We are just days away from spring football starting for Nebraska.
There will be on-field updates to digest and quotes from coaches to dissect pretty soon. While that is happening, recruiting is rolling on for the Huskers. The 2022 recruiting class currently has one player in it. Columbus linebacker Ernest Hausmann was the first to commit this cycle. The Huskers will look to grow that list soon but the dead period has lingered now for a year. There is hope that the dead period will be lifted at the beginning of June. Schools are planning for official visits to happen quickly after. We see schools lining them up already.
As we shift our focus to spring ball, what are some of the top priorities for the Huskers this spring on the trail?
Objective One: Set Official Visits
The NCAA has not made a formal announcement on when the dead period will end. It currently is set to expire at the end of May. The expectation right now is that official visits will be allowed starting in June. That is starting to be reflected on social media. Many prospects are announcing the official visits they have locked in with schools. So far Nebraska has one official visit that has been publicly announced. It’s an important one too. Indiana pass rusher Popeye Williams posted that he will visit Lincoln in June.
First stop Lincoln Nebraska! Can’t wait to see the campus. @coach_frost @coachdawsgbr @HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/tpB36mCliS
— Popeye Williams (@Popeye2022) March 25, 2021
The Huskers are working hard to set up more visits. The biggest objective the team has right now is to lock in these visits. It will be over a year since players were able to visit by the time the dead period is lifted. Competition is going to be fierce for these dates and the Huskers need their fair share set ahead of time.
Objective Two: Get a Good Look at Young Players
It feels like we say the team is young every year under Coach Scott Frost. That is no different heading into the 2021 season. A whopping 47% of scholarship players are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Also, 57 of the 88 players on scholarship are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores that joined the program in 2019. Because of that, a normal spring with as many reps as possible is imperative. Not just so Nebraska can evaluate who can play in the 2021 season, but also so the Huskers know what needs will be more important after spring football.
For example, if running backs other than Markese Stepp show consistent play this spring, it might go a long way toward bumping down the need for a running back in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Spots could be tight this class. Every little bit of wiggle room is important for Frost as he builds his next recruiting class.
Objective Three: Quarterback Emerges
Quarterback recruiting is important for every school. It’s probably more important for the Huskers. The offense is hard to run at peak efficiency without strong quarterback play. That’s part of the reason there is always a lot of focus on recruiting the position by fans. At this point the Huskers tend to have several quarterbacks targets that are real possibilities. That’s not the case right now for the 2022 class. The best signal-caller on the board with Husker interest in Georgia native MJ Morris. The 4-star is heavily considering Nebraska and wants to take a visit soon.
There are other targets to watch. Texan Richard Torres, Hawaii native A.J. Blanco and Indiana’s Tayven Jackson are names to know. The Huskers need to emerge as real threats for a couple to get momentum going for the position this cycle.