It’s March Madness season, which means it’s that time to talk about brackets. In our case, we’re making our final four of Nebraska football all-time great players and we want to hear what you think. Join us in answering our first question of the week in the comments below.
Brandon Vogel, Jacob Padilla, Jake Jensen and Erin Sorensen answer your questions in this week’s Hail Varsity mailbag.
Q: Nebraska football 64-man bracket of all-time great players. Who are your four 1-seeds? – A.B., Lincoln, Neb.
JJ: Rodgers, Rozier, Frazier and Wistrom.
BV: Good one. Frazier, Suh, Rodgers, Rozier.
ES: I’m taking the same final four as Brandon.
Q: What position group is the most important to recruit for Nebraska in the 2018 class? – J.K.
JJ: I’ll go with defensive end. Nebraska has only gotten one true defensive end in its past two recruiting classes (Ben Stille). That needs to change in a big way this year.
JP: Deiontae Watts and Deontre Thomas should both be defensive ends in Nebraska’s new defense, and I think both fit their roles very well. Stille is an outside linebacker in this defense. So I don’t entirely agree with that statement. However, Nebraska does have just six defensive ends and three nose tackles on scholarship currently on the roster, so defensive line overall should be a focus moving forward. The other main one is cornerback, where Nebraska has no juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen on scholarship. I’ll toss out a third one as well: outside linebacker. Nebraska has a number of options to fill in at those outside linebacker spots and some of them might turn out to be great fits, but finding a couple guys who are true 3-4 outside linebackers will help the defense take a step forward.
Q: Last season was Calibraska. Is this year the IMG movement? – B.C., Overland Park, Kans.
JP: I think Bookie Radley-Hiles counts as both in this case. Nebraska will continue to hit California hard (maybe not quite to the extent we saw with this last cycle) but Nebraska is also in on a handful of top-tier prospects from IMG like Radley-Hiles and TJ Pledger, both of whom would be huge pick-ups.
JJ: This cycle is all about the Bookie effect. He’s a recruiting whirlwind for Nebraska already and he’s not even committed… Yet.
Q: Nebrasketball season is done, Nebraseball is on, the longer summer to football season is coming. Suggestions?
JJ: Watch baseball and prepare yourself for Nebraska’s biggest spring game ever (at least in terms of recruiting).
ES: Catch up on any books/TV shows/activities you otherwise don’t have time for from August-February. This is your time!
Q: If a family were to drive 624 miles North in April for a glorified practice, are there Hail Varsity activities to partake in? – 3.L.C.
ES: Nothing formal BUT if you’re around that weekend, let our team know! If we’re out and about, we’d love to say hello.
Q: How many tickets have been sold for the spring game? – D.N.
ES: Last official announcement from the university was 40,000 but that’s close to a month ago. I’d assume they’ll get close to 65,000 by game day.
https://twitter.com/Huskers/status/830123086888448000
Q: Over/under 2.5 commits for April? – F., Denver, Colo.
JJ: I’ll go over. There are a couple that are very close and the spring game should be fruitful.
ES: I’ll also take the over. I think this is going to be one of those things where when it rains, it pours and it’ll start pouring for the Huskers here soon.
Q: Will Nebraska basketball lose any more players to transfers? – M.
JP: As of now, I don’t believe so. The two that have already departed were the ones we were expecting to leave. Unless I’m mistaken, Tim Miles has already completed his one-on-one exit interviews with the players and we haven’t heard anyone else declare their intentions of leaving.
Q: I’ve got a pretty good idea what I will do when Nebrasketball wins a NCAA title! How will you celebrate? – H.G.
JP: Probably by writing about it.
JJ: It will probably involve a significant amount of alcohol.
ES: Technically I shouldn’t celebrate as a member of the media but if it ever happens, I will gladly go tear down the light poles at 72nd and Dodge in Omaha with everyone else.
Erin is the Deputy Editor and Digital Marketing Strategist for Hail Varsity. She has covered Nebraska athletics since 2012, which has included stops at Bleacher Report, Cox Media Group’s Land of 10, and even Hail Varsity (previously from 2012-2017). She has also been featured on the Big Ten Network, NET’s Big Red Wrap-Up, and a varsity of radio shows nationwide. When not covering the Huskers, Erin is probably at Chipotle.
