Nebraska Recruiting: Thirsty Thursday – Updating the Huskers Big Board

Nebraska Recruiting – Updating the Big Board, Thirsty Thursday Style

Welcome to HC’s thirsty Thursday where we help quench your recruiting thirst by providing an in-depth update on the Huskers entire recruiting board. Each week we will highlight the big changes, break down the “most wanted”, and touch on topics near and dear to Husker recruiting.

Taking a bit of a break from the B1G fall drama there’s a lingering question of how this recruiting season will shape up. The NCAA recently extended the recruiting dead period through the end of September so recruiting will continue to be “virtual” unless a player makes an unofficial visit on their own to a school.

There’s also lingering questions around how the NCAA will treat early enrollee’s this year? Are they going to adjust the signing period if the entire NCAA moves to a spring season? Will there even be spring ball for early enrollees in 2021?

There are a lot of unanswered questions in recruiting and for all student athlete’s right now. Lucky for us we don’t have to rely on B1G commissioner Kevin Warren to answer any of them…or rather not answer.

Nebraska Recruiting – Movers and Shakers

Mover – Arguably the biggest mover this week was the commitment of 3-star ATH Kamonté Grimes out of Naples, FL.  The talented “utility knife” WR from Palmetto Ridge High School is the Huskers 3rd WR in the 2021 class and continues with the trend of adding size and speed to the Huskers roster.

The commitment of Grimes gives the Huskers their 14th commitment in the 2021 class and holds their Big Ten team ranking steady at #9 according to 247sports rankings.

Grimes checks in with an impressive 6-3 200lb frame and a 4.65s 40 yard dash to go along with it.

Shaker – The biggest shake up this week was the loss of outside linebacker commit Will Schweitzer to Notre Dame.  Schweitzer took and undercover visit during COVID to Notre Dame and an offer from the Fighting Irish was all it took to seal the deal.

Per 247’s Tom Loy, Schweitzer had this to say about his flip

"“I feel like Notre Dame fit every box I wanted in a school. With the excellence on the field and in the class room, as well as their religious values, I feel like it’s the best fit for me”“When I went to campus, I loved what I saw. I couldn’t see any of the staff members because of the dead period, but from what I saw, it was the place for me.”"

The good news here is that the loss of Schweitzer places a little bit of flexibility into the Huskers 2021 LB class. With outside linebackers Randolph Kpai, Seth Malcolm, and Patrick Payton already on board there wasn’t a need for a 4th OLB in the class with an arguably similar skill set.

Who is the next commit for Nebraska?

Scott Frost’s roster is woefully unbalanced at the tight-end position right now with 4 upperclassmen and zero players currently in their freshman or sophomore seasons after Chris Hickman moved to WR this spring.

The Huskers need to close out the 2021 class with at least 2 tight end commitments, if not 3, in order to have a healthy position room in the future.

The good news is 247 top 100 TE Thomas Fidone has closed in on an 8/26/20 decision date.  All signs point to a win for Nebraska as they’ve made Fidone a priority and consistently positioned themselves ahead of the pack without letting their communication falter.

https://twitter.com/ThomasFidone/status/1294293776236785665?s=20

Being an early enrollee who is unable to take his official visits, being comfortable with his future school and having established relationships was a big key to Fidone to making his decision. Luckily for Nebraska, he has an strong friendship with several current Husker commits and players to go along with his close relationship to Scott Frost and staff.

From dunk contests, football camps/showcases, impromptu trips to Lincoln, and constant banter with other Husker recruits - the relationships he’s built outside of the Husker staff appears to be what may put the Big Red over the top.

Husker Recruiting Most Wanted Board

The Huskers have several positions left that they need to add quality players at in the 2021 class and they have roughly 6 more scholarships they can safely utilize before player attrition becomes a part of the equation.

Tight End – 2

The Huskers are hoping for the win with Thomas Fidone next week but should they miss out they have three additional guys who would all be solid additions to the Husker recruiting class.

AJ Rollins – A local out of Creighton Prep in Omaha, Rollins sports more of a traditional tight end build and speed set but maintains soft hands and good body control.  He would likely need to redshirt and refine his skills a bit but is a good blocker and could fight for playing time on the 2-deep if there is any upperclassmen turnover next season.

