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.
There is so much uncertainty surrounding everything that has to do with the 2020 football season for Nebraska. That isn’t the Huskers’ fault as the conference sorts through the fallout of cancelling the season. The various impacts on college football in response to the COVID-19 pandemic keep presenting themselves in new ways as we move towards the end of the year.
One big piece of the puzzle is eligibility.
The NCAA ruled that 2020 is a free year for college football players. It will not count toward their eligibility clocks. The last time we heard from Coach Scott Frost, he mentioned this was the No. 1 concern of his players. West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons, who is the chair of the Football Oversight Committee, said that was the top question they received too.
“By providing clarity and removing that uncertainty from their minds is something that’s going to be very beneficial as we move forward,” Lyons said. “Not having a normal season, not having that normal 20 games in soccer, or 28 matches in volleyball, and even football not sure what that season’s going to look like, that was the No. 1 concern that the student-athletes had, was the eligibility piece.”
While that is the fair and correct thing to do, it does come with some added complications. The first thing we really don’t know how this will impact teams. Just because players have the ability to stick around for a fifth or sixth year doesn’t mean they will want to. It would be very surprising if it worked out that 100% of players opted back in.
Next, part of the giant recruiting puzzle pieces is figuring out needs based on numbers. Does the Nebraska staff need have conversations will players now? In could be valuable to get their feelings on if they will stay or not. Their choice is probably fine with the staff either way. Though it will impact how many players the team can take at various positions on the team. It may become hard for prospects to understand what the realistic timeline is for the to see the field. That is until we can a little more clarity.
Preserving opportunities for student-athletes is a great thing. That doesn’t mean it won’t come without some extra things to figure out on the backend. Now it’s just another added piece of the big recruiting pie.
Recruit Watch
>> Bellevue West 2022 tight end Micah Riley added to his scholarship list on Sunday when Louisville offered him.
After a call with @coachstuholt , I am extremely happy to announce I have received a scholarship offer from The University of Louisville! pic.twitter.com/4kwXqB88mo
— Micah Riley (@micah_r_d) September 14, 2020
>> Check out Dicaprio Bootle’s younger brother Dwight getting some speed work in.
DWIGHT BOOTLE Speed Training pic.twitter.com/4hXdoMHOCj
— Dwight Bootle II (@BootleIi) September 13, 2020
>> One-time running back target Audric Estime elected to commit to Michigan State on Sunday evening.
COMMITTED…
Michigan state let’s ride!! #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/NjK7FiahLi
— Audric Estime ² (@AudricEstime) September 13, 2020
ICYMI
>> As Derek Peterson details in his latest column, Frost and his assistants put their players first this summer.
>> Jay Moore spoke with Steve Warren on the latest Moore To It Podcast about the greatest fraternity in the world.
>> There are many mini-plans for Nebraska volleyball but the big plan hopefully still ends in Omaha.
