On Tuesday, Nebraska continued its run of hosting important targets for unofficial visits. That has been the norm this month and Nebraska’s staff has been quite busy bringing quality prospects to campus. The latest was 2020 3-star defensive tackle (HV Rating: 86.3) Aidan Keanaaina from J.K. Mullen High School in Denver, Colorado. He made the trip to Lincoln with his dad.
“It was a great visit," Keanaaina said. "I enjoyed talking to Coach [Mike] Dawson, [Scott] Frost and [Barrett] Ruud. They were all great people. They are going to do great things at Nebraska. Ruud is my area recruiter so I had talked to him previously. That’s who I had really been in contact with prior to the visit. After I got there, I talked to Dawson a lot, but I talked to everyone. We got talk to about their defensive line and what they are running there. I got to talk to Coach Frost at the end too about what my ideas were with Nebraska and what they think of me. We had great talks.”
Thank you for an amazing unofficial visit! Nebraska Cornhuskers! #GBR #2020 @coach_frost @coachdawsgbr @BarrettRuud @KevinAshmos @zduval1 @SixZeroStrength @Mullen_Strength @MullenMustang pic.twitter.com/zarIZNL2SZ
— AIDAN ROY IKAIKA KEANAAINA (@AidanAkfootball) June 12, 2018
Keanaaina (6-3, 292) was excited to get to meet Dawson and spend time with him since he would be his position coach in college. He gave me some really good thoughts when I asked his impressions of getting to interact with Dawson in person.
“I loved what he was doing. I love what he runs," Keanaaina said. "He loves big bodies in the three-man front who can handle the offensive linemen. That’s what he sees me doing and I’d be the perfect fit for him. I love how he wants the d-linemen to make the tackle first even though it’s a three man front where usually the linebackers handle that. He thinks the defensive linemen should be talented enough to make that tackle.”
As mentioned above the defender made the trip to Lincoln with his father. Was his dad as impressed as he was by what they saw in Lincoln?
“He loved it. He loved meeting Frost and Dawson. He was very impressed with the weight coach, Zach Duval, with how he set up their training program. He got down to the science talking about hormone levels, how sleep affects you and how they do all these things to make sure you are working at your best at all times,” Keanaaina said.
Right now, Keanaaina is reporting 13 scholarship offers from a wide range of schools. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin are just a few of the schools he is building a bond with in addition to Nebraska. The family is thinking of getting more trips planned at the end of July after the dead period, possibly to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State. When asked about the top factors in his decision, Keanaaina gave me one of the most detailed answers I’ve ever received.
"I have three prongs in the decision," he said. "First, the academic side of it. What tools can I gain and what does my degree mean? How strong are their business or engineering programs because those are the two I’m most interested in. The second part is the football program. What are they doing there and what is their mentality as a football team? What’s the work ethic like? The coaching style, facilities and defense. That total range of the team will play a big part.
"My final part is the community. What is the campus and student life like? What are the fans like and the school spirit for the games and how does that play into future connections for jobs in the future?"
http://www.hudl.com/video/3/7213335/59e7d16bb535250cd80ce61d
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.
