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.
Recruiting has been weirder than normal in the 2021 cycle. At different points during this recruiting cycle, it felt like commits were coming fast and furious. We are seeing an amount of commitments we aren’t used to in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are moving deeper into the NCAA-mandated dead period and it is becoming clear that prospects don’t have the luxury of dragging the recruiting process out. Conventional wisdom is that if you have a committable offer on the table and can see yourself at the school to go ahead and commit.
This week seems to be a busy one for recruit announcements. Nebraska has already picked up one commitment from defensive back Malik Williams. That might not be all. There are a handful of commitment announcements involving Nebraska coming up.
Linebacker recruiting has been a focus for Nebraska in the 2021 recruiting class. There are four players in the class already at the position but the Huskers would like to add one more player. Ideally it would be an outside linebacker. Alabama edge rusher Christian Burkhalter has been on the Huskers’ radar for a while. He’s set to announce his college choice on Thursday.
commiting Thursday @ 5pm #togosbetheglory
— Christian Burkhalter (@Christianburk_) July 22, 2020
The Huskers were battling Virginia and Ole Miss for the defender, but Oregon has made a move after offering two weeks ago.
This month has also been the time for defensive back recruiting for Nebraska. In the last three weeks, the Huskers have landed three commits at the position. Could a fourth be on the horizon? Nadab Joseph is set to announce his college choice later this week. He’s one of the top junior college defensive backs from the 2020 class.
Will be announcing my college decision Friday at 7. Thanks to everyone that stood tall with me in these times 💯💯💯🙏🏾🙏🏾 it’s on now @SneakerfeverVe @leaderofthemen @IndyFBHC @Cassidy_Rob
— Nadab Joseph (@nadabjoseph) July 22, 2020
The defender was most recently at Independence Community College in Kansas. He committed to Georgia out of high school. The Huskers have done great work with Joseph behind the scenes in hopes of landing him this week. Nebraska has one scholarship slot left for 2020 and hope it ends up being Joseph.
The Huskers have been linked with Wisconsin offensive lineman Marcus Mbow for most of this recruiting cycle. The versatile lineman has a good relationship with the Huskers and their commits. We’ll see which way things shake out when he announces publicly. Nebraska is battling Arizona State, Iowa State and Michigan State the most for him.
Coming to an end…👀 #thedecision
— Marcus Mbow (@MarcusMbow) July 22, 2020
This next month or so could be a busy time for recruits to settle on a college. There is still so much uncertainty surrounding what will happen this fall. Games and visits are up in the air so committing now makes sense. The Huskers are just hoping to stay on the right side of the news coming out.
Recruit Watch
>> Priority Huskers defensive line target Ru’Quan Buckley was getting some work in to get ready for his season.
Me and @TrevonteBuckley getting that work in 💯🔥💪🏿 pic.twitter.com/fbIpGQcLoh
— Ru'Quan Buckley (@Darealruquan) July 22, 2020
>> Utah defensive lineman Omarion Fa’amoe visited Lincoln last year but elected to commit to Oregon State on Wednesday.
#BuildTheDam #Teampala #MLUYFI #WestHighFootball #WestPanthers #RestoreTheRoar pic.twitter.com/nEB1z73HIi
— Omarion Fa’amoe (@Faamoe72) July 22, 2020
>> JUCO running back JD Martin released his final four and the Huskers made the cut.
🌟Top 4🌟 🌹Sorry For The Wait🌹As Of Now These Are The 4 Schools I’m Going To Focus On! (AGTG!)#WinningInParadise🏝#GoOwls#theFaU#GBR🌽#Huskers#CornHuskers#Terps🐢#GoTerps#TrustTheClimb ⛰#HailWV #TakeMeHome#WVU
No Specific Order! pic.twitter.com/5ZE9Wb6JoF
— 💙“J Dizzle💙 🌹(JD Martin)🌹 (@fns_jd23) July 22, 2020
>> Omaha Burke 2022 star outside linebacker Devon Jackson was offered by Kansas on Wednesday.
After a great talk with @CoachDiribe96 and @CoachLesMiles I’m blessed to have received an offer from the University of Kansas pic.twitter.com/LYlWTQJUPz
— Devon Jackson (@DevontheJet402) July 22, 2020
ICYMI
>> Derek Peterson has a fun (but entirely hypothetical) Big Ten Media Days podium session with Scott Frost.
>> In his latest Padding the Stats Jacob Padilla gives his final thoughts on JD Spielman’s departure.
>> Greg Austin believes that Brenden Jaimes can be one of college football’s best left tackles.
>> The Hail Varsity staff is back to discuss what a successful season looks like for the Huskers in 2020.
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.
