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.
Things had gotten a little quiet on the recruiting trail for the Huskers but activity picked up late in the last week. Nebraska was named in the top groups of several prospects the team would love to stay in the thick of things with. Even as prospects are restricted from visiting campuses, recruiting never stops. Players are still narrowing down lists in hopes of visiting their top schools once visits are allowed again.
Oklahoma outside linebacker Collin Oliver got things rolling on Friday. His top eight group includes Nebraska, Texas Tech, Iowa State, TCU, Utah, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss and Arkansas. Oliver visited Lincoln once last season. Running backs coach Ryan Held and graduate assistant Colby Ellis are the coaches he hears from most.
“Nebraska is in my top group because of how much they’d love to have me,” Oliver told Hail Varsity. “Plus, the love they have shown even with me only visiting once.”
| Gal 6:9 | I’d love to thank God and all of the coaches who took time to recruit me, with that being said, these are my Top 8 schools …no specific order #LLD🕊 #po4tc
📸: @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/kOiCxtSvAB
— Collin Oliver (@cloliver25) April 3, 2020
The 2021 recruiting class has seen a resurgence of Nebraska trying to push into Michigan. It’s a good year for talent in the state and there are some prospects that Nebraska has made progress with. One of those players is 4-star defensive back Kalen King from Cass Tech in Detroit.
𝙏𝙤𝙥 7….
Committing April 10th ❤️ pic.twitter.com/cJ6zMsbaFv
— 𝒦𝒶𝓁𝑒𝓃 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔 (@KalenKing21_) April 3, 2020
The Huskers will need to make progress in a hurry with King if he sticks to his planned announcement date of April 10. The other Michigan man that Nebraska made the cut with over the weekend was offensive lineman Caleb Banks. It’s a little early in the recruiting game with the 6-foot-6, 255-pound tackle from Southfield.
🪐 𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚝…..🪐
Top 11…..✌🏾 pic.twitter.com/GUJGMi7MpP
— 3 ★︎ (@Cbanks22_) April 4, 2020
Nebraska has a slew of possibilities for the presumed final offensive line spot in this recruiting class. Banks makes for an intriguing prospect from the Big Ten footprint.
There might not be a more intriguing prospect that Nebraska is involved with this cycle than Florida linebacker Terrence Lewis. The Chaminade-Madonna Prep 5-star announced that he would be focusing on six schools. Nebraska, Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU, Penn State and Tennessee made the cut Saturday.
& when the dust settled , there were only 6🐺… pic.twitter.com/lucml6bG17
— Terrence Not Terrance🦦 (@Terrence21Lewis) April 4, 2020
Missing from his top group was in-state schools Florida and Miami. Lewis was previously committed to the Gators. He has also told Hail Varsity in the past that he is leaning toward leaving the state for college. His new top group reflects that. Color me impressed that Nebraska is in the thick of this recruitment despite not receiving a visit from him yet. Lewis told me that he planned on a spring official visit to Nebraska. That was before the COVID-19 restrictions. If Nebraska can get Lewis on campus for an official visit they should not be counted out here.
Recruit Watch
>> The Huskers are the latest to offer jumbo athlete (6-5, 212) Bentley Redden out of California.
Pumped up to have received an offer from @HuskerFBNation !! Thanks to @coachdawsgbr for this amazing opportunity! 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/knaNxo2bUb
— Bentley Redden (@BentleyRedden) April 3, 2020
>> Nebraska also offered rising Oklahoma defensive lineman (6-4, 260) Aden Kelley.
After a great phone call with @colbyellis this morning I’m blessed to have received my seventeenth D1 offer to play football for the University of Nebraska!! @CoachRHeld pic.twitter.com/52EzBUnRQu
— Aden Kelley (@KelleyAden) April 3, 2020
ICYMI
>> Derek Peterson took a shot a laying out what we would have heard about this week if the Huskers were having spring ball.
>> Take a look at the video of former Huskers making the best of the uncertainty ahead of the NFL Draft.
>> Jacob Padilla got a Teddy Allen scouting report (Premium) from his JUCO coach.
>> Nebraska’s Dave Ellis is running a complex drive-thru to help student-athletes get proper nutrition while the Training Table is closed.
>> Jordan Larson got chills when she found out that she’d be going in the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame.
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
