It has been a while since the opening week of the college football season featured this many Plano Wildcat products all expected to see significant playing time.
Nine former Wildcats figure into significant roles this weekend for their respective major college football programs.
Rex Burkhead, a true sophomore, is expected to have an increased role at running back for No. 9 Nebraska this season. The Cornhuskers host Western Kentucky at 6 p.m. Saturday in an FSN pay-per-view. He is the primary backup to starter Roy Helu Jr.
In other games including teams ranked in the USA Today/Coaches Poll, No. 12 Wisconsin will meet Nevada-Las Vegas and defensive end Beau Brence at 7 p.m. Saturday in a game to be televised on Versus. Utah State and Maxim Dinka will travel to meet No. 8 Oklahoma at 4 p.m. Saturday. Dinka, a hard-hitting safety at Plano, had been moved up to linebacker and now starts at defensive end.
Howard travels to meet Holy Cross and starting inside linebacker C.J. Martin at 2 p.m. Saturday.
A pair of brothers should be among the former Plano products to see playing time in the opening weekend of the college season, as receiver Alex Lott will carry North Texas into a meeting with Clemson at 2:30 p.m. in a game to be televised on ESPNU. Kris Lott could see time at receiver for Stephen F. Austin as they travel to meet Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Saturday. The team has a crowded receiving corps, but Lott was competing for a starting job this spring and summer.
The opening week could also answer a burning question around the Plano fieldhouse. Carson Meger was a hot-button subject this spring, rising from a walk-on deep on the quarterback depth chart at Texas-El Paso to a scholarship player. It remains somewhat unclear whether he will be the No. 2 or 3 quarterback, but performing the way he did this spring if given an opportunity Saturday in a 6 p.m. game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff could solidify the primary backup spot for the redshirt freshman.
The other question is not if, but how much will Matt Nicholson play. The linebacker will start for Houston in a 7 p.m. home game against Texas State, but the team so far has been careful with his touches after knee injuries ended his past two seasons. Houston just missed a top 25 spot in the USA Today poll, coming in at No. 27. Nicholson, a former program walk-on in his final season, has been selected as a defensive captain.
The weekend will end with Blake McJunkin playing for SMU in a 2:30 p.m. Sunday game at Texas Tech on ESPN. McJunkin had been in an offensive line battle that it appeared he had lost at one point, but he will reportedly get the nod at center in the season opener. A noteworthy item concerning McJunkin, the former all-state lineman at Plano plays close enough to home that he was able to take in most of the spring scrimmages and the fall season opener at Plano. See our complete alumni list here.
| Sat., Sept. 4 |
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| Beau Brence |
No. 12 Wisconsin at UNLV, 7 p.m. (Versus) |
| Rex Burkhead |
W. Kentucky at No. 9 Nebraska, 6 p.m. (FSN PPV) |
| Maxim Dinka |
Utah State at No. 8 Oklahoma, 4 p.m. |
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| Alex Lott |
North Texas at Clemson, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU) |
| Kris Lott |
Stephen F. Austin at Texas A&M, 6 p.m. |
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| C.J. Martin |
Howard at Holy Cross, 2 p.m. |
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| Carson Meger |
Ark-Pine Bluff at UT-El Paso, 6 p.m. |
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| Matt Nicholson |
Texas State at Houston, 7 p.m. |
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| Sun., Sept. 5 |
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| Blake McJunkin |
SMU at Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) |
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