff - pass-blocking, play recognition - holding him back.

No. 49 Brandon Kinnie: We predicted a slow start for Kinnie despite the hype and noise. His season was indeed quiet - 15 catches for 141 yards - but Kinnie seemed to emerge as the No. 2 receiver toward the end of the season. His ball skills aren’t in question - Kinnie knows how to catch and run - and he possesses a positive, infectious attitude. We forsee a leap forward for Kinnie in 2010, presuming health and continued development.

No. 48 PJ Mangieri: The freshman walk-on became NU’s starting long snapper and, after a poor performance at Missouri - along with a severe tongue-lashing from head coach Bo Pelini - Mangieri settled into a successful season. And, given Nebraska’s frequent punts and field goal attempts, he got plenty of work. The Huskers have a keeper in this kid for the next three years.

No. 47 Alonzo Whaley: We also predicted a muted impact from Whaley, who struggled during 2009 spring ball to pick up defensive concepts and get on the field. That proved true during the season, as Whaley, a red shirt freshman, rarely saw the field on defense. He didn’t play a significant role on special teams, either. Whaley better catch up in preparation - before he gets left behind.

No. 46 Derek Meyer: The fifth-year transfer from Kansas State got a scholarship in his senior year, and served as an important backup at both guard positions, especially for Keith Williams, who missed chunks of the first two games. Meyer, a solid pass-blocker, helped NU protect Zac Lee while the Huskers were still running the spread passing offense; his playing time dropped off a bit as the year wore on, but Meyer played a role on special teams and was well-liked among his peers. A success story - any way you slice it.

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Special teams is undoubtedly a crucial phase of football. It is also the one most left up to chance. To luck – both good and bad.

How many times had Adi Kunalic booted a perfect kickoff deep into the end zone this year? How many times had he pinned teams at the 20-yard line, or worse. And yet, on the biggest kickoff the season, after Nebraska had taken a 12-10 lead over Texas in the Big 12 Championship game, Kunalic hooked the ball slightly left, it took an awful bounce, and it hopped out of bounds. Excellent field position for UT quarterback Colt McCoy, whose brain was so fried by the night's events, as it turned out, than he nearly blew the game anyway.

It probably seems unfair to be negative, at the outset, toward a unit – and a player - that performed so well for NU during the year. But that's the thing with special teams: You expect them to go smoothly – until something goes wrong.

Outside of that moment, and a few others, the Huskers had a stellar year in the “third phase.” The punt and kickoff (13th nationally) coverage units were infused with young, aggressive talent – like freshman linebacker Eric Martin. Kunalic was third nationally in touchbacks.

Alex Henery was 20 of 24 on field goals, kept NU in the Virginia Tech and Texas games with his right leg, and developed a penchant for downing punts inside the 10-yard line despite changing his style early in the season.

Niles Paul not only became a dependable punt and kickoff returner – he became a pretty good one. NU was a respectable 34th national in both return categories, thanks mostly to Paul making solid, individual plays.

Freshman punter Brett Maher doubled as a very good holder. And after a wobbly start, and a tongue lashing from head coach Bo Pelini in the Missouri game, freshman long snapper P.J. Mangieri rounded into shape. Mangieri and Maher ought to make a fine tandem over the next several seasons.

Nebraska uses a team approach to coach these guys. John Papuchis oversees some elements. Ron Brown works with returners. Barney Cotton watches the extra point and field goal attempts intently. Some teams prefer to give the jobs to one guys. NU seems to be getting it done in the more traditional, all-hands-on-deck fashion that many college teams use.

Here's the highlights and lowlights of 2009:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kicker/Punter Alex Henery. No finer dual man in the nation. Proved his worth as a kicker in the Texas game, hitting one bomb after another. As a punter, Henery tended to “spray” punts sometimes, but he never allowed big returns.

NEWCOMER and FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Eric Martin. Now this is how you use freshmen on special teams. A spark plug in every sense of the world, Martin brought energy, emotion and tenacity to his job. The kid loves football. And special teams needs a guy like that.

BEST GAME: Colorado. Between Henery's excellent punting, Nebraska's terrific kickoff coverage and Paul's punt return for a touchdown special teams was the difference in a 28-20 win.

