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.
Each day this week has seen Nebraska add a player to the roster. It started Monday with Iowa Western transfer Darius Moore. The Huskers landed their first running back commitment of the 2021 class Tuesday. That’s when Gabe Ervin joined the class.
The run of good news continued for the Huskers on Wednesday. Iowa transfer offensive lineman Ezra Miller announced his intentions to join the team.
GBR!!! 🏈🏈🏈 pic.twitter.com/z6lTqPYh0x
— Ezra Miller (@EzraMiller75) June 24, 2020
Miller will walk on at Nebraska. He enrolled at Iowa in January 2019 but redshirted his first college season. A 247Sports composite 4-star, he was the No. 354 overall prospect in his class and the No. 31 offensive tackle. With his size and high school ranking, he looks to have what offensive line coach Greg Austin is looking for.
“I could give you a whole bunch of dimensions, but intangibly, they have to be tough, they have to be competitive and they have to be ready to frickin’ fight,” Austin has previously said. “That’s it. If you have that, and you have some size to you, you’ll be a good offensive lineman. If you’re a passive guy, I don’t know how good of an offensive lineman you can be. You’ve got to have grit.”
He’ll join the team as the latest in a recent run of intriguing walk-on prospects. The former Hawkeye has potential but will be joining a tough position group. There are 17 scholarship offensive linemen in Lincoln right now. The team returns all five starters. Some shuffling is expected this season to make room for Bryce Benhart.
Since Miller was a scholarship player at Iowa, a waiver will have to be filed for him to be eligible for the 2020 season. The addition of Miller and Nouredin Nouili makes me wonder if the Huskers will take their time adding the last offensive lineman this cycle. If one or both of them have to sit out this season the team is effectively adding another lineman to the 2021 class. That’s something to consider if this will be a smaller recruiting class.
There is a hidden benefit if numbers are tight in the class. Adding transfer linemen with Division I experience might allow the staff to grab one extra player at a different position. Austin has Nouili and Miller in his back pocket. That could allow him to be more patient on which offensive lineman to take a commitment from as well. He has the luxury to play the long game. It could come in handy since most people expect the cycle to become unpredictable. That’s of course when visits are allowed again.
The great thing for Nebraska right now is they have recruited themselves into having lots of options. Until we can see the results of the development on the field this fall that’s a great step forward.
Recruit Watch
>> Huskers 2021 tight end target Gunnar Helm will be taking a personal trip to Madison on Thursday.
https://twitter.com/gunnar_helm/status/1275884924004950023
>> Nebraska 2022 defensive back target Nolan Ziegler picked up an offer from Iowa on Wednesday.
I am honored and humbled @CoachK_Bell offered me a scholarship to play football for The University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes have a great bowl tradition and I am looking forward to seeing the Children’s Hospital Wave in person! #Hawkeyes #FightforIowa #LegacyHawk #Swarm22 pic.twitter.com/x29TliZVox
— Nolan Ziegler (@nolanziegler42) June 24, 2020
>> The Huskers landed in the top 12 for big-time 2022 defensive end Kenyatta Jackson out of Miami.
Blessed beyond measures! #Top12 pic.twitter.com/gM9n3nY8XI
— Kenyatta Jackson Jr (@_21shotz) June 23, 2020
ICYMI
>> The Hail Varsity staff answered the question of which helps the Huskers more, a 80% kicker or 1,000-yard receiver and much more this week in the mailbag.
>> Jacob Padilla took a look at projecting the cornerstones of the 2020 Husker football team.
>> It’s Buy or Sell time for the 2020 Ohio State Buckeye football team.
