Nebraska Football: Program offers CB as efforts to build class continue
Nebraska football continues to try and build out the 2021 class.
Nebraska football continues to go after some of the top players in the 2021 class, and earlier this week, they extended an offer to a cornerback whose profile is gaining steam. Three-star cornerback Devonta Smith was offered by the program per a report from Michael Bruntz of 247Sports.
Smith is the 29th overall player in the 2021 class, and the 14th overall player from his class in the state of Ohio per the 247Sports Team Rankings. Smith has been offered by some of the top programs in college football. In addition to Nebraska, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Tennessee have extended offers his way.
What could he bring to Nebraska football? One of the things I noticed right away is that he has tremendous tracking ability. As soon as the ball is thrown by a quarterback, he follows it with his eyes. Measuring in at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, his ability to track is important. It gives him the upper-hand advantage over some of his matchups.
Especially for his size, his ability to play both on the outside and in the slot is important. Nebraska would be able to use him in either situation. I could see him becoming a solid starter in the secondary by his third year if he were to commit in Lincoln. He still has a bunch of visits he has to take, so I’m certainly not saying that he will definitively commit to Nebraska football. However, it is smart of the program to extend him an offer.
Nebraska football is already building a solid 2021 class. Offering players like Smith just solidifies that. It will be interesting to see how much more recruiting they do come the summer time or whether they will wait until the beginning of the 2020 season in order to get visits scheduled.
It’s crazy to think that we are talking about the 2021 class already. However, Nebraska is certainly wise to start getting offers in. Especially when you consider the momentum that the Nebraska football program has had over these last two early signing days, this will only be able to help the program moving forward. The early signing period has become a key part of the Nebraska football recruiting strategy. It should continue to remain a stable moving forward. That way, the program can get players in early for spring workouts. More familiarity will hopefully equate to more success.