Husker Corner
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Nebraska football lands grad transfer lineman from Utah

By Oliver VanDervoort

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Scott Frost, head coach for the University of Nebraska, on the sidelines prior to the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Scott Frost, head coach for the University of Nebraska, on the sidelines prior to the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The Nebraska football program got a bit of a surprise addition to its line on Friday.

Nebraska football fans likely didn’t see the latest commit coming. Lineman Vaha Vainuku announced he was heading to Lincoln on Friday morning.

Vainuku is a graduate transfer from the University of Utah who had stepped away from football before the 2017 season. In a tweet announcing he was coming to Nebraska, the defensive tackle and offensive guard made it clear he was excited to get back to playing football.

“Long story short, I need to learn how to husk corn now!lol Beyond grateful to be able to play this game again and to do it for this stud of a Coach! Lets go Husker Nation.” Standing next to the player was Huskers’ head coach Scott Frost.

Vainuku is certainly an interesting story. He was a member of the 2012 (you read that right) recruiting class and was the ninth best player in the state of Utah that year.

He’s still eligible to play college football because he took his mission trip shortly after graduating high school. Those trips are certainly more prevalent in the Utah region, but it does mean the Huskers are going to have a veteran presence on the line in more ways than one.

While he didn’t see much action for the Utes, appearing in just two games in his career. Interestingly he played both games on the offensive line, showing a bit of versatility. No matter where the Huskers see him playing he’ll come in as one of the older newcomers on the team. If he is indeed healthy and ready to go, it would seem like he’d have a real shot of competing for playing time.

Next: Nebraska football becomes first Big Ten team to offer touted Utah linebacker

He’s certainly got the body for the Nebraska football system, standing 6-3 and weighing in at 295 pounds. This particular courtship was largely under the radar. It does show how important Frost and company feel retooling the defensive line is, heading into the 2018 season.

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