The start to the early signing period was very productive for Nebraska. We’ve covered how it was drama-free and how well the day turned out without any landing any players from the state of Florida. As quarterback Adrian Martinez tweeted, it was a great day to be a Husker.
Great day to be a Husker! Congrats to all of those who chose to be apart of @HuskerFBNation ! Welcome to the family!! #GBR
— Adrian Martinez (@MartinezTheQB) December 20, 2018
The day got started early about 6 a.m. CT when New Jersey running back Rahmir Johnson sent in his letter of intent. The speedy playmaker got the party started early and the LOIs were flying in after that. By 10 a.m. CT, 20 of Nebraska’s 22 verbal commits had sent in their paperwork to be Huskers.
The only real unexpected drama of the day developed in the morning when junior college running back Dedrick Mills hadn’t sent in his letter of intent. At this point, the door is still open for that to happen since there are two more days left in the signing period. As we’ve talked about with junior college offensive lineman Desmond Bland, Nebraska doesn’t want its JUCO players signing if there are any questions about their academic standing and ability to make it to Lincoln.
Then came the announcements.
Once the late morning rolled around, it was time for Houston defensive lineman Brant Banks to make his announcement of where he would go to school. The defender, who stands at 6-foot-7 and 265-pounds, declared that he would be heading to Nebraska.
Excited to celebrate @BrantBanks signing his NLI @HuskerFBNation #BeAChampion #GoBigRed pic.twitter.com/zdMCNXWQ9d
— WCS Wildcat Football (@WCSWildcatFB) December 19, 2018
A short time after Banks made his announcement for the Huskers, South Carolina offensive lineman Jimmy Fritzsche was up next. The lineman has seen his stock rise significantly in recent weeks. He got late interest from home-state Clemson but the relationships that he built with the Huskers staff won the day and he joined the class.
Congratulations to senior Jimmy Fritzsche and his family on signing with Nebraska today. Great speech on Greenville High before signing. Go Raiders! pic.twitter.com/iYmCWrxt1p
— Greenville High (@GHS_Raiders) December 19, 2018
Last but certainly not least was the announcement by 4-star defensive end and U.S. Army All-American Ty Robinson. The Higley High standout was one of the most heavily-recruited players that Nebraska was in on this cycle. Robinson had a tough final group with Nebraska that included Stanford, USC, Oregon and Alabama. He chose Nebraska, instantly becoming one of the crown jewels of the class and a future building block on defense.
Congratulations!! #GoBears #GBR pic.twitter.com/xZWQdtZLhF
— Higley Football (@HIGLEYFOOTBALL) December 19, 2018
The fact that all three of the decisions that went Nebraska’s way on Wednesday involved three linemen isn’t by chance. One thing Frost wanted to address immediately with this team is getting bigger along the lines of scrimmage and that was certainly accomplished with this first batch of signees for the 2019 class. We have spent a lot of time talking about the skill position additions in this class but quietly the additions of Robinson, Banks, Mosai Newsom and Ethan Piper on the defensive line changes the makeup of that group.
There is also an influx of talent on the offensive line. Bryce Benhart, Matthew Anderson, Michael Lynn and Fritzsche, plus the potential addition of Bland, gives offensive line coach Greg Austin quite the group to work with.
After Wednesday, no one can say that all this staff does is recruit running backs and receivers. And this is only the beginning.