How the Husker Targets Fared at The Opening Regional Camps
Since February, Nike has been hosting The Opening regional camps in which high school football players can get position-specific training and do a series of tests to see how they stack up with other top competitors from around the country. The players are tested in 40-yard dash, shuttle, power ball (to measure strength) and vertical jump. Over the weekend in Canton, Ohio, Nike held its last regional camp. So now is a good time to take a look at Husker targets that were top performers during all of the camps.
Quarterbacks
Now that Nebraska has fully embraced the up-tempo spread brought to town by Scott Frost, expect to see quarterbacks that Nebraska is targeting end up as top performers at The Opening. This year a pair of signal-callers with Husker offers did very well. 4-star (HV Rating: 90.8) Grant Tisdale from Allen, Texas, posted a total score of 117.48 which is the highest score of any Nebraska target. Tisdale also ripped off an impressive 4.55 40-yard dash. He is currently committed to Ole Miss. The other quarterback that performed very well is Terrance Gipson from Houston, Texas. The 3-star (HV Rating: 83.5) is an intriguing down-the-board option for Nebraska but is clearly a gifted athlete. He was timed with a 4.03 shuttle time and a 35-inch vertical jump. He’s raw as a passer but has good physical tools.
Regional Recruits
There were some regional recruits at the camps who really stood out. CJ Boone a 3-star (HV Rating: 85.8) Parkway North High School standout at wide receiver, showed great burst with a 4.32 shuttle time. The St. Louis native also showed off an impressive 42-inch vertical. He has yet to receive an offer from Nebraska. Four-star (HV Rating: 89.6) defensive end Marcus Hicks from Wichita, Kansas, is one of the top players on the board for the Huskers in 2019. He did not disappoint as he ran a 4.8 40-yard dash despite being noticeably bigger now checking in at 6-5, 288. One of the real big stories of the Dallas camp was Nebraska commit Garrett Snodgrass. He worked out as a tight end and tested off the charts. He continues to get bigger (6-3, 217) and had better strength numbers than most kids on the other side of the ball. Snodgrass also showed tremendous burst with a 4.25 shuttle time. If he is invited to The Opening Finals in Eugene, look out for a big performance and ratings bump.
Other
There were some other notable performances by players with Nebraska interest. The Huskers continue to recruit 4-star inside linebacker (HV Rating: 94.7) Nakobe Dean who had Nebraska in his top 15 in March. Dean posted a total score of 113.13 powered by his 39-inch vertical jump and 4.32 shuttle time. A player that recently picked up a Nebraska offer is 3-star linebacker (HV Rating: 87.9) Anfernee Orji from Rockwell, Texas. He posted solid numbers across the board for a final score of 102.12. Finally, if you want a good barometer of where these players are in relation to the top overall performer, you’d have to look at 5-star (HV Rating: 96.8) linebacker Owen Pappoe. The recent Auburn commit, who did visit Lincoln, posted a total score of 147.12. Pappoe ripped off a 4.47 40-yard dash with a 40-inch vertical jump and one of the best power ball scores.