National Recruit Signing Day: 2015 Husker Offense
By Brent Craig
National Signing Day for the Huskers was a huge success. What head coach Mike Riley was able to accomplish in just 2 months, with part of that time (December 15 to January 14) considered a dead period, was absolutely amazing. (dead period in recruiting is where there is no in-person contact with recruits, so even if a recruit comes to visit the campus, the coaching staff cannot reach out to communicate with that recruit) Coaches are able to communicate with recruits during the dead period by letters and electronic communications though. With National Signing Day on February 4, one can only imagine the struggles that Mike Riley faced coming in with little time to recruit, let alone hire his coaching staff, but as we witnessed yesterday, the Husker coaches did an outstanding job.
National Signing Day 2015
We have taken a look at all the positions on the defensive side of the ball and have yet to touch on on the Husker offense. Although the Huskers received letters of intent from 20 kids for the 2015 recruiting class, it seems that the defense captured most of the attention. The class though is pretty much split down the middle with offensive and defensive players and we need to give credit where credit is due to offensive coaches’ efforts.
Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf and offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh pulled in some pretty large lineman in this recruiting class. The gem of the class is probably 4 star offensive guard Jalin Barnett who is 6’3″, 303 lbs and is rated the 25th best offensive guard in the country. Huskers also nabbed Omaha’s own offensive guard Michael Decker, who is 6’4″, 288 lbs and joining them at 6’7″, 290 lbs 3 star offensive tackle Christian Gaylord. line is 6’5″, 3 star tight end Matt Snyder.
With only three other scholarship tight ends on the roster, Snyder could get his chance for playing time should he prove himself worthy. I suspect the rest of the linemen will red-shirt considering there are 14 other scholarship offensive linemen on the roster with a lot of game experience. Huskers also pulled in a long snapper in 2 star Jordan Ober.
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Wide receiver coach Keith Williams should be very pleased with the talent in his group. 4 star wide receiver Stanley Morgan stuck with the Huskers through the coaching transition and showed just how much he wanted to play for Nebraska. The other wide receiver commit came in as a late surprise for the Huskers in 3 star Lavan Alston. There are ten other scholarship receivers ahead of these two new Huskers so unless Coach Mike Riley runs a pass happy offense, I imagine these two will red-shirt.
Talking with one of the new Husker Wideouts .. @Thekidstan Stan Morgan http://t.co/Og9qLtAJ5I
— Keith Williams (@wideouts) February 5, 2015
Running back recruiting was filled with ups and downs because of Kendall Bussey. He committed to Nebraska but started to waiver during the Peleni drama. After Riley was hired, Bussey dangled the Huskers on a short string while he decided where to go. He ultimately left the Huskers for Tennessee, but then surprised everyone by signing with Texas A&M. All I can say is so long to his wishy washy attitude and hello to 3 star running back Devine Ozigbo. Don’t you just love that name? I cannot wait to hear Greg Sharpe calling Ozigbo’s name as he is running in for a touch down. (full disclosure: Ozigbo did flip from Iowa State to Nebraska but that was after the coaching switch and he only flipped once, not twice)
Brandon Cavanaugh-Husker Corner
Huskers did recruit an athlete as well in Antonio Reed as a late pickup. I’m not sure if he will play offense or defense for the huskers but if I had to wager I would say he will end up on the defensive side of the ball and most likely the linebacker position since that position needs the most help. Either way, we welcome him and all the new Huskers to Nebraska and wish them all success.
No quarterback was taken in this recruiting class, but the Huskers may have a shot at T.J. Green as a Walk On. I for one cannot wait to see what QB Riley brings in to play for the Huskers next recruiting cycle. What QB wouldn’t want to play for him? If you want to see film on any of the new Huskers, check out this link. Enjoy, and Go Big Red!