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.
Remember way back in January when on-campus visits were allowed in college football? It was just six months ago. But feels like six years ago given how much has happened around the country in the last few months. Back then Nebraska was executing its recruiting plan by getting many priority targets on campus for the two Junior Days events.
In two weekends in January the Huskers hosted a lot of prospects that you have heard a lot about in recent months. A good number of them have actually now committed to schools during the NCAA mandated dead period.
- CB Avante Dickerson (Minnesota)
- OLB TJ Bollers (Wisconsin)
- WR Keagan Johnson (Iowa)
- WR Brody Brecht (Iowa)
- RB Devin Neal (Kansas)
- DB Tyler Hibbler (Missouri)
- RB Caleb Berry (Washington)
- DB Kaleb Higgins (Cal)
- LB Tyler McLaurin (Michigan)
- WR Jaylin Noel (Iowa State)
- LB Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma)
- ATH Cooper DeJean (Iowa)
- OT Connor Tollison (Missouri)
- TE James Carnie (Miami-Ohio)
There are a few things that stand out to me about that list of players who have gone on to commit elsewhere. First, all except Carnie went to Power Five schools. There are some rivals on the list. For the most part these players all verbally committed to quality programs. Once again that shows that more often than not this staff is on the right track when it comes to evaluations.
Also, so many of the prospects took advantage of hitting the road in January. They were able to feel comfortable enough to make college decisions. There has been a lot of talk about how many more prospects are making decisions without visiting. We forget a lot of them were able to get visits in early. Of course, prospects aren’t at fault if they couldn’t get their visits in early before the unprecedented shutdown due to COVID-19.
Nebraska did nab commitments from those visit weekends in January. Inside linebacker Seth Malcom and quarterback Heinrich Haarberg visited during that time. There are also some big targets left uncommitted who visited Lincoln in January.
- TE Thomas Fidone
- DL Ru’Quan Buckley
- DL Tobechi Okoli
- DL Michael Mokofisi
- DL/OL Tyler Maro
- DL Derek Wilkins
Obviously, the biggest fish (Fidone) is still left on the board. Many of Nebraska’s top defensive line targets remain uncommitted. That’s a noteworthy development. Getting the right two or three defensive linemen in this class will end up being important. There is plenty of recruiting left to be done. But there are still targets that Nebraska was able to host on campus before the shutdown.
Recruit Watch
>> Huskers outside linebacker target Christian Burkhalter was offered by Oregon yesterday.
Yessuh beyond blessed to receive an offer from The University of Oregon! #Scoducks 🦆🍀 @aaducksdc @coach_cristobal pic.twitter.com/GDWwUu4NKy
— Christian Burkhalter (@Christianburk_) July 7, 2020
>> Nebraska defensive back target Terrion Arnold is finding ways to stay motivated and get better.
4th of July weekend and I’m still on a mission 🗣 #2 safety ain’t good enough for me 💯 pic.twitter.com/QSEV12eQOH
— Terrion Arnold (@ArnoldTerrion) July 5, 2020
ICYMI
>> Derek Peterson took a look at some under the radar youngsters (Premium) for Nebraska football in 2020.
>> Matt Abdelmassih is encouraged (Premium) by the Huskers’ progress in 2021 recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
