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 Nebraska has been on such a recruiting roll since last Thursday, the staff was asked a lot of questions this week about how that momentum has come about. Running backs coach Ryan Held believes that once kids come to Lincoln and see the total student-athlete experience, they find something they can be fired up about. Both he and offensive coordinator Troy Walters also believe that recruits are seeing improvement on the field that matches the pitch the coaches are using.
One thing that really stood out to me personally was when Held was asked about some of the first things he says to a recruit when he begins the process.
“A lot of these kids don’t know we are the fifth or sixth all-time winningest program in the history of college football," Held said. "We have to educate these kids and let them know that. I start a lot with that. Then, hey listen, we have everything here for you to be a complete student-athlete. We have to get some dudes. We gotta get some dawgs in here that want to play and love football, are passionate and are from winning programs that can’t stand to lose.
"We’re selling playing in schemes that are fun to play in with coaches that will treat you right and love you up. We are going to discipline you when we need to but we are not the group that will be out there cussing you out and downgrading you and everything. People see that at the end of the day. We aren’t heckle and jeckle. You see one thing [in recruiting process] and then you show up and we are different. The word gets out on that if you are that way. We don’t operate like that and it’s been a winning edge for us.
"We like where we are recruiting wise, we have to finish. We have to keep infiltrating players into this program that create competition, kids that love football and that’ll help us get to where we want to get to.”
It's a tough reality that in a lot of prospects’ lifetimes, Nebraska has not really been on the big stage of college football. Some of the other programs in the top ten in all-time wins — Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Alabama — have had big moments in the last five to 10 years. The thing the Huskers do have going for them is the parents of the recruits certainly remember Nebraska’s dominance.
If Nebraska can continue to get kids on campus to get them around the fan base and educate them on the history of the program while improving the product on the field, then something special can happen with recruiting.
Nebraska has a compelling pitch. They just have to keep working at it. Three commits in the last week and 20 verbal commitments on Nov. 1 shows things are steadily heading in the right direction.
Recruit Watch
>> Ethan Zemla, a 2019 inside linebacker recruit, doesn’t hold an offer from Nebraska but his recruitment has picked up recently. The Colorado native is teammates with Luke McCaffrey and released his highlight tape on Thursday.
Regular season highlights – https://t.co/vKpFRrFdsN
— Ethan Zemla (@ethan_zemla) November 1, 2018
>> Check out the cool edit that Nebraska sent to some of its prospects this week. This one went to 2020 CB Jaheem Joseph from Miami.
#GBR pic.twitter.com/NF6BGjNjTG
— Jah25 (@LockemupJah_7) November 1, 2018
>> Maurice Washington is not a recruit any longer but this is too cool to not share.
https://twitter.com/Mo_is_blessed/status/1058030108290809856
ICYMI
>> After Wandale Robinson’s decision to commit to Kentucky today, we took a look at where Nebraska goes from here this cycle.
>> Nebraska basketball coaches are trying to teach Brady Heiman the art of trash talk.
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.
