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.
There seems to be momentum gaining for the dead period to end in some fashion in June. Back in February the latest extension of the dead period was announced. I mentioned something that caught my attention. The NCAA included language about being prepared to take next steps to find new solutions.
“However, there is a strong commitment to use the next several weeks to outline the transition plan back to recruiting activities post June 1 and to provide those plans to prospective student-athletes, their families and the NCAA membership no later than April 15,” M. Grace Calhoun said.
It feels like the NCAA will be moving to some sort of “quiet period.” Schools would be allowed to have football camps this summer. In fact, something similar was reported by Athlon Sports’ Bryan Fischer.
D1 Council will also be finalizing some plans for post May 31 recruiting next week. Firmly on the table: things like football camps and a quiet period this summer.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) March 8, 2021
We talked a lot of the last year about the loss of official and unofficial visits. Rightfully so because those are huge events. Both schools, prospects and families benefit a great deal from getting to actually be on a college campus. There are just certain things that can be done via virtual visit or Zoom call.
What probably got underreported was the impact of losing camps for a year. A couple years ago Nebraska combined a Junior Day experience with the Adidas Big Man camp. Players got to see how the staff coaches and how practices operate in Lincoln. Then during the camp, the coaching staff was able to work hands-on with prospects. Tight ends coach Sean Beckton spoke about the thought process with the Big Man camp.
“We just want those guys to understand there is an interest in them,” Beckton said. “A lot of times we can make a good judgement on them. A lot of those guys were close on what we thought about them for an offer.
“We encourage those guys to come back and participate in our big man camp so we can really get a chance to see them do some things on the field. Then we can make a really good decision on them.”
Those in-person evaluations were sorely missed over the last year. Coaches love being able to evaluate prospects in-person. Coaches trust their own eyes over Hudl film and word of mouth. On the flip side, it’s great for prospects to get instruction from college coaches. It can really supercharge their development. If they stick out during that camp it could help lead to a scholarship offer.
We’ll see in the coming weeks if the NCAA allows this critical piece of the recruiting process to happen this summer.
Recruit Watch
>> The Huskers’ lone commit of the 2022 cycle Ernest Hausmann shared a cool edit the team did for him.
This is a family⚪️🔴☠️#GBR @coach_frost pic.twitter.com/gmZarHU3Vv
— Ernest Hausmann (@Ernest_Hausmann) March 9, 2021
>> Nebraska priority wide receiver target Quinton Conley was offered by Howard on Tuesday.
Blessed to receive and offer from Howard University! @HUBISONFOOTBALL @coachbeachHU pic.twitter.com/dPEQeMa6HI
— Quinton Conley (@quinton_conley) March 9, 2021
>> Class of 2022 Florida wide receiver Aidan Gousby picked up an offer from the Huskers on Tuesday.
I AM BLESSED TO RECEIVE AN OFFER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA 🔴⚪️🔴!!! @coachchaney96 @CoachDixon2 @manualevans4 @coach_frost @CoachLubick pic.twitter.com/UwTkpV5oBt
— Aidan Gousby † (@GousbyAidan) March 9, 2021
ICYMI
>> Nebraska women’s basketball is “still marching” after beating Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.
>>John Cook continues to stress consistent hitting as the Huskers prep for Ohio State.
>>In this week’s Mailbag we tackle breakout and step-back teams in the West and more.
>>Tom Osborne showed up to sign books Wednesday morning. Instead, he got an award.