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In our "Out of Spring" series, Orange and Blue News takes a look at spring football for the Illini's 2018 opponents.

Next up, we go in-depth on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Illinois travels to Lincoln to take on the Huskers on November 10, 2018.

The Huskers are under new management. Nebraska officially announced former Husker quarterback Scott Frost as its new head coach in December. Frost led Central Florida to an undefeated regular season in 2017.

Last season, Nebraska defeated Illinois 28-6 in Chamapaign behind a big game from quarterback Tanner Lee, who tossed three touchdown passes. Running back Devine Ozigbo rushed for 105 yards and a TD.

The Huskers held their annual spring game on April 21 in front of a big crowd at Memorial Stadium. True freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez, an early-enrollee, rushed for three scores and connected on 10-of-13 passes for 114 yards and a TD.

Orange and Blue News caught up with Sean Callahan from HuskerOnline to get the lowdown on Nebraska coming out of spring football. Follow Sean on Twitter @Sean_Callahan and HuskerOnline @HuskerOnline.

Obviously, the big story this off season was the hiring of Scott Frost as head coach. How much excitement is there surrounding the program with Frost in town, and what were some major changes you saw in the schemes this spring?

Sean Callahan: The excitement level is about has high as I’ve seen it in quite some time. Everything seems to be aligning, as Scott Frost checks all the boxes Husker fans want to see. He’s a native son that led Nebraska to a national title, on top of the success now he’s had as a head coach.

The biggest changes he’s laid down come in the accountability department. Everything from lifting to nutrition has been completely changed this off-season. The players have seen major gains already under new strength coach Zach Duval, who also is a Nebraska native.

From a scheme stand point, it’s all about speed. They are bringing in some very fast players. Mike Williams came in this spring from East Mississippi C.C. after leading them in receiving last year. He was one of their fastest guys on Last Chance U’s roster. They also brought in Jaron Woodyard, who was a 10.6 guy in the 100, and led Arizona Western in receiving. He was regarded as the best deep threat in all of JUCO football. Miles Jones will get here this summer, and he’s on a 400-meter relay team that’s ran 40.81 second this year. The two running backs they’ve gotten commits from this spring are both legit 10.6 type runners. I think that speed, and how they use it to create match-ups has been one of the biggest changes you’ll see.

Quarterback Tanner Lee is now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Who are some of the candidates to replace him, and how did they fare this spring?

SC: They had four quarterbacks on the roster this spring, but only three are eligible for this season. Right now, it’s between redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia and true freshman Adrian Martinez, but walk-on Andrew Bunch has been a pleasant surprise as well. UCF transfer Noah Vedral must sit out the 2018 season, but he was Frost’s No. 2 quarterback in Orlando a year ago.

I would say most felt like Gebbia had the early edge. He’s got the better arm, but after the spring game Martinez’s mobility really captured people. He ran for three touchdowns in the Red-White game, and threw for another. I think you will see both Martinez and Gebbia play this season.

What position groups stood out to you this spring and showed that they could be team strengths? Who were the play-makers?

SC: The strength on this team has to be wide receiver. Nebraska has arguably as good of a receiving unit as any team in the Big Ten. Stanley Morgan Jr. returns after leading the Big Ten in receiving, while JD Spielman was also a top 5 receiver in the league. Then you add in former Rivals100 standout Tyjon Lindsey, who had a great spring, followed by JUCO transfer Mike Williams and redshirt freshman Jaevon McQuitty. It’s a deep and talented group, and they will add three more new faces by Fall Camp to that.

After receiver, the defensive line was pretty impressive. They have about eight to nine guys that can play on their starting three in the 3-4 defense.

Who were some top newcomers and/ or break-out performers? Any enrollees or redshirt freshmen that fans should be aware of?

SC: Lindsey had a breakout spring after a quiet freshman year at receiver. Obviously, Martinez at quarterback was another. Besides those two, Mike Williams at receiver, Will Honas at linebacker and Deontai Williams at safety/nickel are three JUCO transfers that will either start or play significant snaps in 2018.

Another newcomer that jumped out was Ole Miss transfer outside linebacker Breon Dixon. He was cleared to play immediately, and he could end up being one of the best guys on the defense this season. He was impressive this spring.

What questions still need to be answered when the Huskers open camp later this fall?

SC: The big questions right now are at quarterback, center, running back and corner. They need to settle on a starter between Martinez and Gebbia at quarterback. Then at center, last year’s starter Michael Decker retired from football this past week, so they will either start right guard Tanner Farmer there, or Cole Conrad. That needs to be figured out still.

Then at running back, Greg Bell was a JUCO transfer that was very impressive this spring. I think they will play at least two backs regularly, and he’ll be one of them. Last year’s early starter Tre Bryant is trying to come back for August from knee surgery. How he returns will be something to watch closely.

Then at corner, they are thin right now and just don’t have a lot to work with. That was one position they’ve entertained taking a graduate transfer at.