Recruiting never stops and it's easy to miss the top stories day-to-day. Recruiting analyst Greg Smith recaps all things Nebraska recruiting news, analysis and more so you never miss a thing.
The Huskers made some additions to their future schedules on Thursday. In 2034, the Huskers host former Big 12 conference foe Oklahoma State. Nebraska will return the favor with a trip to Stillwater the following season in 2035. That wasn’t the only schedule fun announced as future games with UTEP and Ohio were also made public.
The players being recruited to play at Nebraska now will be long gone by the time these games are played. The future games did leave me wondering though: what does Husker recruiting look like in Oklahoma, Texas and Ohio right now?
Here are the raw numbers of offers for each state. Let's start with Scott Frost’s first full recruiting class in 2019.
2019
- Texas: 59
- Oklahoma: 6
- Ohio: 10
2020
- Texas: 62
- Oklahoma: 6
- Ohio: 11
2021
- Texas: 39
- Oklahoma: 7
- Ohio: 7
The first thing that sticks out to me here is the number of offers in Texas. There were 121 offers made between 2019 and 2020 in the Lone Star State. Nebraska got three commits from that effort. Texas is one of the best states for college football players in the entire nation so it makes sense that the Huskers would keep trying to gain a foothold there. I wonder if the addition of wide receiver Omar Manning will open some extra doors. His signing with Nebraska is high profile and could make waves for the Huskers in the Dallas area.
Oklahoma has been a different story for Nebraska. Clearly there haven’t been as many total offers out in the Sooner State but Nebraska has signed at least one player from the state in the last two cycles. Oklahoma should continue to be in focus for the Huskers as we move through the Frost Era in Lincoln.
Ohio produces good football players on a yearly basis. Yet, as long as Ohio State is good, best wishes to any program going into the state to pull talent out. For the class of 2021, six of the top 11 players in the state are already committed to Ohio State. Three of the top nine players inked with the Buckeyes in 2020. Five of the top nine players in the state became Buckeyes in the 2019 cycle. It’s smart to just spot recruit in that state for now.
We don’t know what the things will look like that far into the future for any of the programs involved. Still, it's interesting to look at how Nebraska is currently trying to recruit in future opponents’ states.
Recruit Watch
>> It looks like the Huskers will have a third Junior Day of the offseason next month. Omaha Westside athlete Cole Payton received an invite.
Thanks @coachwilhite for the invite! #GBR pic.twitter.com/GcWjgwz1sh
— Cole Payton (@ColePayton9) February 13, 2020
>> Omaha Westside cornerback Avante Dickerson picked up an offer from USC on Wednesday night.
Blessed to receive an offer from USC !! pic.twitter.com/zMjRrNmXTV
— AD #28 (@_dickerson1) February 12, 2020
>> Recent Nebraska linebacker visitor Danny Stutsman was offered by Utah on Wednesday evening. The Florida linebacker has also seen a run of offers lately.
Blessed to have received my first Pac-12 offer from the University of Utah! #GoUtes #Pac12 @Utah_Football @Colton_Swan @Rivals @247recruiting @faathletic pic.twitter.com/BdvdKUmzE6
— DannyStutsmanFB (@FbStutsman) February 13, 2020
>> North Carolina running back Evan Pryor released his top group and the Huskers did not make the cut for the 4-star runner.
Final 6 ‼️
📸: @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/RewBiifj60
— Evan Pryor (@evanpryor3) February 13, 2020
ICYMI
>> As Brandon Vogel notes, Nebraska is in a preseason top 25 and that is OK.
>> Millard North and IMG Academy headline the 2020 Heartland Hoops Classic this weekend.
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.
