Nebraska’s first Friday Night Lights camp brought some good talent to Lincoln with more on the way next week. Here are six players I circled on my sheet as standouts from the first session.
LB Anthony Banderas | 2018, Lincoln Southwest HS, Lincoln, Neb.
The name is plenty familiar to Nebraska fans and Anthony had a good showing on Friday. He’s a little smaller (6-1, 215) than his big brother, Josh, but he’s put together really, really well. I see him as more of a preferred walk-on, but you can tell he’s grown up around big-time football by how he received coaching and paid attention during drills.
QB Max Duggan | 2019, Lewis Central HS, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Aaron Babcock
QB Max Duggan (2019) throws during Nebraska’s Friday Night Lights camp in Lincoln on June 16, 2017.
We got to see a lot of him on Friday. He’s a good looking quarterback, really built well for a kid who is only going to be a junior. He’s super athletic. I’m not the biggest quarterback-mechanics guy, but he has a Scott Frost-type motion to him when throwing the ball but with a much stronger arm. Duggan looked like he has been coached well based on his mentality and how he handles himself. The staff kind of gave him the white-glove treatment. He spend a lot of time with executive director of player personnel Billy Devaney with regular check-ins from offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf and head coach Mike Riley. Duggan is a little on the short side (he measured 6-1 at the camp), but he could grow and he’s definitely a dual-threat guy. You could use him in the run game.
WR DeShawn Hanika | 2018, Hayden Catholic HS, Topeka, Kan.
Really good prospect. He’s 6-3 and he made a great catch in one-on-ones on a pass from Duggan. It got wide receivers coach Keith Williams excited as he came off the sideline to dap him up. Hanika has the ability to really go up and get it and everyone kind of went crazy over it. I wish I could have seen a little more of him because he has the size to be a really intriguing prospect. I think he could be a late offer for Nebraska based on how receiver recruiting plays out.
DE Marcus Hicks | 2019, Wichita Northwest HS, Wichita, Kan.
My favorite player at the camp last night. He looked really, really good. I got to see some of his one-on-one work and whoever is coaching him is doing a really good job. He’s shown a lot of really good hand use and he has good hips when turning the corner. That’s really good stuff from him for just entering his junior year. He’s really long (6-6) so he can definitely play as a 3-4 defensive end, but I think Nebraska could also give him a look as an outside linebacker. He showed really good burst and get-off, so I think he’s athletic enough to do both.
DT Masry Mapieu | 2018 (NU commit), York HS, York, Neb.
We already know a good deal at Mapieu. He measured in at 6-4 and nearly 300 pounds, but he moves pretty well for a guy that size. Mapieu gets a little out of control sometimes, but he’s not a guy you’re worried about running sideline to sideline. He’s going to be that 0-technique or 1-technique lined up over the center just eating up double-teams and keeping guys off linebackers. I’m not too worried about him running 40s and agility drills because it’s not going to equate to what he’ll be doing at the next level.
DE Ryan Schommer | 2018, Norfolk, Norfolk HS, Neb.
He might be another preferred walk-on or late offer for Nebraska. Some of the FCS heavyweights in the area — North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State — are in on him. He’s a good looking player in terms of size (6-4, 230) and frame. Schommer showed some nice versatility in one-on-one drills. He had some nice pass-rush moves and it’s not easy to do some of things Schommer was doing as a high school kid just because some of the tricks of the trade aren’t available from a coaching standpoint to kids that age. He showed some flashes on Friday.