The Huskers are entering an important time for the program. Classes are set to begin soon and so is winter conditioning. That will give us a good look into any potential late transfers from the team. Outside of that, every opportunity for Coach Scott Frost’s team to improve should be taken seriously so conditioning then spring ball are going to be a big deal.
There is a lot to dive into as the team begins the offseason program on Monday.
Lets get to the Recon.
Husker Commits
Koby Bretz, Defensive Back, Omaha, Nebraska
Ru’Quan Buckley, Defensive Lineman, Wyoming, Michigan
Marques Buford, Defensive Back, Cedar Hill, Texas
James Carnie, Tight End, Firth, Nebraska
Gabe Ervin, Running Back, Buford, Georgia
Thomas Fidone, Tight End, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Mikai Gbayor, Linebacker, Irvington, New Jersey
Kamonté Grimes, Wide Receiver, Naples, Florida
Heinrich Haarberg, Quarterback, Kearney, Nebraska
Shawn Hardy, Wide Receiver, Kingsland, Georgia
Wynden Ho’ohuli, Outside Linebacker, Mililani, Hawaii
Randolph Kpai, Inside Linebacker, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Henry Lutovsky, Offensive Lineman, Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Seth Malcom, Inside Linebacker, Tabor, Iowa
Latrell Neville, Wide Receiver, Houston, Texas
Teddy Prochazka, Offensive Lineman, Elkhorn, Nebraska
AJ Rollins, Tight End, Omaha, Nebraska
Jailen Weaver, defensive lineman, Antioch, California
Lardarius Webb, Defensive Back, Jackson, Mississippi
Malik Williams, Defensive Back, Buford, Georgia
Branson Yager, Offensive Lineman, Grantsville, Utah
2021 Needs
| QB | 0 | DL | 1 |
| RB | 0 | MLB | 0 |
| WR | 0 | OLB | 1 |
| TE | 0 | DB | 1 |
| OL | 0 | K/P | 0 |
The Recon:
>> Look for Chris Hickman to be back in the tight end room moving forward. Hopefully for Hickman this move sticks and he can get consistent coaching at one position to help his development. I’m told he is more comfortable at tight end. His usage during the 2020 season was more of a tight end role anyway so this shouldn’t be a huge change for him.
>> The saga of Luke McCaffrey has taken a lot of twists and turns over the last week. When the rumors first started, Nebraska’s staff was not aware of any desire of his to transfer or opt-out. Once they learned of it, the staff did a good job of calming the waters. That’s what I reported last week in Recon. Now things have changed again.
I now expect McCaffrey to opt-out and not participate in winter conditioning at Nebraska. The announcement should come on Friday. If he goes down that path, I don’t expect him to ever play for the Huskers again. The situation as I understand it currently is that McCaffrey would remain enrolled in Nebraska classes virtually which is an option to all students right now. That would allow him to stay on scholarship while evaluating his football future. If that’s how it goes down, it will be a polarizing decision. It’s not against the rules but McCaffrey and his family would certainly be using the system to his advantage. McCaffrey also has four more years left to play college football.
We’ll see what all comes out.
>> There have been rumors floating around that Omaha Westside cornerback Avante Dickerson is down to Nebraska and Oregon with Minnesota on the outside looking in. I did some checking around and I think it would be tough to see Dickerson landing in Eugene. There are a lot of schools in a similar position to the Huskers where the numbers are tight. Oregon is no exception to that. The Ducks have a few spots remaining but are chasing players like 5-star defensive lineman JT Tuimoloau, 5-star linebacker Raesjon Davis or transfer linebacker Henry To’oto’o. It sounds weird to say because he is such a highly-rated recruit but Oregon might not have room for Dickerson. That’s something to keep in mind here.
Dickerson also hasn’t visited Oregon while having been to Lincoln several times. Nothing would surprise me in this recruitment because of how quiet it’s been. I do give the Huskers a good shot to win out.
>> Quick update on the special teams coach search. I’m still told that Nebraska will find a way to add a full-time special teams coach. Frost said publicly this week that the search is still ongoing.
“I want to get the right guy in here that’s going to help us turn the page and improve there,” Frost said. “If we were better on special teams, we probably would’ve won a few more games here the last two years. We are in the process right now of trying to find the right guy.”
It’s about more than just finding the right guy. Nebraska needs to place an emphasis on special teams to improve at it. Hiring a full-time assistant would be a start. To do that there would need to be some shuffling to the current group of assistants.
**Update** Well things have changed quickly. In an interview with the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star Frost said that he will be standing pat with his 10 current assistants. He has decided to hire another special teams analyst.
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.
