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.
In college football recruiting there is always time to talk about quarterbacks. That’s true no matter which school you are talking about. From there every school has its own unique position or two that the fan base seems to always have on their minds. It’s not a bad thing but is what makes covering recruiting more interesting. One of the focus positions here at Nebraska is offensive line. This question came into my timeline on Thursday when I put out the call for questions to be used in the recruiting question of the week video.
What’s the plan for signing OL in ‘22? Are there some JUCO guys the staff could snag soon?
— Aaron (@red_39_) October 28, 2021
Let’s think about needs that Nebraska has for the 2022 class on the offensive line. Its instructive to take a look back at recent offensive line recruiting. Six offensive linemen signed with the Huskers in the 2019 recruiting class. Bryce Benhart, Brant Banks, Jimmy Fritzsche, Michael Lynn, Matthew Anderson and Ethan Piper. Anderson and Fritzsche have since left the program.
The 2020 class saw Turner Corcoran and Alex Conn join the program. Last year’s cycle added Teddy Prochazka, Henry Lutovsky and Branson Yager. Of that group only Yager has moved on from the program. Nouredin Nouili and Ezra Miller have all joined the team by walking on.
Cam Jurgens, Matt Sichterman, Broc Bando and Trent Hixson all have eligibility left at Nebraska. It doesn’t mean that all will come back but remember none of those four are seniors. The Huskers have a lot of offensive lineman. The challenge is sorting out who can help the team next season and who else needs to be brought in.
It’s interesting that the Huskers put out a new 2022 high school offensive lineman offer this week. The Huskers offered offensive lineman Jacarrius Peak.
AGTG🙏🏾‼️ Blessed to receive a ⭕️ffer from University of Nebraska⚪️🔴@HuskerFBNation @shelton_felton @ChadSimmons_ @247Sports @RecruitGeorgia pic.twitter.com/ucxG15EMYx
— Jacarrius Peak (@JacarriusP) October 27, 2021
The Georgia native (6-5, 310) has seen his recruitment take off because of his strong play this season. After his midseason film went out his recruitment blew up. He got offers from LSU, Louisville, Virginia and Virginia Tech. The race is on to get Peak on campus as soon as possible before the competition gets even tougher.
The Huskers still have so much youth on the offensive line. It makes sense to only chase a few high school offensive line targets. It seems like a smart option for the Huskers to pursue more junior college and portal players. There are two big reasons for this. The Huskers need to balance out the roster numbers. Adding more freshmen to the mix isn’t great from a roster management standpoint.
The other reason is that the Huskers do need to find a lineman or two who can contribute immediately. It’s tough to expect true freshmen to play on the line in the Big Ten. It’s more likely that the Huskers will find an offensive lineman or even two in the JUCO market or portal that can play next season. Those names will continue to surface as the season winds down. We are getting into the time where JUCO prospects are able to start making visits.
The Huskers plan for offensive line recruiting in the 2022 class has evolved as the season has gone on. It was expected that the unit would take a leap forward this season. Since it hasn’t the team will need to look for more immediate help.
Recruit Watch
>> Class of 2023 tight end Carson Rhoades posted his junior highlights on Thursday.
Regular season highlights! TE/DE c/o 2023
6'7" 240 lbs 82" wingspan 10.0 YPC (8-1)https://t.co/Y7YXMY2mzG @AllenTrieu @BlairRIVALS @PrepRedzoneIA @DeepDishFB @WRHitList @OliverJamesWes1 @Lemmingscouting— Carson Rhodes (@carsonrhodes21) October 28, 2021
>> Recent JUCO defensive line offer Asi Langi picked up an offer from Tennessee.
Blessed to be in the position I am in today! I just received my first SEC offer after a great conversation with @coachg76 to The University of Tennessee! #VolNation🔸 #DreamU🏴☠️ @_CoachMartin_ @CoachDonerson @CoachPcasso @CoachMcCollom @Coach_Landgren pic.twitter.com/Bj25Afor0T
— ASI🇹🇴 (@awwsii_) October 28, 2021
ICYMI
>> No. 3 Wisconsin snapped No. 6 Nebraska’s winning streak in straight sets on Wednesday night.
>> After a family tragedy, defensive coordinator Erik Chinander leaned on (Premium) who he knows best. His Blackshirts.
>> In the latest I-80 Preview podcase Brandon Vogel dives into the phycological thriller that is the Nebraska versus Purdue game.
>> Tom’s Time looks into the whatever it takes lesson at Kansas State for Nebraska.
>> Scott Frost hit a number of topics during his time with the media on Thursday ahead of the Purdue game.
