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 are certain recruiting areas that Nebraska fans will always want the team to do better with. Recruiting the state of Texas is always something desired by fans. Part of that is there are good football players there and part of it is the nostalgia of playing in the Big 12/Big 8. Developing a pipeline into Hawaii is another one of those pursuits. It’s been difficult for the Huskers to truly get that pipeline built.
The hotspot area for recruiting that I want to discuss today though is St. Louis. We have seen that area catch fire in recruiting over the last seven to 10 years. There are not many cities as hot over the last few cycles as St. Louis. Seven of the top 10 players in Missouri are from St. Louis in the 2022 cycle. The number is the same from the 2021 cycle. Nine of the top 10 in 2020 were from St. Louis. Missouri signed four of the top 10 during the 2022 cycle. Notre Dame and Stanford each signed one. The top player in the state, Kevin Coleman, went to Jackson State.
It’s the top spot for talent in the Midwest and several Power Five players are produced there yearly. Because Missouri is an SEC school, the competition is fierce for players in St. Louis. The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 all regularly recruit there.
Nebraska has made attempts to push into the area with many coaching staffs with little luck. The last player the Huskers landed from St. Louis is running back Tre Bryant in the 2016 recruiting class. Bryant had a lot of promise but his career was unfortunately derailed with injuries. Now the Huskers seem to be back at in St. Louis and ready to try again.
Wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph spent the day in the area on Monday and several new offers went out. Class of 2025 athlete Dierre Hill Jr picked up an offer from the Huskers. This shows the Huskers are trying to make inroads for future prospects with a long-term plan. Hill already has multiple Power Five offers.
Christian Brothers College 2023 athlete Jeremiyah Love (6-1, 195) was offered by the Huskers on Monday. He already holds offers from Missouri, Iowa State and Boston College. Love could end up on either side of the ball in college. Wide receiver Fredrick Moore could be the most intriguing offer that went out on Monday. Moore (6-1, 175) is a 2023 prospect who is quickly rising up recruiting boards. He put on a great performance at the All-America Bowl Combine.
Since the Huskers have tried to get into the area before they have hosted some of these newly offered players before. Another Christian Brothers College prospect is defensive lineman Tyler Gant. He’s camped at Nebraska before for Friday Night Lights.
I remember my first camp under the lights‼️ 8th grade. I just received an offer from ⚪️🔴@HuskerFBNation 🙌🏽 #GBR @CBCFootball @AllenTrieu @adamgorney @Rivals_Clint pic.twitter.com/uBYWTBqM2f
— Tyler Gant (@TyGant44) January 24, 2022
Gant already has 17 scholarship offers from all over the country. That includes Iowa, Wisconsin and Arkansas.
The Huskers also put out an offer for 2024 wide receiver at Christian Brothers College. Jeremiah McClellan (6-1, 185) already has offers from Arizona State, Boston College and Indiana. He now has the Huskers too. There were several other offers that went out in the area on Monday. That includes 2023 defensive back Donovan McIntosh (6-3, 170) that the Huskers are among the first to offer.
In total there were double-digit offers in St. Louis and the surrounding areas just on Monday. They span a range of classes from the 2023 class all the way to the class of 2025. You’ll notice something about many of these prospects. They are already firmly on the radar of several Power Five schools. The Huskers have to start somewhere if they are going to turn the tide recruiting the area. Having Joseph run point on the area and winning more games would be a great start.
Recruit Watch
>> Omaha West 2024 defensive back Caleb Benning has Iowa stop by his school on Tuesday. The Huskers were also at the school.
Thanks to Coach Woods @LeVarWoods and Coach Ferentz @HawkeyeFootball for coming today! Looking forward to Junior Day!
— caleb (@CalebBenning1) January 25, 2022
>> Alabama 2022 defensive back Kylon Griffin committed to Clemson on Tuesday.
100% All In🟠🟣🐅🙏🏾 @MCPKnightsFB @kirkjuice32 @TCraw3 @RWrightRivals @YellowhammerFB @ClemsonFB @ChadSimmons_ @CoachConn @wesleygoodwin @Clemson247 @ClemsonTigerNet @EvanProvost7 #Clemson #ALLIN #Blessed pic.twitter.com/CXChjhLZIl
— Kylon Griffin (@kylonisland) January 25, 2022
>> Free State High School 2023 offensive lineman Calvin Clements was offered by the Huskers. He attends the same high school that Turner Corcoran did.
Excited to announce I have received an offer from The University of Nebraska! 🔴⚪️🌽@Coach_BuschGBR @HuskerFBNation @coach_frost pic.twitter.com/UTfnC2l5br
— Calvin Clements (@CalvinClements9) January 25, 2022
ICYMI
>> I caught up with Indiana linebacker Aycen Stevens who was excited (Premium) about his Nebraska offer on his visit.
>> In this week’s Straight Up Breakdown podcast I was joined by Steve Marik to discuss a wild weekend of NFL football.
>> Jacob Padilla has begun his volleyball position reviews starting with setter.
>> Steve Marik looks at the season of change and is breaking down Nebraska’s running back room.
>> The Nebraska Preps Postgame show is back and the guys are talking about upside.
