<p><em>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.</em></p>
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<p>It’s rare that a late addition junior college transfer gets asked about during his position coach’s first availability in months. That’s exactly what happened with Nadab Joseph, the former No. 1 junior college cornerback from the 2020 recruiting class. There is certainly a level of intrigue around the defender. Any time you add a big-time talent like Joseph late in the process, people will be curious about him.</p>
<p>Joseph hasn’t been on campus long. He found his way to Nebraska from Independence Community College, enrolling at Nebraska the first week of August. He almost certainly came to the team fighting an uphill battle. It’s tough enough making the jump from JUCO to the Big Ten in a normal situation. To do it in a pandemic raises the level of difficulty even more. Learning a new defensive system via Zoom position group meetings and working out during a pandemic be tough. </p>
<p>Even so, defensive backs coach Travis Fisher is pleased with how Joseph is adjusting to being on the team.</p>
<p>"He's with us. He's doing great," Fisher said. "He's following. He jumped right in the pot with the rest of the guys. That relationship is going good. Obviously, he's working, trying to catch up on things, with very little time being here."</p>
<p>If you did your own top 10 most intriguing Huskers for 2020 as <a href=”https://hailvarsity.com/s/9614/10-most-intriguing-huskers-no-1-adrian-martinez” target=”_blank”>Derek Peterson did, </a>would Joseph make your list? If not, he’d at least be in the conversation to be part of it. He’s not intriguing because he’s a lock to start this season. There is real work ahead of anyone looking crack the Huskers’ top group in the secondary. That unit is the deepest position on the team. </p>
<p>Joseph is such an intriguing player because of the potential that is easy to spot. At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he’s got the size you like to see in a defensive back. At a camp at Alabama with Nick Saban watching, he ripped off a 4.44 40-yard dash, had a 42-inch vertical and an 11-foot broad jump. Out of high school, he was committed to Alabama but signed with Georgia in a signing day twist. </p>
<p>The measurables are there for Joseph. Now he gets to come along in a room that feature plenty of veteran players. Dicaprio Bootle, Marquel Dismuke, Deontai Williams and Cam Taylor-Britt are his competition for playing time. They also will all help him get adjusted to his new surroundings. Each provide a great sounding board to help him learn the ropes. </p>
<p>The Huskers have the luxury of bringing Joseph along as slowly or quickly as he needs. That’s a good thing but I wouldn’t be surprised by any outcome in his first year on campus. That makes him quite the wildcard pickup for Nebraska’s defense.</p>
<h3><strong>Recruit Watch</strong></h3>
<p>>> The Huskers offered Iowa 2021 lineman Carson Petlon a preferred walk on spot on Wednesday. Petlon has visited Lincoln for a game before. </p>
<p>https://twitter.com/CPetlon/status/1311313785962065925</p>
<p>>> Colorado 2022 athlete Grant Page showed off an edit that he got from the Huskers. </p>
<p>https://twitter.com/Grant_Page23/status/1311381424537128960</p>
<p>>> Johnny Dickerson, a 2022 offensive lineman (6-3, 280) from Texas, picked up an offer from the Huskers on Wednesday. </p>
<p>https://twitter.com/johnnydickson70/status/1311320085018095621</p>
<h3><strong>ICYMI</strong></h3>
<p>>> The fear of the unknown <a href=”https://hailvarsity.com/s/10204/fear-of-unknown-costs-huskers-trio-of-florida-recruits” target=”_blank”>cost the Huskers a trio of Florida recruits</a> as Travis Fisher explained on Tuesday. </p>
<p>>> Mike Dawson <a href=”https://hailvarsity.com/s/10205/mike-dawson-talks-pass-rushing-run-stopping-as-nebraska-ramps-up” target=”_blank”>spoke about pass rushing and run stopping</a> as the Huskers ramp up their efforts in practice. </p>
<p>>> In the <a href=”https://hailvarsity.com/s/10203/representation-matters-mind-your-own-podcast” target=”_blank”>latest Mind Your Own Podcast</a>, Erin Sorensen and Sausha Durkan explain why representation matters. </p>
<p>>> The emerging leaders for Nebraska basketball <a href=”https://hailvarsity.com/s/10202/padding-the-stats-leaders-emerging-for-nebraska-basketball” target=”_blank”>are the focus</a> of Jacob Padilla’s Padding the Stats this week.</p>
<p>>> The Hail Varsity mailbag is back to<a href=”https://hailvarsity.com/s/10206/mailbag-breakout-candidates-on-the-defensive-line” target=”_blank”> look at breakout candidates</a> on the defensive line and more. </p>
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.
