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 Sunday’s notebook, we discussed how Nebraska’s 2021 recruits remain in the fight with the Huskers right now. Many have showed support for the program after the loss to Illinois on Saturday. And while Nebraska has shown the ability to play some decent football at different times this season, it now must find a way to get back to that in preparation for Iowa on Black Friday.
The season has not gone as Nebraska had hoped so far. Still, there are games left in the season. The ability to show progress to themselves, recruits and fans remains important.
“It’s important. We’re so much better in so many ways but we weren’t Saturday and that’s what frustrates me,” Frost said. “We’ve taken steps forward, I feel like we took a step back Saturday. We’ve got more talent in this program than we’ve had the last two years. The talent keeps growing. A lot of the good players that are playing for us are young, freshmen playing for the first time.”
Frost believes that in order to win in the Big Ten, it’s not enough to have the athletes on the field. You have to have the right Xs and Os and you’ve got to execute it well. That is easier to do with a veteran team than it is a young team. At this point though, the youth excuse cannot explain everything. It is not just youth causing the issues that showed up on Saturday for the Huskers.
In the end, Frost feels like the progress is evident when you’re inside the walls of their facility. Yet, he admits it needs to show up on Saturdays. Momentum is still needed in this program that desperately wants this to change. The Huskers can still take a lot away from this season even if it’s building good habits for next season.
Star wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson believes that to be the case.
“This season’s not over,” Robinson said. “We still have three regular-season games left and if we can win out these, who knows what could happen. So, it’s just trying to keep everyone together, and know that we can still do this and we can flip this page.
“This can be a really big stepping stone for next year, just getting us going and everything that we can accomplish next year too.”
It’s important for Nebraska to show recruits in 2021 and beyond that there is progress being made, but it is even more important for that belief to start from inside the current football team. It would go a long way toward building that belief if Nebraska plays well on Friday against Iowa. The Hawkeyes have had to upper hand in the series recently so that’s added motivation for the Huskers.
It won’t be easy but the opportunity is in front of Frost and company on Friday.
Recruit Watch
>> Major 2022 target Xavier Nwankpa released his junior year highlights which show why he’s one of the top defensive backs in the country.
Junior year highlights, 1x captain, state runner-up. #AGTG ✌🏾- https://t.co/wbnJMhx9wQ
— Xavier “X” Nwankpa (@xaviernwankpa01) November 23, 2020
>> Nebraska 2021 defensive end target Ru’Quan Buckley included Nebraska in his top five on Friday afternoon.
TOP 5 pic.twitter.com/QkB5BMtreZ
— Ru'Quan Buckley (@Darealruquan) November 20, 2020
>> Kansas 2022 linebacker Gavin Meyers put out his highlights as well.
Junior season highlights! https://t.co/8SxX9CC65p pic.twitter.com/7qYPRWKsry
— Gavin Meyers ༒ (@Gavinmeyers40) November 23, 2020
ICYMI
>> Nebraska lacked energy in preparation for Illinois but now the team is being as physical as humanely possible.
>> Luke McCaffrey is the ‘future at quarterback’ but is he Nebraska’s present? Derek Peterson explores that notion.
>> In the latest Moore To It podcast, Jay Moore answers the question how does this happen?
>> In Derek Peterson’s latest column, he looks into why it’s problematic that Scott Frost’s quarterbacks are running more than ever.
>> Watch Scott Frost talk about the Huskers’ energy, quarterbacks and more.
>> Nebraska players spoke about the Huskers’ energy, preparing for Iowa and more. Check out the video here.
>> The Big Ten finally announced a schedule for Nebraska’s women’s basketball team.
>> There is also an updated schedule for the Golden Window Classic coming up in Lincoln.