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 early signing period is behind us. The attention will start shifting to the traditional signing period. Coaches are getting a little time recharge and spend time with family. Then the work will continue on finishing off the 2022 recruiting class for Nebraska. This is a unique class because the number of high school players is much lower than normal.
The Huskers only signed 13 high schoolers during the early signing period. It doesn’t feel like things are that slow though. That’s because a big part of Nebraska’s strategy this offseason is adding players through the transfer portal. The team has added five scholarship players from the portal already. The team wants to continue adding more. Keeping that high school number low and getting a little attrition helps. Coach Scott Frost spoke about this on signing day.
“That’s one of the reasons we didn’t want to sign that many,” Frost said. “We wanted to be sure about the kids we were signing. There’re literally hundreds of kids in the transfer portal right now. I expect there’ll be more. We feel really good about a few of them already that are potentially going to join our team. We can’t talk about that. We feel really good about some other ones that you guys might not have heard of and their chances of joining the team.”
A lot of players the Huskers hosted on official visits this cycle have committed to schools. A handful do remain on the board. Transfer offensive lineman Hunter Anthony (6-6, 330) is still publicly uncommitted. I was able to catch up with him. We dove into his thoughts on his visit to Nebraska the weekend before the early signing period. He does have a definitive timeline for announcing his decision and joining his new team. JUCO defensive lineman Saltiki Fevaleaki (6-3, 270) out of Snow College plans to take his recruitment to the February signing day. He visited Nebraska during the offseason but wants to take more visits. Those are the only players who visited during the offseason who did not commit or sign somewhere.
Only one player Nebraska hosted this cycle for an official visit remains uncommitted. That is defensive back Avery Powell. There hasn’t been much traction between Powell and Nebraska since his visit. Nebraska has also loaded up on other defensive backs so it doesn’t appear Powell is on the board anymore.
Few names that we already know remain on the board. It makes sense that January will bring a lot of new names on to the scene for the Huskers. There is an interesting thing for Nebraska this cycle. Just because players are new to us doesn’t mean they are late risers. There are several new coaches on staff now. That opens the Huskers up to players they had connections before joining Frost’s staff. Those could be players from the portal or recruits.
Things will get rolling after the new year. It should be another busy stretch for Nebraska recruiting. There are still big items that needs to be crossed off the list for Frost. New coaches need to be hired and a transfer quarterback must be secured. That will make for fun times for fans to follow along during the lead up to the traditional signing day on Feb. 2.
Recruit Watch
>> Check out the Christmas edit the Huskers sent some recruits on the holiday.
@HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/JyvGN7vxwy
— Malachi Coleman (@ChiColeman23) December 25, 2021
>> The Huskers offered 2023 defensive back out of Indiana Phillip Roche.
After months of conversation with @CoachTFisher I’m blessed to receive my first big ten offer from the university of Nebraska🔴⚪️ @Rivals_Clint @SWiltfong247 @SeanDillonNU @mhspiratefball #GBR #Huskers pic.twitter.com/RP9YQVJBiK
— Phillip. Roche (@PhillipRoche4) December 24, 2021
>> Bryson Washington, a 2023 athlete target for the Huskers, posted his electric junior film.
Defense:
119 Tackles
3 Forced Fumbles
2 Fumble Recoveries
1 INT
3 TFL
8 PBU
2 TDsOffense:
102 Carries
1,500 Rushing Yards
29 Rushing TDs
5 Receptions
212 Receiving Yards
4 Receiving TDsDistrict MVP
Above All Else… STATE CHAMPS!!!https://t.co/ejFocyasLW
— Bryson (@Brysonwash15) December 21, 2021
ICYMI
>> My December Hail Varsity magazine feature on how Nebraska signee Ernest Hausmann got from Uganda to Lincoln can be seen on the website now.
>> Nebraska volleyball dominated defensively in 2021 led by the ‘legion of boom’ as Jacob Padilla wrote.
>> Steve Marik took a glance at Big Ten East transfers (Premium) where Michigan State is at it again. He also looked at the transfer landscape in the Big Ten West so far.
>> Jacob Padilla took a deep dive (Premium) into Nebraska basketball’s 2021 nonconference play.
>> Drake’s Takes took a look back on Nebraska sports in 2021.
