It’s been an interesting few days for Nebraska football, and they have made the Iowa game an afterthought. That tends to happen when everyone seems to be ready to close the book on the 2017 season and look towards the future of the program.
On the recruiting front, a lot of the focus has been on whether or not Nebraska can hold on to the nine commits it currently has. The Huskers top-rated commit wide receiver Joshua Moore, has been doing a weekly diary for us all season and did a special diary to react to the news of Mike Riley being let go.
My feeling on Moore is that he and his mom really like Nebraska and all that it has to offer. I believe that he will hear out the new coaching staff and they will clearly want to make him a priority since he has been one of the most heavily recruited players in the country.
Another player that has gotten more attention recently in the 2018 recruiting class is 3-star defensive end Tate Wildeman. I have praised Wildeman all season long as a player that was far too under the radar and will be a good college football player. Nebraska needs to get back to being great at the line of scrimmage and he can help them get there. I spoke with Wildeman after the Riley news came out and he told me “I’m a Husker!” which is about as clear as you can get. He also said that he will take visits just in case the new staff doesn’t want him on board but that he really wants to be in Lincoln next year. Wildeman also is aware of the Scott Frost talk. He would welcome him as the potential new coach.
4-star tight end Cameron Jurgens has been committed to Nebraska for a couple of years. The star athlete from Beatrice, Nebraska, has been as solid as they come in his commitment but he did take a visit to LSU this weekend. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the visit at this point but the new staff will need to not take Jurgens for granted and make sure they have a plan for him when they arrive.
During the transition between coaching staffs, one of the very important decisions is which recruiting staff members will be kept on to maintain contact with recruits. As we saw on Twitter last night McShane and Kenny Wilhite have both been making calls to recruits. Hats off to those guys for continuing to grind during a difficult time. In my mind, those two, Dan Van De Riet and Andy Vaughn all need to be retained. With the shakeup at Arizona State, I would also look at bringing Tim Cassidy back into the fold at Nebraska.
Time to rally.
📲 #NE18RASKA #NEB19ASKA#GBR 🔴🌽⚪️
— Todd McShane (@TheToddMcShane) November 26, 2017
I can confirm that two of the recruits that got phone calls over the weekend were two big-time players for 2019. Council Bluffs 4-star quarterback Max Duggan and 4-star defensive end Marcus Hicks from Kansas have been in contact with the remaining recruiting staff. Those two will be major pririties in the 2019 class no matter who the coach is and could be potential cornerstones of the class.
There will have to be some re-recruiting by the new coaching staff of the players that are already on the roster. Transfers always occur when a coaching staff is fired so this is nothing new. However, I would advise players to take a step back and let things play out. If they don’t want to listen to me then perhaps a couple of former Huskers will be able to get the message across.
Stay with it young man. I promise you that once it’s over you will miss it everyday. Take advantage of your senior season and go break that record.
— Jeremiah Sirles (@Sirles71_HSKR) November 27, 2017
To all Nebraska 🏈 players considering transferring cuz your position coach isnt coming back I share w/ u my experience of having my favorite LB coach in NFL being fired & a new DC hired. The next yr we won Superbowl & won more games in NFL from 09-11 than any other team! #faith
— Scott Shanle (@scottshanle) November 26, 2017
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.
