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 questions never stop in the recruiting world. No matter what time of year it is, there is always something to talk about so we have been taking reader and listener questions. I then answer in a quick video. This week’s question hit the topic of legacy players and their importance to Husker football.
“I haven’t seen any article of the ‘prodigy’ players coming in, the five of former players, anyone seen it or was I dreaming?” – Todd Clark on Facebook.
What Todd is asking about are the legacy players coming into the Husker program. In the 2021 recruiting class, there were five legacy players added to the program. Each player is joining the program as a walk-on. The five are Grant Lohr, Matthew Schuster, Michael Booker III, Sam Hoskinson and Derek Branch. That’s pretty cool for each player that they will get to share the experience of being a Husker with their dads.
There is something that is pretty interesting to me about legacy recruiting. It reminds me of in-state recruiting. We tend to give it more attention when things are going poorly or when there is a big miss. Think about the amount of discussion generated by Keagan Johnson selecting Iowa. The same goes for Isaac Zatechka electing to walk on at Missouri. That’s just the nature of these discussions.
There are many Husker legacies on the roster already. Barron Miles Jr., Isaac Gifford, Javin Wright, Elliott Brown, Grant Tagge and Cameron Pieper all had relatives play in the program. Gifford has a very unique situation. His older brother Luke got to play for Coach Scott Frost for his senior year. Now Issac is also playing for Frost.
The pipeline of legacy players that could potentially find their way to Lincoln will continue. It just seems like we are entering a golden era of legacy players coming into prime recruiting age. In the 2022 cycle there are players like James Monds III who had an uncle that played for Nebraska. Chris Brooks Jr.’s dad played in Lincoln from 2005-2009. Maverick Noonan is a defensive end prospect at Elkhorn South for the 2023 class. His father Danny played defensive tackle for the program in the late ’80s.
We’ll see how many more legacy players find their way to Nebraska in the coming years. As much as Frost would like to have them all, that isn’t realistic. But there will still continue to be opportunities for Husker fans to see familiar names in the program.
Recruit Watch
>> Buford, Georgia, defensive back Ryland Gandy has the Huskers in his top 12.
All praise to the man above without him none of this would be possible🙏🏾… Top 12 pic.twitter.com/kC30uCMWSd
— Ryland Gandy (@iamrdg10) March 7, 2021
>> Lincoln Southeast linebacker Jake Appleget was invited to the Hawaii Tiki Bowl in Honolulu.
Officially invited to the Hawaii Tiki Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii! @HawaiiTikiBowl pic.twitter.com/vprupw1CBy
— Jake Appleget (@ApplegetJake) March 8, 2021
>> Georgia defensive back Nick Cull was offered by Nebraska over the weekend.
Blessed to receive and offer from the University of Nebraska!🙏🏿 #Huskers@CoachTFisher @HuskerFBNation @SWiltfong247 pic.twitter.com/8aXYCwvXOZ
— Nick Cull (@ChosenOneCull) March 7, 2021
ICYMI
>> Derek Peterson found himself thinking about Nebrasketball’s future in his latest weekly column.
>> The Huskers’ latest commitment Ernest Hausmann is ready to work (Premium) as part of the Husker brotherhood.
>> Jacob Padilla has your viewing guide for the 2021 boys state basketball tournament.
>> Newcomers have made an early impression during Nebraska baseball’s 3-1 start.
>> How did the Huskers let one slip away (Premium) against Northwestern? Jacob Padilla takes a look in it.
>> Check out our video of Fred Hoiberg on his team, the Big Ten tournament and more.
>> The Nebraska Preps Postgame show is back to get into tournament talk.
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.
