The seemingly countless recruiting outlets re-ranked recruits based upon more thorough evaluations earlier this month. Nebraska’s 2024 recruiting class made huge strides in the latest rankings.
Nebraska is now No. 20 in the industry recruiting rankings and No. 16 in the composite team rankings. The No. 16 ranking puts the Huskers in the behind just Ohio State (No. 2), Michigan (No. 4) and Penn State (No. 6) among Big Ten programs. Nebraska’s No. 20 ranking is based upon the consensus industry rankings.
Recent Nebraska commit Kewan Lacy is now a national top-300 recruit. Lacy is still a composite 3-star running back but now holds a 4-star evaluation. He ran for 730 yards and tallied 226 receiving yards for a collective 14 touchdowns last season. Last year was his first at Lancaster, Texas, following a season at Roman Catholic in Texas where he ran for 1,352 yards.
Carlon Jones, the defensive lineman from Bay City, Texas, made a leap in one of the recruiting services to earn a 4-star evaluation and land inside the top 300. His overall evaluation is still a composite 3-star among the major recruiting services. Jones is seen as a rising star with a high ceiling this upcoming season, even earning a pre-season Defensive Player of the Year selection in Class 4A by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
Meanwhile, Florida edge rusher Willis McGahee IV is up to a 4-star recruit in one recruiting service as a top-300 recruit. He remains a 3-star in the composite rankings.
Another Husker commit on the rise is 4-star defensive back Mario Buford. The soon-to-be-senior from defending state champion DeSoto, Texas, moved up to the cusp of the top 200 by one recruiting service. That is up by a total of 170 spots. He’s still a top-400 recruit in the composite standings and now a top-40 defensive back recruit.
Tight end Carter Nelson from Ainsworth dropped slightly in the overall recruit ranking but remains a composite 4-star recruit. He’s also a top-100 overall prospect.
Recruit Watch
Nebraska offensive line commit Gibson Pyle committed to play in this January’s All-American Bowl. The 3-star interior lineman earned the invitation following a strong showing at a recent Top Gun camp. The Houston native clocked a 4.7-second time in the shuttle at the camp. Pyle is the second member of Nebraska’s 2024 recruiting class so far to earn an invitation to the game, along with Ainsworth tight end Carter Nelson.
#AGTG to be able to represent my school @KLEINCAINFB and my future home @HuskerFBNation, I’m honored to say I’m an All American! @AABonNBC #GBR 🌽#FNA 🌀 pic.twitter.com/tRtkJW3IXt
— Gibson Pyle (@PyleGibson) July 9, 2023
Omaha Westside linebacker Christian Jones announced on Tuesday he’d received an invitation to play in the All-American Bowl. The 2025 4-star linebacker is one of the nation’s best in that class. Nebraska coaches are making him a huge priority in that recruiting class.
Kansas City 4-star athlete Jayshawn Ross includes Nebraska in his list of final schools. The Huskers stand along with Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee and Oklahoma for the 2024 recruit’s pledge. Ross is from Liberty North and teammates with Nebraska commit Keelan Smith. He’ll likely be an edge rusher at the next level and the Sooners are currently favored to win the sweepstakes for the 6-foot-3, 220-pound athlete.
Three-star recruit Malik Esquerra is scheduled to announce his commitment later this week. The safety from Killeen Shoemaker is heavily linked with Texas Tech but the Huskers gained grounds since connecting with him in June.
ICYMI
>> Nebraska has made history through the initial days of the MLB Draft. Five Huskers were chosen in the first 10 rounds, including first-round pick Brice Matthews. You can keep up to date with Hail Varsity’s MLB Draft tracker.
>> Pulled from the pages of Hail Varsity magazine comes a story about Roger Craig. It’s one person’s mission to get the former Husker into the NFL Hall of Fame.
>> Nebraska baseball coach Will Bolt will be conducting a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the Huskers’ recent MLB Draft selections and various off-season coaching moves within the program. Those new assistants already held their own press conference, which you can watch on the Hail Varsity YouTube page.
