Huskers 2016: Recruiting inside the Fish Bowl

Just because the 2015 Husker recruiting cycle has been completed there is one thing you need to remember, recruiting never ends. Recruiting is like the Energizer Bunny, it keeps going and going and going. There will be several opportunities for the 2016 recruits to see Nebraska coming up in the next several months such as Junior Day(s), the Spring Game, Summer Camps, and official and unofficial visits. I just hope the recruits are prepared to be inside the FISH BOWL of recruiting while the rest of us are looking in, watching and judging their every move.

cat and fishbowl

So what does it take to get a recruit to commit to the Huskers?  It is hard to use the success of Nebraska considering we have not won a conference title since 1999, or a national title since 1997.  History is important but speaking as a history teacher, you need to make history relevant to a student to get them to truly appreciate it and learn about it.

Husker history is no different, since most the recruits were either not born yet or very small the last time Nebraska had such success. The coaches need to make Husker history relevant to the recruits and their families, but with no coaches with Husker ties, can they do it? It is a little easier to do for kids who already live in Nebraska and are familiar with it, but for the out of state recruit, the coaches need to make Husker history personal for each of them. Show them how their contribution can put the Huskers back on track. And how to convince them that they, the future Huskers, can become a part of history, a history that led Nebraska back to championship stature.

Harrison Beck (photo credit sptimes.com)

I don’t believe the kids are like they used to be in the good ol’ days of recruiting. Recruiting has become so socially present there is a lot of exposure now where many of these kids are put high on a pedestal and many crave and fight for the attention. They are in the spotlight choosing which hat to pick up at one of the post season high school bowl games, or at the press conference in their high school. It is all this attention that gives many of the kids big heads and some become very cocky.

Huskers are no different in making these kids heads swell. Many times recruits said after visiting Nebraska that all the fans were calling out his name or when they approached him they knew who he was. How many of you remember when Harrison Beck committed to Nebraska and one of the local news stations in Omaha had a blog that he wrote on about his high school season, recruiting, and what he will do when he plays for Nebraska? Yeah, that generated a lot of hype, and I admit, I was sucked in like many others. Look how that turned out.

Nebraska Cornhusker recruiting for 2016 is heading at full speed and does not seem to be slowing down; but it never really does. So let’s take a look at 2016 so far to see where we stand and what is to come. Currently there are three recruits committed to the Huskers (all three from the Pelini days) but after speaking with Mike Riley and their position coaches, all three have remain very committed to Nebraska.

The first to commit to Nebraska was Jared Bubak, a 3-star tight end out of Lincoln Christian, who is the 24th best tight end in the country. Next to commit was Bryan Brokop, a 3-star offensive guard out of New Lenox, IL, who is the 15th best offensive guard in the county. The final 2016 commit so far is John Raridon, a 4-star offensive guard from West Des Moines, IA, who is the 6th best offensive guard in the country.  Looking at their film, I feel our offensive line appears to be in good hands for the future.

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• Nebraska Football: Freshman RB in line for big playing time
• Nebraska Cornhuskers News: Heinrich Haarberg has believer in Rhule, more
• Nebraska Football: Matt Rhule faces tough decision between Heinrich Haarberg and Jeff Sims

At the time of this article, the Huskers currently have out 101 scholarship offers. This number will keep changing as prospects commit to other schools or new/better prospects come to light. Of the 101 offers, 20 have committed to other schools and 3 are Nebraska commitments. Breaking it down, 9 are QB’s, 4 are RB’s, 13 are WR’s, 8 are TE’s, 18 are for the OL, 11 are for the DL, 13 are LB’s, 16 are DB’s, and 9 are listed as Athletes. Look for a series of recruiting article on the 2106 commits and recruits coming up, until then, Go Big Red!