James Carnie– Danny touched on Carnie earlier this week and its worth repeating that he has an impressive 6’5 220lb frame and nearly identical speed to Thomas Fidone. Carnie clocked in at a 4.6s flat at the Warren Showcase with Fidone hot on his heels at 4.63s.

The bonus? As a Firth native, he’s about as local as it can get.  Personally, I would love to see Carnie’s senior season tape to see how he progresses between his junior and senior seasons but realize with COVID that may not be an option this year.

Dametrious Crownover – The popular conversation right now is all about Rollins and Carnie but the coaching staff has been putting in the hours with Crownover. If there is a chance of official visits this fall I like the Huskers chances at stealing a terrific player our of Grandview Texas.

A two sport AND two way player, Crownover has the athleticism on the hardwood as much as he does on the turf. He’s already an excellent blocker and his speed and strength jump out on his Hudl film.  He will need a bit of work on the receiving side of things and likely redshirts a year before seeing major playing time.

Defensive Line – 2

Right now, its a bit of a mystery who Huskers coach Tuioti is looking along the interior of his defensive line in the 2021 class. With several top tier HS and juco players signing with Nebraska last the last two classes I could see the defensive line being small in 2021.

Ru’Quan Buckley – Hailing from Michigan, Buckley is an interesting 6’6 277lb prospect who plays both ways for Godwin Heights.  He might actually be a better OL prospect than DE but the Huskers see him playing along the defensive line at the nest level.  Watching his junior film on HUDL you can see that what he lacks in polish he makes up for with athleticism and aggressiveness.

Coach Duval would love to have Ru-Quan’s frame in the weight room and he would benefit developmentally from a redshirt season. I’m not sure why the Michigan schools aren’t all over him but Nebraska and Florida State appear poised to steal him out from the state. There are currently two 247 crystal balls pointing towards the Huskers right now but they’re both a bit dated from January 2020.

Madela Tobin – Tuioti is a West Coast guy so its no surprise that he is making waves with the San Diego native and getting Tobin to seriously consider the Big Red.  Tobin carries a 6’4 270lb frame but maintains a terrific burst at the LOS. He’s very is similar to former Husker DE Khalil Davis who is turning heads this week in Tampa Bay’s preseason camp.

Tobin is set to release his top 5 teams on September 1st and I would expect Nebraska and Kansas to be two of those teams listed when they’re released. I put Nebraska in serious contention to land Tobin when its all said and done.

Inside Linebacker – 1

Wynden Ho’ohuli – A Hawaii native, Ho’ohuli is a physical insider linebacker that the Huskers are courting hard.  Distance is definitely a factor with his recruitment but through the early summertime period the Huskers looked good.  COVID likely factors in with Ho’ohuli as he may not be able to take official visits this fall because of it.

Right now the Huskers are battling Virginia, Washington, and Utah for Ho’ohuli but with COVID driving an emphasis on virtual visits and increased phone activity it’s worth noting that LSU is keeping a close tabs on him as well.

Deshauwn Alleyne is a name to keep an eye on out of Florida.  The Huskers have made a lot of noise in Florida in their last few classes and Frost’s clout from his time at UCF still perks up a few ears in the Sunshine State.

It will tough to pull Alleyne out of SEC country but if the NCAA opens up official visits this fall/winter I think the Huskers have as good of a shot as anyone with Alleyne.

Wild Cards – 1

Geno VanDeMark – OL- VanDeMark is one of the top remaining interior offensive lineman out there right now. He will be a fight to pull out of New Jersey but the Huskers made his Top 6 list earlier this summer.  ASU and Rutgers are the teams to beat in this battle but if the Huskers want to add a 4th lineman VanDeMark is the one to go “All N” with.

Justifying adding a 4th OL in the ’21 Husker recruiting class: Only bringing in 2 offensive linemen in the 2020 class, taking VanDeMark as a 4th help bolster the long term depth and development of the offensive line. He’s the type of athletic interior lineman the Huskers need add more of in order to properly reload the trenches year after year.

Husker Recruiting Board- Current Commits

Offense (8)

QB – Heinrich Haarberg

RB – Gabe Ervin

WR- Shawn Hardy

WR – Latrell Neville

ATH – Kamonté Grimes

OT – Teddy Prochazka

OT- Branson Yager

OG – Henry Lutovsky

Defense (6)
OLB – Randolph Kpai

OLB – Patrick Payton

OLB – Seth Malcom

DB – Marques Buford

DB – Lardarius Webb Jr.

DB – Malik Williams