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Nebraska Football Recruiting: A Mid-Year Review

By Brent Craig

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Recruiting for the Nebraska Football Team is a year round job and so far the Huskers coaches have shown that they are successfully building a good recruiting class for 2016.

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Pretty much the entire month of June the Husker football coaches were holding camps either at UNL or out of state at Nebraska satellite camps. The camps have been great exposure for the Nebraska football program and especially for head coach Mike Riley and his staff. From all accounts it looks as if Coach Riley and the coaches are giving it their all and loving every minute of it.

The first part of June the Huskers held camps for “The Big Men,” “Specialists,” and “QB and Skill Positions” for high schoolers grades 9-12. Coach Riley wanted a camp for just the elite high profile recruits that Nebraska wanted commitments from and came up with the “Friday Night Lights” camps. Two Friday Night Lights sessions were held and both were followed by two Big Red Weekends. The foundations were laid for several recruits at all these camps where the Nebraska coaches have worked tirelessly.

From June 15th through June 19th, the Husker coaches held 5 satellite camps in 4 different states for 5 consecutive days.  As long as the NCAA allows teams to do this, you can bet that the Husker coaches will capitalize on having these out of state camps.  All the Husker camps were very successful as the Husker coaches were able to once again see future Huskers QB’s as well as make impressions upon some hopefuls.  The camps were held in Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

The dead period begins June 29th and goes until July 12th so the coaches will actually get to take some time off.  Coaches cannot initiate contact with recruits and the NCAA does not allow college visits during the dead period, but they cannot stop recruits from contacting the coaches. Can you picture one of the Husker coaches floating on an inter-tube with a beer in one hand and a cell phone in another accepting a commitment from a recruit? It could happen!

So let’s take a quick look at recruiting and what the coaches are up to.  So far the Huskers have offered 221 kids scholarships to play for the Huskers. Of the 221 offers the Huskers have picked up 12 commits. This is a success recruiting rate of 5.4%. And just for comparison purposes, Ohio State has 158 current offers with 16 commits showing a success rate of 10% (Ohio State currently has the third best recruiting class in the country).

Sep 6, 2014; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers mascot Herbie Husker performs during the game against the McNeese State Cowboys in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Of the 221 Husker offers, 11 are five-star recruits, 114 are four-star recruits, 90 are three-star recruits, 4 are two-star recruits, and 2 are not rated as of yet (Rivals rankings). Of the 221 Husker offers 90 have committed elsewhere. The Huskers have a legitimate chance at pulling in a very good recruiting class for 2016.  Of the remaining 119 undecided recruits, the Huskers currently have great shots at landing 4 star wide receiver Clyde-Lefore-Chriss and 3 star safety Jarett Cole. These two are certainly not givens though, but I gather the Huskers will land at least one of these four recruits.

Let’s take a look at the Huskers Current commits and their Rivals rankings:

6’4″ 271 lb 4 star offensive guard of West Des Moines, IA, John Raridon

6’2″ 170 lb 4 star safety of Calabasas, CA, Marquel Dismuke

6’2″ 235 lb 3 star weakside defensive end of Wayne, NJ, Quayshon Alexander

6’5″ 278 lb 3 star offensive guard of New Lenox, IL Bryan Brokop

6’4″ 240 lb 3 star tight end of Lincoln, NE, Jared Bubak

6’3″ 225 lb 3 star outside linebacker of Yuma, AZ, William Johnson

6’3″ 230 lb 3 star pro-style quarterback of San Juan Capistrano, CA, Patrick O’Brien

6,2″ 225 lb 3 star inside linebacker of Fort Pierce, FL, Greg Simmons

6’4″ 231 lb 3 star weakside defensive end of Ashland, NE, Ben Stille

6’5″ 225 lb 3 star tight end of Aurora, CO, Jack Stoll

6’3″ 190 lb 3 star dual threat quarterback of Del City, OK, Terry Wilson

6’0″ 190 lb 2 star Running Back of Van, TX, Aphonso Thomas

Coach Mike Riley and the Husker staff have certainly done a banner job so far.  The Husker recruiting class has a current rivals ranking of 33rd, tied with Rutgers and currently sitting 9th in the Big Ten, once again tied with Rutgers. Don’t be discouraged by this, as the Huskers currently have the least amount of commits of the Big Ten teams ranked ahead of the Huskers, and the Husker class should be a fairly large one with perhaps 22+ commits.  Rest assured, the Huskers will certainly rise in the standings.  Until then, just enjoy the recruiting process and Go Big Red!

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