We are in the final stretch to National Signing Day, as there are now less than 60 days remaining until the big event. Nebraska has been hard at work to fill its 2017 class, with coaches traveling across the country to see the top targets.
This past week was headlined by Nebraska’s newest hire — cornerbacks coach Donté Williams — immediately getting to work on the west coast. However, the Huskers didn’t stop there as official visits started to take shape. Defensive line coach John Parrella secured an official visit from one of the top defensive line prospects in the country, which only highlights one of many visits Husker fans have to look forward to.
Big Visit Weekend on Tap
Official visits during the regular season are always important but one could argue that official visits during January are actually more important and effective. When there is no game, the visit allows coaches to devote more time to the prospects, usually leading to some pretty entertaining and inventive recruiting visits. For example, Nebraska hosted a miniature golf tournament last year when recruiting Chase Allen.
This weekend, Nebraska will host five prospects on campus. These visits will be headlined by Ben Miles, a Nebraska commit and the No. 1 fullback prospect in the nation. We’ll have a full update on the official visit list on Friday.
Parrella Secures Visit from Tyler Shelvin
Speaking of Nebraska’s visit list, Lafayette, Louisiana, prospect Tyler Shelvin will visit the Huskers on Jan. 13. Shelvin is 6-3, 260 pounds and considered one of the best defensive tackles in the 2017 recruiting class.
Shelvin committed to LSU in March of 2015, but he has been open to other schools recruiting him ever since. As a result, both Alabama and Nebraska are considered to be in the mix for the talented defensive tackle. Parrella has been working tirelessly to build a relationship and bond with Shelvin and his work has finally paid off with Shelvin’s upcoming visit.
This will also be Shelvin’s first official visit, as he visited both Alabama and LSU unofficially. Getting Shelvin on campus is a massive coup for the Huskers and an impressive feather in the cap of Parrella.
For a better understanding of the kind of athlete Shelvin is, he just completed a dominant senior season for Notre Dame High School. Throughout the season, he helped lead the Pioneers to a 13-1 record and the Louisiana Division III semifinals, anchoring a defense that allowed just 10.8 points per game.
http://www.hudl.com/video/3/2714698/5721d66bbd746d007c77d4d5
Will the Visits Pay Off?
The consistent wave of official visitors during the final months of the regular season and the solid group of official visitors for this weekend is encouraging, but Nebraska is still in the midst of an 82-day dry spell on the recruiting trail. Things look they may finally be changing, as a pair of Husker targets are expected to announce their decisions soon. Both Quran Hafiz and Damion Daniels are expected to announce their college commitments within the next 10 days, with Hafiz deciding between Nebraska and Indiana and Daniels choosing between Nebraska and Colorado.
At this time, I would bet on Daniels being the first prospect to pull the trigger and join the Nebraska defensive line class. He has been one of Parrella’s top priorities on the recruiting trail since the defensive line coach came on board and he loved his official visit to Nebraska back in September. Daniels also cancelled his official visit to Colorado, which is always a good sign that a prospect knows where he wants to go.
I’d expect Daniels to announce his decision early next week via a radio show, which is how his older brother announced his commitment to Oklahoma State in 2015. More to come as his commitment announcement gets closer.
