Each recruiting cycle brings new challenges and storylines for Nebraska. How small Nebraska’s class will end up being is the dominant storyline of the 2022 recruiting cycle. The reality right now is that the Huskers are looking to take a maximum of 15 players. There could be 12 or 13 players in this class.
Since everyone knows that at this point there is a popular question that has been asked. What should the expectation be for class ranking? Here are Nebraska’s recruiting rankings under coach Scott Frost per 247Sports.
- 2018: 23 nationally, 4 in Big Ten
- 2019: 17 nationally, 4 in Big Ten
- 2020: 20 nationally, 4 in Big Ten
- 2021: 20 nationally, 5 in Big Ten
Nebraska has held steady in the recruiting rankings through Frost’s tenure. This is despite underwhelming results on the field. It would be shocking if Nebraska is able to replicate those rankings from the 2022 class. Oklahoma finished 10th nationally in the 2021 recruiting rankings with 16 commits. The Sooners sighed 12 4-star players and one 5-star player. In that same cycle, TCU signed 15 players and finished 53rd. Indiana signed 14 and finished 54.
USC signed 12 players in the 2020 recruiting cycle and finished 64th. Ohio State was an outlier in the 2019 class. The Buckeyes finished 14th in the recruiting rankings that cycle. The team signed 17 players but nine were 4-stars and three were 5-stars. That same year Louisville took 15 commits and finished 70th.
Here are the Big Ten-only recruiting rankings for the schools that had the least number of commits in the class.
- 2018: Northwestern 18 commits, last in Big Ten
- 2019: Ohio State 17 commits, 3rd in Big Ten
- 2020: Illinois 14 commits, last in Big Ten
- 2021: Indiana 14 commits, 12th in Big Ten
Nebraska currently has eight commitments for the 2022 recruiting cycle. That is the fewest in the conference. The Huskers are currently last in the Big Ten in recruiting rankings. History tells us that if Nebraska ends up with 12 or 13 commits it will be the lowest-rated class in the league. The class will also be outside of the top 50 for the first time in Frost’s tenure.
The only exception to that is if the Huskers were to recruit like Ohio State. That seems unlikely since the Huskers have no 4-star prospects in the class as of now. The Huskers are in a rough spot with this class. The silver lining is that there are several home games left this season. Nebraska will need to start using official visits. Just one has been used so far this season. Getting players on campus has always been the program’s best weapon on the trail.
“We have a lot of advantages here,” Frost said. “We have some uphill battles to fight but again I think when people come and see Nebraska and experience game day and see the fans here and get to know what Nebraska is all about we got a great chance to get anybody that visits here.”
The Huskers will need a huge push to move up the recruiting rankings. Even with a boost it’s still going to be tough if the class comes in at 12 or 13 players.
