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.
Over the last day or so, Nebraska fans have been quite excited about the Huskers offering another Iowa Western Community College player. On Tuesday, Jacob Gamble, an offensive tackle originally from Ohio, picked up an offer. While Husker fans are excited about a potential 6-foot-6, 310-pound tackle target, making a better effort to recruit IWCC has been a sore spot for Nebraska fans for years.
It makes little sense why the Council Bluffs powerhouse program that produces Division I talent yearly has largely been ignored until just recently. Coach Scott Frost and his staff are aiming to change that. Defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey has been a big target for Nebraska since defensive line coach Tony Tuioti came to town as well. In my mind it’s even more important than it appears that Nebraska recruits junior colleges well, especially the one right up the road.
Nebraska’s hit rate (for commitments) so far with this staff recruiting JUCO players has been pretty good. In the 2017 class, they signed six junior college players and in the 2018 class they signed two players from JUCO. There were also a number of targets that didn’t commit but at least came to campus for visits. Compare that to the struggling hit rate of Missouri commitments and official visitors and perhaps a new strategy emerges. In the 2018 class, Nebraska signed no players from Missouri and had just one official visitor from the state after Frost took over. In the 2019 class, Nebraska signed no players from Missouri and had only one official visitor from the state. When it comes to Missouri—and St. Louis in particular—perhaps things will change as this staff gets to consistently recruit the area more and the team starts winning.
Recruiting JUCOs well will always be beneficial for Nebraska because there will naturally end up being transfers who move on because so much of the roster has to come a distance to Lincoln. The ability to cover up immediate needs while developing players is critical.
There aren’t many programs doing things better than IWCC right now. Reigniting that relationship is definitely a step in the right direction.
Recruit Watch
>> The Huskers made the cut to the top 10 for touted Atlanta linebacker Choe Bryant-Strother on Wednesday.
TOP 10
Jeremiah 29:11 🖤 pic.twitter.com/EJqI91uwXM
— ⁹ (@ChoeBryant) May 22, 2019
>> Tuioti is spreading the brand in Southern California today.
Early start in #SoCal spreading the @HuskerFBNation brand in San Diego, CA 🤙🏽 #GBR #BlackShirts ☠️☠️#SpringRecruiting pic.twitter.com/QUiaNWc3xG
— Tony Tuioti (@CoachTuioti92) May 22, 2019
>> Outside linebacker target and recent visitor Blaise Gunnerson is back healthy and moving some serious weight.
@b_gunnerson doing work on the hang clean today, 275×5. Love the environment and the intensity! @RackPerformance @KuemperAD pic.twitter.com/byKB5GgzMJ
— Coach Steinkamp (@CoachSteinKHS) May 22, 2019
ICYMI
>> Jacob Padilla caught up with Isaiah Roby on the pre-draft process and more.
>> After a year learning, Braxton Clark is drawing a lot of praise from his teammates.
>> I caught up with Jacob Gamble, the recent offer from IWCC about his journey and his visit plans.
>> Get ready for Nebraska’s appearance in the Big Ten baseball Tournament with Kyle Kardell.
>> The staff is back to answer your questions in the mailbag, including what exactly would be a successful season in 2019?
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
