The Huskers are on the board with an offensive lineman for the 2022 class.
Valen Erickson (6-6, 315), an offensive lineman from Chicago, committed to the Huskers on Friday. He announced his commitment on Twitter.
The Good Life… 🌽🔴⚪️#committed #pipeline pic.twitter.com/n5LW5m8QrU
— Valen Erickson (@ValenErickson) July 30, 2021
The lineman took several trips to Lincoln to be sure of his decision. The first was a self-guided tour of campus for the Red-White Spring Game. Then he took an official visit to Nebraska the first weekend in June. He returned to Lincoln on July 29 for a two-day unofficial visit before making his announcement. Lincoln left an impression on him following that official visit in June.
“I never knew Lincoln was that cool of a town,” Erickson said. “I thought it would be just like cornfields, but it was a great town. I loved it and I loved the spring game. After that I thought we needed to do the official there first. Then over that time, I just built crazy good relationships with everybody in the staff. So, yeah, the official visit was unbelievable.”
Erickson is the ninth commitment of the 2022 recruiting class for Nebraska. He is the third official visitor from his weekend to commit to the team. He joins quarterback Richard Torres and tight end Chase Androff on the commit list.
#GBRXXII pic.twitter.com/DhgyyHEz4u
— Trent Mossbrucker (@TMossbrucker) July 30, 2021
Erickson selected Nebraska from an offer list of 13 schools. Illinois, Missouri and Purdue were some of the other teams in consideration for his commitment. Even with a class that might be as small as 14 prospects expect the Huskers to look for one more offensive lineman in this class.

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.