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.
Since it’s Wisconsin week, a topic around Nebraska football that comes up more than usual is how the Badgers develop their players and routinely get good results. It's especially apparent when you contrast that with the fact that Nebraska often out-recruits Wisconsin.
Here is the recent Big Ten class rank comparison, per 247Sports:
2018: NU 4th; Wisconsin 9th
2017: NU 5th; Wisconsin 7th
2016: NU 5th; Wisconsin 6th
2015: NU 4th; Wisconsin 6th
Nebraska may have had the higher recruiting rankings than Wisconsin, but that hasn't translated to success over the Badgers on the field. Wisconsin defeated Nebraska in 2017 (38-17), 2016 (23-17) and 2015 (23-21).
Clearly the results in February haven’t matched up with the results on the field for Nebraska in the fall. Wisconsin's success with its recruits often leads to some assumptions that recruiting elite athletes isn't that necessary. That could not be farther from the truth.
The truth is that Nebraska needs to be better at identifying the correct 4 and 5-star talent for Scott Frost system. Then the Huskers need to be able to develop those players. That is where strength and conditioning coach Zach Duval and better coaching come into play. Along the way, Nebraska also needs the JD Spielmans and Dicaprio Bootles of the world to emerge as players that are talented despite being underrecruited.
While all of the things I just laid out are taking shape, patience is needed in some respect. Wisconsin didn’t get to this point in one season of development. Nebraska won’t get to its ultimate ceiling that quickly either.
Recruit Watch
>> Lincoln High cornerback Cam Kleinschimidt picked up walk-on offer from the Huskers. I was impressed with him and the entire Links defense last Friday night.
https://twitter.com/Camy_Klein/status/1047683782655037440
>> Nebraska sent out a big junior college offer yesterday evening, both figuratively and literally. Myron Cunningham, an offensive lineman from Iowa Central in Fort Dodge, Iowa, picked up an offer.
Blessed and Honored to recieve a offer from The University of Nebraska.@TheGodfather_O@Coach_ADutcher @CoachTalto2 @GregAustin2717 pic.twitter.com/spAnUtf71b
— Myron Cunningham (@CunninghamMyron) October 3, 2018
Nebraska has an immediate need along the offensive line next season and Cunningham is a December graduate.
>> Nebraska running back commit Rahmir Johnson will be featured in the second season of Hudl’s ‘Contenders’ series.
Looks like #Huskers RB commit Rahmir Johnson (@rahmir_johnson) is going to be featured in the second season of @Hudl's 'Contenders.' https://t.co/TyuSKzBzRH
— Erin Sorensen (@erinsorensen) October 4, 2018
ICYMI
>> Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez knows what it takes to turn around a program and says that Nebraska is not far off.
>> Tim Miles received great news last night as the state’s No. 1 player Akol Arop committed to Nebraska.
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.