WORST GAME: Missouri. P.J. Mangieri had a poor night long snapping, which led to a safety for the Tigers, while Paul and Rex Burkhead struggled to catch punts in the pouring rain.

BEST SINGLE PERFORMANCE: Martin's blocked punt – followed by Justin Blatchford's return of that punt for a touchdown – in the Baylor game. Two guys – one great play.

BIGGEST PLUS IN 2010: Henery and Paul both return.

BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: Does Kunalic redshirt in 2010 to give himself a chance at kicking field goals in 2011. Would Nebraska allow him to redshirt?

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Just in case you haven’t come out of that rain-fueled reverie from last Thursday, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach delivered a public service announcement Saturday. More like a warning, with that 66-14 drubbing his Red Raiders hung on Kansas State. KSU isn’t particularly good. But the Wildcats aren’t 52 points that bad either.

Yes – just like playing at Tech wasn’t as hard as it seemed last year, this year’s game won’t be as easy as it seems. In many ways, the “Air Raid” system is better than Missouri’s spread offense, especially in creating big plays for the running backs, which Mizzou’s system doesn’t do so well.

If NU thinks it can get chuffed and proud, the Huskers had better cleanse their system of that incredible comeback win before Leach and Co. head to town. Once thing about Leach: He simply doesn’t care. He’ll boot players, bluff his own athletic director and happily serve as a hypocrite when he chastises players for the seeking the publicity he hounds. He just doesn’t care. Leach is a football mercenary for hire – Texas Tech has him tied to long-term contract – whose measurement of success is racking up points and yards.

My wife and I were watching a YouTube clip on Leach. Some nonsense about dating advice and pirate obsessions.

“He’s kind of a clown,” my wife said. Molly’s a pretty polite girl; she prefers half-insults unless we’re on the subject of bad officiating.

“Well, maybe,” I said. “But he wins a lot of games.”

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “He’s still a clown.”

As we await Leach’s circus on Saturday, we relive, one last time, the Mizzou win.

Five Players We Loved

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: You rarely get to see “legendary” defensive performances from a single player. On national TV, Suh delivered one. I’m not sure even he understood just what he’d done. In the coming weeks, if he makes a push for the Heisman, he will. The Missouri game was his launching pad.

Defensive back Dejon Gomes: He stuck to Mizzou receivers like glue all of Thursday night. Where’s he been? Doesn’t matter. Gomes needs to stay in the game, and off the bench.

Linebacker Philip Dillard: He’s re-established himself as Nebraska’s best linebacker. It took the coaches too long to realize it, but they’ve finally come around to Dillard’s brand of play and leadership.

Running back Rex Burkhead: Made a lot of little plays in the game, including a couple key third-down conversions. He’s excellent in open space, and getting better between the tackles.

Wide receiver Niles Paul: Oh, if only his confidence matched his raw talent. Maybe his fourth-quarter heroics vs. Missouri will clue Paul into the kind of player he can be – every game. He may want it a little too much. Paul needs to let the game come to him a little more often.

Three Concerns We Still Have

Depth and trust in the running game: It’s really hard to account for Nebraska’s deliberate choice to pass the ball, over and over, vs. the Tigers in the pouring rain. We keep hearing about all these guys in the box, but the Huskers pretty much abandoned the run until the game’s final drive and, then, embracing it with the heaviest of the heavy sets (four tight ends!), looked quite good. Where was that all game?

Punt snaps: Freshman P.J. Mangieri needs to figure this out. If Alex Henery wasn’t back there making incredible plays just to get the ball off, NU would have three or four blocked punts by now. Some were critical of Bo Pelini’s minor chew session of Mangieri, but the kid, young as he may be, is only on the team to do one thing. He needs to do it right.

A little too much offensive diversity: Nebraska flashed a ton of formations at Missouri Thursday night, and almost seemed to cross itself up. In big games, it’s not the chess match that wins, but the execution of your best stuff. What is Nebraska’s best stuff? We’re still waiting a little.

Reviewing The Five Keys

Mystery Ingredients: The weather definitely affected Nebraska (although offensive coordinator Shawn Watson called the game like it didn’t) and the flu bug kept five or six players under the weather. The power outage at Faurot Field threw another curveball the Huskers’ way, as the coaches were forced to conduct their locker room sessions by flashlight, essentially. For all that, for NU to still win the way it did – it’s character, plain and simple.

