For February, this week brought some news with the Husker football program. The Huskers finalized contract extensions with assistant coaches. The program also got some tough news when the 2021 game against Illinois was moved from Ireland to Champaign. The team is staying loose during winter conditioning though having what looked like a fun time playing dodgeball.
true dodgeballers#thegoodlife pic.twitter.com/VXTYlvhe6L
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) February 18, 2021
Let’s get to the Recon.
Husker Commits
None for the 2022 cycle yet.
2021 Needs
| QB | 1 | DL | 2 |
| RB | 1 | MLB | 2 |
| WR | 2 | OLB | 2 |
| TE | 1 | DB | 3 |
| OL | 3 | K/P | 0 |
The Recon:
>> It was a tough blow to recruits across the country when the NCAA announced on Wednesday that the dead period would be extended. Several 2022 recruits have never visited any of the schools that have offered them. That includes Kansas linebacker Gavin Meyers. I got Meyers’ thoughts on the dead period situation this week.
“I mean, it sucks,” Meyers said. “Just knowing that it keeps getting extended without having visited Nebraska or any of my colleges I have been offered by. It definitely sucks that way. I mean, with the 2022 class being limited on offers and how much they can give with this COVID kind of sucks.
“It’s just like you’re pushing a commitment out earlier. I don’t like feeling pressured. If I need to, I definitely will though. But I don’t want to make the wrong decision either. I wish the dead period ended and we could start visiting. But it is what it is.”
Meyers touched on something interesting there. There is a widespread belief that recruiting classes will be smaller in 2022 around the country. The thought is that the transfer portal and extra year of eligibility will make numbers tighter. That will be something to keep an eye on.
>> Lost in all the wide receiver talk over the last year is Texas native Will Nixon. A knee injury forced him to miss all of last season. He’s healthy now and the word is that the coaches are very impressed with his football IQ and skill set. If Nixon is healthy it’s hard to see him not having a role in the offense this fall.
>> This weekend we will get the first look in a while at what a pair of the big-time Omaha 2022 recruits are thinking with their recruitments. Omaha Burke linebacker Devon Jackson and Omaha Central offensive lineman Deshawn Woods are scheduled to announce their top five schools.
At this point I would honestly say that Nebraska is on the outside looking in for both. It wouldn’t surprise me if Nebraska is left off both lists. It’s always looked tough for Jackson but things turning with Woods would be disappointing for Nebraska. That said it is a long time before they sign and crazier things have happened in recruiting than two local players deciding in the end to stay home.
>> This week it was announced that one-year contract extensions were signed by nine of 10 Nebraska assistant coaches. That is standard operating procedure in college football. It also gives another quick data point for the staff to sell on the recruiting trail with staff stability. The lone coach that did not sign an extension is defensive line coach Tony Tuioti. I’m told there isn’t much to worry about there after he did a solid job this last season.