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.
The Huskers’ 2022 recruiting class has been hot and cold throughout the cycle.
We saw a flurry of activity over the summer. That’s when a lot of the Huskers’ offers for the class went out. It’s also when Nebraska hosted the majority of its official visitors. There were a lot of questions during the season about an apparent lack of recruiting aggression by Nebraska. That seems to be shifting in a big way now the wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph is on the staff. Joseph’s first recruiting trip as a Husker assistant was to see one of the top running backs in the country.
Joseph, interim running backs coach Ron Brown and coach Scott Frost all went to see TreVonte Citizen. The 2022 4-star running back (6-0, 217) was a one-time LSU commit.
S/O to @HuskerFBNation for coming by to recruit @Tre_Citizen1 and our prospects today. (Ron Brown, @daboot02 , and @coach_frost ) #RepThePrep#ThePrepWay #AGNB pic.twitter.com/XbLRR6RUWB
— Lake Charles College Prep 🏈 Recruits (@Recruit_LCCP) December 7, 2021
Citizen stars at Lake Charles High School in Louisiana. While the Huskers were at the school, they made a couple other offers too. Curley Reed, a 4-star 2023 defensive back, picked up an offer from Nebraska. He’s up over double-digit scholarship offers already from a variety of schools. Kevon Freeman, a 2023 linebacker, was offered by the Huskers. Elijah Garrick, a 2024 wide receiver at the school, also picked up an offer from the Huskers.
Nebraska made several offers outside of Lake Charles too. Class of 2022 wide receiver Decoldest Crawford (6-1, 178) announced that he was opening his recruitment up after being a long time LSU commit on Tuesday. Nebraska offered him earlier in the day. Perhaps the most intriguing offer for 2022 is wide receiver Shazz Preston. He has some major schools after him like LSU, Alabama, Georgia and Texas. Nebraska would have to get him on campus this weekend to have a shot. The 6-foot, 190-pound wideout has been recruited by Joseph for a long time. Preston’s long-term potential is through the roof.
KRAZY STORY 7 😈
🎥:@anthonyrhodesjr pic.twitter.com/iM8FP7SpVi
— shazz preston (@shazzpreston7) January 17, 2021
High four-star wide receiver Omarion Miller (6-2, 195) also picked up an offer from the Huskers. He’s another LSU recruit that Joseph is trying to get in the picture with. Another intriguing 2022 offer went out to Miami wide receiver commit Landon Ibieta. Nebraska is wise to check in on commits of schools that are in transition right now. Ibieta (6-0, 185) has tremendous speed.
🎥: @anthonyrhodesj1 pic.twitter.com/Itkcbln5im
— Landon Ibieta✌︎︎ (@IbietaLandon) November 29, 2021
One the other side of the ball, Nebraska did offer 2022 4-star defensive back Laterrance Welch. He’s committed to LSU but has hosted other schools for in-home visits. He shared on social media that Nebraska and Arkansas both came in-home. The door could be open with Welch now that LSU defensive back coach Corey Raymond is leaving for Florida.
Recruiting is all about relationships. Joseph is showing already the value of having coaches on the staff who have connections to top prospects and high schools. The jury is still out on if Nebraska can get any of these prospects to commit or even visit. Nebraska is also laying groundwork in Louisiana for the 2023 and 2024 classes. You don’t know if you don’t try. The Huskers taking big swings in the south is a positive thing.
Recruit Watch
>> Nebraska priority 2022 defensive back target Jaeden Gould picked up a big honor on Thursday.
stay blessed. pic.twitter.com/SGM1ZHKYQq
— Jaeden Gould (@JaedenGould5) December 9, 2021
>> Check out Millard West athlete Brock Murtaugh’s junior highlights that he posted.
•Updated Junior Year Highlights
•9-1
•(8 games) FS/SS/ATH
• 55 TT,(30 solo), 7 PBUs, 3 TFLs, 2 Forced fumbles, 3 INTs
• 18 REC., 341 REC. YDS 5 TDS
• https://t.co/LJdz56xyuq pic.twitter.com/CSAw6UpWEu— brockmurtaugh (@brockmurtaugh1) December 8, 2021
>> Take a look at the edit the Huskers put together for Lincoln East 2023 standout Malachi Coleman.
#GBR @HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/CEbbvSs92B
— Malachi Coleman (@ChiColeman23) December 7, 2021
ICYMI
>> The second week of the offseason Nebraska recruiting tracker (Premium) is off and running for Thursday.
>> Let Jacob Padilla get you ready for the Nebraska volleyball regional where the team is ready for intense competition.
>> Steve Marik has thoughts on a whirlwind Wednesday (Premium) for the Nebraska fan base.
>> Tom’s Time is taking a look at when borrowed shoes provided the final foothold for the Huskers’ win over Iowa State in 1994.
>> Amy Williams spoke about the Minnesota win, Kendall Coley’s development, Sam Haiby’s fourth quarter and more on Thursday.
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.
