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.
Nebraska was hoping to be back on the recruiting trail soon to find the next batch of Huskers to help the program. That won’t be happening any time soon though.
The NCAA announced on Wednesday that the dead period for recruiting would be extended through June 30.
“The Division I Council Coordination Committee extended the recruiting dead period through June 30,” a brief statement said. “The committee will review the dead period dates on May 27 and could extend the dead period at that time.”
In short, this is a big deal for Nebraska. The Huskers always looks to June as a big month. Here is a look at all the camps that Nebraska will no longer host now that the dead period is extended:
- Friday Night Lights No. 1: June 5th
- Individual Camp No. 1: June 6th
- QB Camp: June 6th
- Inside Husker Football 202: June 9th
- Individual Camp No. 2: June 10th
- Specialist Camp: June 10th
- Rising 7th & 8th Grade Camp: June 12th
- Husker Football Youth Camps: June 13th
- 7 on 7 Camp: June 14th
- Women’s Clinic: June 16th
- Inside Husker Football 303: June 18th
- Friday Night Lights No. 2: June 19th
- Pipeline Camp: June 20th
- Husker Football Youth Camp 3: June 25th
Those camps are very important. Those settings give prospects a chance to get their names out there and to get instruction from college coaches. One of the most underrated parts of Friday Night Lights is seeing guys perform well that we didn’t know much about. Once they pop on the radar, they could see their recruitments take off. On the flip side the Husker coaches get to see how they take to coaching in one-on-one moments. These camps also give Nebraska a chance to build relationships within the region. The earlier the Huskers get prospects on campus, the better the chance they have to eventually land those prospects. Losing the Pipeline Camp in its second year, for example, hurts as Nebraska’s works to make that into a yearly marquee event.
Nebraska has also built toward making those Friday Night Lights weekends into big official visit weekends. The Huskers hosted nine official visitors during Friday Night Lights weekends last cycle. Five of the nine ended up signing with the Huskers. The team was gearing up for a similar number of visitors this June. I had the team with six confirmed official visitors for June:
- Husker 3-star linebacker commit Chris Paul
- 3-star WR Jaylin Noel
- 3-star RB Trenten Howland
- 3-star DE Ru’Quan Buckley
- 3-star RB Gabe Ervin
- 3-star OL Marcus Mbow
There are plenty of questions that will need to be answered now. I got one question on social media immediately after the NCAA decision: How will the dead period extension affect prospect’s decision timelines? As noted in Monday’s notebook, there has been a run of commitments across the country. I suspect we will see that continue to play out. Wide receiver Jaylin Noel will sit down with his family before June is over. They will decide between Iowa State and Nebraska now that visits won’t happen.
There will be lots of eyes watching when the NCAA meets again in two weeks. That's when they will determine if another extension is coming beyond June.
Recruit Watch
>> The Huskers offered 2023 Utah linebacker Siale Esera. He’s an impressive young player already standing at 6-foot-3, 240-pounds.
E Lelei Le Atua “God is Good”
First off, all glory goes to God! I would like to thank @CoachTuioti92 for giving me the opportunity to play for the Cornhuskers of Nebraska and the chance to compete for a Black Shirt !Go Huskers! @CoachAndyStokes @HuskerFBNation @T_BirdFootball pic.twitter.com/eSKbRWgpV9— 🇦🇸Siale Tuiteelagi Esera🇦🇸 (@EseraSiale) May 14, 2020
>> Recent Husker offer Nolan Ziegler can be seen here running well after a tough workout.
6’4 205 Clocked in at 4.49. After a leg day and 90 mins of route running. Only better to come
@CoachGebhardt @Coach_McGarigle @aarynkearney @AllenTrieu @Thee_Matty_D @CoachSDuggan @CoachCBW @MHart2032 @BrynRenner @IWMiamiFootball @CoachSWallace @ScottAligo @Coach_Kratch pic.twitter.com/KuzSIlzc3l— Nolan Ziegler (@nolanziegler42) May 13, 2020
>> Husker offensive line commit Henry Lutovsky probably got an “A” for his project in AP Chemistry here.
My AP Chemistry ceiling tile is complete! The element that I chose was nitrogen, or, “N”. pic.twitter.com/Pxp2zI7FvY
— Henry Lutovsky I ⁵⁹ (@Luto_72) May 12, 2020
>> Major Husker tight end target Thomas Fidone has some serious leaping ability.
6’5”
225 Post workout
57in standing box jump pic.twitter.com/RASXWBroTZ— Thomas Fidone II ²⁴ (@ThomasFidone) May 14, 2020
ICYMI
>> Nebraska’s bowl woes continued with an Orange Bowl shutout in the latest Tom’s Time.
>> Derek Peterson took a look at tendencies, Dedrick Mills (Premium) and Nebraska’s case at running back.
>> Kelly Hunter is playing a key role as Nebraska volleyball navigates a unique spring.
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.
