Castille Booted....

How hard is it to stay out of trouble for four seasons and cash an NFL check? Apparently pretty damn hard, as Quentin Castille proves for us this weekend. It's not that he was a Heisman-level running back, but he had begun to shine at the end of last season despite his fumbling woes. But as proven year after year, a team needs every running back it can get as injuries come in bunches. Early word from the chat geeks point to steroids or weed, but if this situation plays out anything like Cody Glenn's dismissal, we will never know the reason. I'm glad Bo Pelini (though he does overdo the hardass stance a bit) is showing these guys that playing for Nebraska is an honor and never a given. But had he booted Castille for wearing the gay outfit in the picture to the right, I'd be fine with it. No one person is above a program that has a 40+-year foundation of excellence. Once that precedent is set, the crumbling of any authority structure is imminent. We all saw how things turned out for Frank Solich following Eric Crouch's run-back-to-my-high-school-coach tantrum. Next man up. Babies go home.

So instead of dwelling on another 20-year-old kid who was too dumb to realize what he had in his hands, let's move forward and analyze the rest of the depth chart at I-Back:

Roy Helu: Great back, can do most everything including catch, get the tough yards and provide a decent big-play threat that NU dearly needs. Only limitation is that nagging injuries seem to keep cropping up and make a complementary power back a must.

Rex Burkhead: All hype so far for this true freshman. Not that he won't be a great player, but until it's proven in Big 12-level competition, I'll reserve judgment. Anyone remember Thunder Collins or Marlon Lucky? Five-star hype with 2.5-star game. Regardless of star rating, he'd better be ready. I remember the excuse to keep Helu off the field the last two seasons as other IBs underachieved was his slowness to pick up pass protection schemes.

Marcus Mendoza: One of those players who has shown brilliant flashes in his very limited chances. Makes you pine for more from him, but then wonder why he can't consistently see the field. Hopefully, the ping-pong game between IB and WR won't stunt his productiveness. Another smallish back however, when the Cornhuskers are dearly in need of the size that Castille left behind.

Lester Ward & Dontrayevous Robinson: Initial recruiting reports and a gut hunch here at PYB had great hopes for them. However, there is not much information coming out about them post-Castille. Hopefully, this is more because of their lack of experience and not their lack of game. These are the best two options to provide the size that NU needs to hammer inside and take some of the pounding off of Helu.

Austin Jones: No info on him and his pedestrian background. But until I see him on the field in a big game, I won't trash him too badly. Brandon Jackson provided that lesson, as he showed hard work & perserverance will outlast the flash and glitter that sparkles & fades with more celebrated backs who don't do the little things to succeed at D-IA.