Recruiting never stops and it’s easy to miss the top stories day-to-day. Hail Varsity recaps all things Nebraska recruiting news, analysis and more so you never miss a thing.
Nebraska’s 2023 recruiting loss lost a player on Sunday. Ashley Williams Jr., a 4-star edge rusher from Zachary, Louisiana, decommitted on Sunday, the latest development in an odd three-week stretch for the talented prospect.
@_ZHSFootball @CoachBrew1 @CoachJaysmith18 @BHoward_11 @samspiegs @RivalsNick @RivalsCole @adamgorney @RecruitLouisian @JeritRoser @CoachWilliamsII pic.twitter.com/g7Pb4YvYDU
— Ashley L. Williams Jr. (@AshleyLWilliam4) July 31, 2022
Williams committed to the Huskers on July 10, a month after taking official visits to Nebraska and Minnesota in back-to-back weeks. It looked like another Louisiana recruiting win for wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph. Williams had the third-highest 247 Composite rating (0.8963) of any of Nebraska’s commits at that point.
But it emerged last week that Williams was planning an unofficial visit to Auburn. He was on the Tigers’ campus this weekend, and his decommitment came on Sunday morning.
What’s the immediate impact for Nebraska? Williams was no doubt a talented player. In addition to Nebraska, Auburn and Minnesota, Williams also had Power 5 offers from Texas, Michigan State, Colorado, Florida State, Missouri and Georgia Tech.
His departure, however, still leaves Nebraska with two edge-type players committed, Maverick Noonan (0.8759) and Dylan Rogers (0.8693). Riley Van Poppel, a 4-star from Texas, is also slated for the d-line at Nebraska, though he is likely a more conventional fit for the interior.
The Huskers also still appear to be in or near the lead for Cameron Lenhardt (0.9098). The 4-star defensive lineman from IMG Academy has 16 Power 5 offers, including Penn State, Miami, Tennessee, Arkansas and Michigan State. Originally from New York, Lenhardt took three unofficial visits to Penn State in 2021 and returned this spring, but his only official visit so far was to Lincoln on the weekend of June 24.
He said then that the Huskers were recruiting him as a stand-up edge rusher, and it seemed to be a successful visit for the Huskers.
“I will say something that stood out the most was just the coaching staff,” Lenhardt told Hail Varsity following his visit. “They’re a great group of guys and great men. It’s somewhere I can picture myself being. Plus, Coach Frost is a cool dude.”
Should the Huskers land Lenhardt, that would likely leave Nebraska full at the position for 2023. Maybe it was full with Williams in the fold––he mentioned a “lapse in communication” in his decommitment announcement, which is interesting––but he seems headed for the Plains now. Just not Nebraska’s plains.
I doubt that came as a surprise to the Huskers’ staff.
Recruit Watch
>>In recruiting news that could benefit Nebraska, 4-star running back Dylan Edwards decommitted from Kansas State this weekend. He was high on the Huskers’ board and officially visited Lincoln in May, but his decommitment came just days after receiving an offer from Notre Dame and all signs point to the Irish right now.
forever grateful.🖤 pic.twitter.com/cQFQvx6pQJ
— 𝒟𝓎𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝐸𝒹𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈 (@dylan_edwards02) July 30, 2022
>>Former Husker Danny Noonan shared this video of the welcome his son, Maverick, received at a Husker practice last week.
Top 2023 husker commit @MaverickNoonan gets a warm welcome by the husker players and coaches 🏈#huskers #HuskerPower 💪 pic.twitter.com/LoKjR7pnO1
— Danny Noonan (@DannyNoonan95) July 30, 2022
>>4-star 2024 offensive lineman Ian Moore, from Indiana, checked out Nebraska this weekend.
Had a great time at Nebraska today. Thank you for having me! @coach_frost @DonovanRaiola @s_kwilli32 @NPCoachRalph @HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/5DGpn5WOkL
— Ian Moore (@IanMoore2024) July 30, 2022
ICYMI
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Brandon is the Managing Editor for Hail Varsity and has covered Nebraska athletics for the magazine and web since 2012, Hail Varsity’s first season on the scene. His sports writing has also been featured by Fox Sports, The Guardian and CBS Sports.
