The quarterback board has changed quickly for the Huskers. When offensive coordinator Mark Whipple came to town the team had only offered a pair of quarterbacks for the 2023 cycle. The team has quickly built a quarterback board since then. Seven scholarship offers are out to 2023 quarterbacks. One of the players who already had an offer from the team was Iowa native JJ Kohl. Kohl (6-6, 220) was in Lincoln on Saturday for Nebraska’s Junior Day. The signal-caller holds close to double-digit offers. He was offered by Penn State this weekend.
“I thought it was really good visit,” Kohl said. “I had a good time with Coach [Scott] Frost and Coach Whipple. It was a really special time. I was able to ask all the questions that I had. So did my parents, who were also there. They had a lot of questions as well. So, I’d say overall, it was a very successful trip.”
The quarterback had a lot of questions about the direction of the offense under the new staff. He also wanted to hear from Whipple why he chose to come to Nebraska. He was happy with the answers he got. Kohl likes that the new offensive staff at Nebraska is very respected. There was one big highlight of the trip. The time Kohl spent with Whipple breaking down his offense and talking schematics.
“We actually had a good 15-minute session where he was just breaking down Pitt film from last year,” Kohl said. “Just going over his offense and his schemes and how he likes to take shots downfield. It was really good. It was really impressive to see all the concepts they had. They just had receivers open all over the field. He was really impressive.”
The Huskers have certainly increased the attention on Kohl since Whipple was hired. That hasn’t gone unnoticed. It makes him feel better about Nebraska and where they stand with each other. He’s got a good sense of how the program feels about him as a priority. Kohl isn’t close to deciding on a school. He’s doing a lot of research on schools, coaches and schemes. A lot of teams like his arm strength and ability to throw on the run. Finding a scheme that fits his skill set is important.
He does know that he is interested in returning to Lincoln during spring football. He is looking forward to checking out a practice and attending team meetings. As Kohl evaluates schools he wants to find the right people to be around during his college career.
“I’d say a big thing is the people. I want to be somewhere where people are motivated and hungry to get better every day,” Kohl said. “Like-minded people who think the same as me. Another thing too I would say is somewhere I have a good relationship with the offensive coordinator, QB coach and head coach. I would say somewhere I could see myself being successful. A place I feel like I could have an opportunity to not just play early but also hopefully win a lot of games.”
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
