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.
Attrition happens everywhere. It is a new reality in college football. Players will transfer for all sorts of reasons. They get homesick, need a fresh start, more playing time or there is a coaching change. Freshman running back/wide receiver Miles Jones is planning to enter the transfer portal as Hail Varsity learned on Monday.
What isn’t so normal is the number of players recruited to Nebraska that don’t finish their careers in Lincoln. This isn’t a Pelini recruit or Riley recruit or even Frost recruit discussion. It has happened to whichever coach wears the headset on the sidelines.
Those are three different types of players though. All fit different systems. The discussion of cobbling together a roster to win games currently is a separate discussion. Players from the last three coaches are still on the roster though. But let’s just look at the sheer number of players who did not finish their careers at Nebraska going back to 2015.
| 2015 | 6 of 21 |
| 2016 | 7 of 21 |
| 2017 | 9 of 19 |
| 2018 | 11 of 25 |
| Total | 33 of 86 |
So, in total, 38% of the recruits who committed to Nebraska from 2015-2018 did not finish their careers in Lincoln. When wondering why there seems to be a big gap in Nebraska’s depth, that is why. Nebraska always feels like an injury or two away from disaster at most positions.
In addition to that staggering percentage, there are plenty of players who have ended up being non-contributors through their time in Lincoln. This overall imbalance of scholarship players will take years to rebuild.
There have been a lot of things that have gone wrong for Husker football in recent memory. One thing people are coming around to now is the numbers game that Coach Scott Frost inherited. Yes, he also has contributed to that number. That was from his transition class (and those classes never seem to work out well for Nebraska).
There is plenty of work to be done in Lincoln to rebuild Nebraska football. Reversing the trend and getting more out of recruiting classes is one of the first steps to achieving that goal.
Recruit Watch
>> Huskers running back commit Sevion Morrison has been working on his spin moves this season.
Spin cycle😅 #Speedkillz pic.twitter.com/Lx7OqnEP3T
— Sevion morrison ⚡️ (@SevyMorrison28) October 26, 2019
>> Inside linebacker target Des Tisdol will head to Tennessee this weekend.
Tennessee this Weekend🧡🐶👀 pic.twitter.com/wGhEw11o5s
— Desmond Tisdol⭐️ (@Des_Tisdol) October 28, 2019
>> James BlackStrain, a 2021 wide receiver from Florida, included the Huskers in his top group on Monday.
https://twitter.com/_JBlackStrain/status/1188893245033631745
ICYMI
>> Priority outside linebacker target TJ Bollers has the Huskers in his top group (Premium) moving forward. We caught up with him about his most recent trip to Lincoln.
>> Derek Peterson explored the double-edge of the talent talk and more in his weekly column.
>> Husker volleyball is working to stay strong amidst the devastation of a team loss.
>> The Nebraska basketball team is preparing to open the season with an exhibition matchup.
>> Check out the quick hits from Scott Frost’s Purdue week press conference.
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.