Nebraska football: Top linebacker target commits to Auburn

The Nebraska football team had been hoping they could steal away one of the best linebacker recruits in the country but it wasn’t to be.

Owen Pappoe had sent signals, once upon a time, that he might be leaning towards the Nebraska football program. Late last week the talented linebacker announced his commitment to Auburn instead.

Pappoe is the eighth best player in the entire 2019 class according to 247 Sports. He’s also the top outside linebacker and the second best player in the state of Georgia.

Having said all of that, perhaps it’s a bit of a win that the uber-talented player didn’t commit to either Georgia or Alabama. Still it’s a little disappointing that the Cornhuskers were quite as “in” it as it might have looked.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Football

Pappoe is good friends with current Husker Mohammed Barry. Earlier this year, he even tweeted out a picture of him standing in front of Memorial Stadium with former high school teammates Barry and another current Husker Breon Dixon.

In the end, it appears the pull to stick in the SEC was just a little too strong. You’ve got to wonder whether Nebraska is in a place where it’s going to be able to pull this kind of player out of his home territory just yet.

Even at the height of Husker football, they weren’t routinely pulling in the best, or top 10 best players in an entire recruiting class. While “it’s an honor to even be considered” gets old quickly, there’s still something to be said for being considered by Owen Pappoe.

It’s also worth pointing out that while he has committed to Auburn, there are at least seven months left in this recruiting cycle. It’s unlikely the Nebraska football team is going to be shrugging its shoulders and giving up entirely considering the connections the linebacker has with several players.