Nebraska picked up its 11th commitment of the 2018 recruiting class Friday when 3-star outside linebacker David Alston from Woodbury High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, joined the class.
Committed ✔️ pic.twitter.com/qGlnhsNhC3
— David Alston (@D_Alston5) October 6, 2017
Nebraska beat out Wisconsin and Iowa State among others for the top-ranked player in the state of Minnesota. The Huskers view Alston (6-5, 210) as the perfect fit for an outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense run by Bob Diaco.
Last month, I spoke with his high school coach, Andy Hill, who just raved about Alston’s versatility and athleticism.
“We played him as a strong safety for most of his sophomore year knowing it wasn't his natural position, and knowing that we were going to move him to defensive end as a junior, but to get him the experience of playing in space," Hill said. "His greatest strength is his ability to rush the passer – for being long he is pretty powerful.
"The only hindrance is that as a defensive end teams can choose to double- or triple-team him, which often happens, but opening opportunities for other guys to make plays. Or they run/roll out away from him. He covers ground quickly, so that doesn't always work, but we don't get too many opponents who let their quarterback take a traditional 5-step drop.”
Alston is a great addition to the 2018 class and fills a need at the outside linebacker spot. His commitment is a great way to start off the enormous weekend ahead of Nebraska football.