Zac Lee On the Road – Again: I wasn’t encouraged by Lee’s performance through three quarters, but he made some clutch throws in the fourth quarter to redeem the performance. Another plus: Lee put the ball in places where his offensive players could nab it. Unlike Blaine Gabbert, whose vision – not his ankle – was the real culprit Thursday night.

The First Impression: Nebraska’s defense sent a very different message in 2009; Suh and his front four mates made sure of it. Mizzou tried to run NU off the field on the first couple drives, but the Tigers slowed down out of necessity.

Stick or Quit: Missouri’s running game never really got shut down, but never got going, either. The Tigers threw too many passes, and too many of those passes were simply bad, telegraphed reads by Blaine Gabbert.

Pelini vs. Pinkel: Call it a draw, I suppose; both coaches failed to slow the game down with running attack, and both coaches made some gutsy decisions. Pinkel gambled and won on fourth down, while Pelini subbed out three starters – Anthpny West, Will Compton and Lance Thorell – to go with guys whom he thought would get the job done better. He was right.

Three Questions We Have

Is Nebraska ready for more, more, more? NU’s going to see one version or another of the spread from this point forward until Kansas State. Can it stick with the current gameplan used vs. Missouri, or must it alter the plan to fit the needs of each team and quarterback?

Time for Blackshirts? We think so. How about you?

Who’s the real Zac Lee? The kid who knocks em dead at home, or the head-scratcher on the road? Will we really learn anything this week? Maybe. Tech is easily the best home opponent Nebraska has faced this season.

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It’s one of the three phases, right? And it literally saved Nebraska’s hide in a 40-31 win over Colorado.

So of course we’ve got five fall camp questions for NU’s special teams units. Click here for the offensive questions and here for the defensive questions.

Now – let’s get to it.

What can Alex Henery do for an encore?

He can punt, that’s what, and Nebraska needs a good one. Field position is a defense’s best friend, and too often in 2008, previous punter Dan Titchener wasn’t up to the task. We’ve seen Henery thump some real bombs in practice, but that’s just practice. NU will be better off if Henery wins the job over walk-on Brett Maher, but not if it distracts him from what he does well – which is boot game-winning, mind-boggling field goals.

Snapper? Holder? Anyone?

T.J. O’Leary and Jake Wesch have left the building, so these two jobs are as wide open as the Nebraska prairie. NU would like to see true freshman walk-on P.J. Mangieri – one of the nation’s best pure high school snappers – assume that role for four years for the Huskers, and maybe take that skill to the NFL. As for holder…well, if Henery’s the punter, too, then it can’t be him. We’d prefer a backup quarterback, but we won’t pitch a Joe Thiesmann fit if it doesn’t happen. Just know that, when you least want it to happen, these two little roles can botch a perfectly simple punt or field goal try.

On punt returns - Niles Paul or the pups?

Paul wasn’t exactly inspiring in the role early last year before Nate Swift took it over (again) and did a fine job. There would be seem to be plenty of candidates for this role – Antonio Bell, Tim Marlowe, Rex Burkhead, Khiry Cooper – but, of course, they’ll have to earn it. NU chose the conservative route with Swift in 2008, and it actually paid off.

True freshmen on the coverage teams?

Last year, Bo Pelini’s massive redshirting campaign probably kept some excellent candidates from helping out in the special teams department, although Alfonzo Dennard and Mason Wald (since departed) lent their hands to the cause. How does Pelini, and special teams guy John Papuchis, revamp that plan in 2009? Business as usual, use the redshirts from last year, or populate those units with true freshmen, presuming they’re ready? We wouldn’t be shocked if a guy like Dijon Washington takes on the Dennard/Rickey Thenarse role on this year’s squad.

Can Adi Kunalic continue the magic?

He’s the best kickoff specialist in the nation – when he kicks a touchback. When Kunalic doesn’t boot it beyond the end zone, his low, driving boots tend to be quite returnable. Supposedly he’s worked on angled kicks, pop-up kicks, and the like. Hopefully Nebraska fans see the fruits of his labor in 2009.

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