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 Huskers’ 2022 recruiting class has reached a probable new plateau. The commitment of Florida defensive lineman Hayden Schwartz on Wednesday gave the Huskers eight commitments. That means the team is about halfway done with the 2022 recruiting class. That seems odd to say on July 15 but there is a good chance its true. There were a lot of big impacts of the free year of eligibility last season. Allowing players to use an extra season was the right move at the time.
What the NCAA dropped the ball on is the lack of guidance about what comes next. The super seniors on Nebraska’s roster this year do not count toward the 85-man scholarship limit. Next year’s super seniors will count under the current rules. That’s why you are seeing limited classes for 2022 at Nebraska and around the country.
As Nebraska sits with eight commitments here is the breakdown of commits by position. The Huskers have one quarterback commit with Richard Torres. There is one running back as Nevada’s Ashton Hayes grabbed that spot. Chase Androff is the tight end for the 2022 class. Victor Jones Jr. and Grant Page are ‘N’ at wide receiver for the program.
Nebraska is done at quarterback, running back and tight end for this cycle. The one position that is missing from the commit list so far is offensive line. The Huskers did host three offensive linemen for official visits in June. The only one who committed so far is Ashton Craig. He picked Notre Dame. Valen Erickson and Jake Maikkula remain on the board. John Pastore who the Huskers offered after a private work out is also still uncommitted.
Flipping to the defense, the Huskers have three commits on that side of the ball. Ernest Hausmann is slated to play inside linebacker. Lincoln Southeast star Jake Appleget will play outside linebacker. Schwartz is joining the defensive line room. The missing piece right now on that side of the ball is defensive back. The Huskers hosted several defensive backs for official visits in June. Markeith Williams, Avery Powell, Nathan Vail and Jaden Mangham are all still uncommitted.
A lot of attention will shift to offensive line and defensive back after the most recent commitment for the Huskers. The team has plenty of targets left that they are recruiting hard. There is a bigger question: how many want to shut their recruitments down this summer before the season starts back up?
Things are going a bit slower on the recruiting trail for Nebraska than we anticipated this summer. There are still plenty of additions left to come to boost the class before December.
Recruit Watch
>> Georgia defensive back JQ Hardaway committed to Cincinnati on Thursday.
— Jonquis “JQ” Hardaway (@Jhardaway_24) July 15, 2021
>> Check out the growing list of offers for Chicago 2023 wide receiver Malik Elzy
Blessed to be in this position💜🙏🏾..Happy birthday to me🚦🚦#16yearsold @rledits24 @SimeonNation @Coach_Dante pic.twitter.com/HEAGDQJris
— Malik Elzy (@elzy_malik) July 15, 2021
ICYMI
>> I gave five thoughts (Premium) on the commitment of defensive lineman Hayden Schwartz.
>> Derek Peterson ranked the five best players the Huskers will face in 2021.
>> Nebraska volleyball secured a commitment from 2023 South Dakota setter Bergen Reilly on Thursday.
>> This week in the Hail Varsity mailbag the staff answered a slew of questions related to Nebraska’s athletic director hire.
>> A trip to Michigan State provides a game the Huskers think it should win but don’t overlook Sparty writes Derek Peterson.
