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 questions never stop in the recruiting world. No matter what time of year it is, there is always something to talk about so we have been taking reader and listener suggestions on questions. I then answer the questions in a quick video. This week’s question comes from Twitter. It hits the topic of Nebraska recruiting five-stars.
How often does Neb recruit 5 star players? Any this year?
— L. E. D. (@lredeugene) March 29, 2021
This is an interesting question that does come up toward the start of each new recruiting cycle. For a lot of fans the Huskers being involved in the recruitment of five-star players means a couple things. It means the best talent in the country wants to play college football for the Huskers. Second, it means that the Huskers are recruiting among the elite schools in the sport.
That second part is interesting to me. Consistently being in on top talent means that you are among the college football elite. Let’s dive into that more. In the 2021 recruiting class there were 34 five-star players per 247Sports. They went to 16 different schools. In fact, 21 of those players went to Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, Georgia or Clemson.
Five schools signed 62% of the five-stars available in the last recruiting cycle.
That’s why fans are always hoping their team breaks into 5-star territory. The fact is that it is very hard to do. To land five-star talent consistently your program needs to be a current powerhouse. It typically needs to be located in the Southeast too. USC tends to be the exception to that because California has so much talent. You can put together quality recruiting classes without five-star players though.
Nebraska has consistently recruited top-25 classes under Coach Scott Frost. Getting talent to Lincoln hasn’t been a huge issue for the program under his watch. The team has also landed players who were not far from five-star status. Thomas Fidone, Turner Corcoran, Zavier Betts and Wan’Dale Robinson were all highly-rated prospects. Currently there are no five-stars I’d say are heavily considering Nebraska.
One day Nebraska wants to the be at the point where it’s in the top 10 recruiting classes. That’s when landing a five-star or two will be important. Oregon and Notre Dame were the only schools in the top 10 last cycle without nabbing a five-star. The program has a few steps to take before getting to that level.
In the last three cycles, the Huskers have signed 21 four-star players. The focus for now is maximizing the talent that is still in Lincoln. That’s another way to prove to elite players that Nebraska is the place for them.
Recruit Watch
>> Bellevue West tight end Micah Riley-Ducker has set an official visit to Iowa for June.
Official Iowa June 25-27 📍🐤 pic.twitter.com/huBN8XBIkw
— 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲-𝐃𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 (@micah_r_d) March 29, 2021
>> Kansas City wide receiver Quinton Conley picked up an offer from Buffalo on Monday.
After a great talk with @Coach_Matos I’m blessed to receive an offer from the University of Buffalo! pic.twitter.com/dQXp5JV877
— Quinton Conley (@quinton_conley) March 29, 2021
ICYMI
>> Derek Peterson has your collection of spring ball storylines as Nebraska gets ready to kick off practice in his Sunday column.
>> The wins are starting to pile up for Nebraska baseball after the weekend sweep of Minnesota.
>> Later home games and financial shortfalls led the Huskers to reconsider the game against Oklahoma according to Scott Frost.
>> We have your news and notes from Nebraska’s first press conference of 2021 spring football.
>> There was some movement near the top of the AVCA poll this week, including the Huskers moving up a spot.
>> Frost teased the return of the Nebraska Performance Index on Monday, which Derek Peterson looked into. (Premium)
>> The Huskers were fortunate that a handful of impactful defenders elected to return to school. (Premium)
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.
