After a confusing yet heartbreaking loss in Evanston against Northwestern, the Huskers retun home to take on a Minnesota team still looking for its first Big Ten win of the year. All week the coaches and players seemed determined to not have the Northwestern result beat them twice. The home crowd should be fired up to welcome the team back to Memorial Stadium.
Let's get to the Recon.
Class Breakdown
Husker Commits
Matthew Anderson, offensive lineman, Leesville, Lousiana
Desmond Bland, offensive lineman, Yuma, Arizona
Tony Fair, defensive tackle, Pima, Arizona
Jackson Hannah, linebacker, Nashville, Tennesee
Nick Henrich, linebacker, Omaha, Nebraska
Chris Hickman, tight end, Omaha, Nebraska
Rahmir Johnson, running back, Oradell, New Jersey
Michael Lynn, offensive lineman, Greenwood Village, Colorado
Luke McCaffrey, quarterback, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Dedrick Mills, running back, Garden City, Kansas
Jamie Nance, wide receiver, Blanchard, Oklahoma
Garrett Nelson, defensive end, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Mosai Newsom, defensive end, Waverly, Iowa
Quinton Newsome, defensive back, Suwanee, Georgia
Ethan Piper, defensive tackle, Norfolk, Nebraska
Garrett Snodgrass, athlete, York, Nebraska
Ronald Thompkins, running back, Loganville, Georgia
2019 Needs
| QB | 0 | DL | 2 |
| RB | 0 | MLB | 0 |
| WR | 2 | OLB | 1 |
| TE | 0 | DB | 3 |
| OL | 3 | K/P | 0 |
Additional Recon
>>There is no getting around one simple fact. This is a huge weekend for Nebraska football. This game is big for the season since the Huskers are still in search of the first win of the season. It’s also a huge weekend on the recruiting trail since Nebraska is hosting a good crop of official visitors. The headliner is 4-star (HV Rating: 91.1) defensive back Noa Pola-Gates. He will be joined by defensive back Tavian Mayo, 4-star athlete (HV Rating: 92.1) Darien Chase and 3-star (HV Rating: 87.7) wide receiver commit Jamie Nance. The group of visitors hail from Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia and Washington so the Huskers have a national feel to the weekend.
There are a number of big-time unofficial visitors this weekend as well. None bigger than 4-star (HV Rating: 91.5) offensive tackle Bryce Benhart. The big man from Minnesota is Nebraska’s top 2019 offensive line target. The 2020 group is also strong.
As Hail Varsity reported two weeks ago, 2020 4-star (HV Rating: 93.4) OT Turner Corcoran will be back in Lincoln. Wisconsin inside linebacker Ben Kreul and T Lee, a defensive back from Georgia will take in the Minnesota game. 2020 Omaha Burke wide receiver Xavier Watts will also be in Memorial Stadium. Will he possibly leave Lincoln with an offer?
Simply put, this is a monster recruiting weekend for Nebraska.
>>The entire Independence Community College team did a walk-through of Nebraska's facilities last weekend before its game at Iowa Western. The school has a number of Nebraska targets including outside linebacker Kuony Deng, defensive back Tony Wallace, and offensive tackle Keenan Walker.
Win, lose, or draw. I'll never fold on these dudes! Mad love for them #MoneyTeam pic.twitter.com/e66SmF5NLC
— Coach Paul Holmes (@CoachHolmes5) October 12, 2018
A quick Friday walk through in Lincoln. @INDYHEADCOACH1 @LastChanceU @DreamU_IndyFB @GridironRR @JuCoFootballACE pic.twitter.com/weQHnjQMDE
— Coach Kiyoshi Harris (@IndyFBHC) October 12, 2018
>>Nebraska’s pass rush has struggled this season. There are a variety of reasons for it but one of the key reasons is the team simply lacks an elite pass rusher. Over the last couple of weeks, Nebraska has offered scholarships to a number of guys with pass-rushing ability in both high school and junior college. Prep 3-star (HV Rating: 81.2) edge rusher Seth Coleman picked up an offer and he is a soft Illinois commit.
Then there is a slew of junior college defenders who picked up offers recently. Outside linebacker Dru Mathis, edge rusher Niadre Zouzoua and defensive end Treven Mason all have seen Nebraska enter the mix recently. Based on talking to Mathis and the intel I’ve gathered; the Huskers stand a good chance to get visits from all three.
>>This week, tight ends coach Sean Beckton was asked about the reception the staff has received with recruits in the South.
“Those guys understand what we’ve done as a staff. I’ve talked to a lot of Florida coaches, I’ve talked to a lot of coaches out of Georgia and the Atlanta area — those guys know that we have the right formula to get things done," Beckton said. "We just need to continue to acquire players that are going to fit our scheme and continue to work.
"They know what we’re going through up here, they understand the process because they understand what we saw down at UCF. Everything wasn’t perfect down there the first year as we started working. We won some games. The competition level’s obviously a lot different up here. We’ve just got to continue to work hard to get the guys in there and a lot of those guys, high school coaches, Georgia coaches, understand our process and they’re trying to help us out the best they can to try and help us at least get players up here on campus to see us.”
The Nebraska staff has a great reputation among high school coaches that can pay serious dividends down south if Nebraska can get the program off the ground soon. Coaches and parents are very comfortable sending kids to be coached and mentored by this staff. They just need to hook the kids with a few wins.
>>One player that had been scheduled to come to Lincoln for an official visit this weekend but won’t make it is athlete Jerrad Baker. Right now, it does seem like the visit will get rescheduled. Possibly for the Michigan State game which is shaping up to be a huge weekend. Baker could be joined that weekend by his friend and Husker pass-rush target Seth Coleman.
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.
