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.
Last spring was the first that schools could host prospects heading into their senior year of high school for early official visits. The Huskers were unable to take advantage of that new rule because they did not have any official visits left to use. This spring, Nebraska saved some of those official visits to host prospects.
In total, the Huskers utilized 11 official visits this spring. Three of those players committed to Nebraska this summer. Four committed elsewhere and the rest are still undecided.
| Recruit | Visit Date | Committed |
| DL Nash Hutmacher | 4/5 | Nebraska |
| LB Cody Simon | 6/7 | Ohio State |
| RB Marvin Scott III | 6/14 | Undecided |
| OLB Blaise Gunnerson | 6/14 | Nebraska |
| CB Tamon Lynum | 6/21 |
Nebraska |
| WR Ajou Ajou | 6/21 | Clemson |
| CB Josh Moten | 6/21 | Texas A&M |
| LB Choe Bryant-Strother | 6/21 | Undecided |
| LB Malik Reed | 6/21 | Wisconsin |
| RB Sevion Morrison | 6/21 | Undecided |
| JUCO WR Omar Manning | 6/21 | Undecided |
All in all, it was a mixed bag of results for Nebraska trying to lock down some early commitments. With so many undecided prospects that visited, it’s hard to tell how things went for Nebraska using early official visits. Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander spoke to Hail Varsity about that on Monday.
“I think I’m still up in the air about it a little bit,” Chinander said. “To me, if a prospect’s parent can come and they want to make a decision early it’s great. Some of these guys that want to take official visits in the spring but aren’t going to decide until December, that’s a little risky. I think there’s some good to it though.”
Chinander explained that there isn’t really anything different about the visits in spring versus fall except for not having a game to build around. The visits are actually very similar to the ones that happen in December and January. This summer, the visit weekend on June 21 was good because the team was back in Lincoln, plus the prospects could feel the fan energy from the Friday Night Lights camp.
One of the challenges Nebraska faces with early official visits is getting prospects back to Lincoln who live far away.
“That’s one of the other things for me,” Chinander said. “If it’s a kid like Nick Henrich, if he wants to visit in the spring or summer, great because he can come for every game. A kid from Florida comes in the spring, it will be hard to get him back once. That’s the give and take.
“For me personally, the guys I’m recruiting, if they can come at all during the season, that’s when I want them here to see a game.”
More data is needed but it will be interesting to see the three or five year trends. Temas will have a better handle by that point on how many spring visitors ultimately commit and stay committed, or visit and do nothing.
Recruit Watch
>> Inside linebacker Ty Berrong from Daytona Beach, Florida, committed to South Florida over the weekend.
https://twitter.com/berrong_ty/status/1158166874804445187
>> Texas running back target Frank Brown will be dropping his top 5 soon and the Huskers are hoping to be on the list.
Top 5 dropping on tha 9th!! This friday @ 4pm… Tune in #ShowTime²
— Lil Frank. (@iamFrankBrown1) August 5, 2019
>> Priority junior college wide receiver target Omar Manning is ready for his season to get started.
https://twitter.com/TheOmarManning/status/1158444841476472832
ICYMI
>> I caught up with defensive lineman Nusi Malani who has an official visit date set to Lincoln this fall. (Premium)
>> Erin Sorensen has your football practice report, including the status of linebacker JoJo Domann.
>> Nebraska basketball played its first exhibition game in Italy on Monday and Jacob Padilla has observations.
>> Barrett Ruud feels good about his top three at inside linebacker but is searching for more this fall.
>> Watch Erik Chinander speak after practice about defensive retention, install and more.
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.
