The Nebraska football recruiting apparatus is in the midst of a big weekend, and Matt Rhule and company’s efforts has led to at least one commitment this morning. New Jersey running back Kwinten Ives has given his pledge to the Huskers in a get that shouldn’t be all that surprising given his history with new running back coach Kwinten Ives.
Ives is someone who has built up a relationship with EJ Bartha when he was being recruited by UCONN and Bartha was coaching the running backs at that school. For those unaware, Bartha is part of a staff that has led a rather impressive turnaround for the Huskies. It’s been thought that Ives would likely commit to the Huskers and follow Bartha to Lincoln once he locked in an official visit.
On Sunday, Bryan Munson of On3 announced that he’d talked to Ives in the morning and had been given the go-ahead to announce the commitment. Ives is the first of the weekend, and appears to be at least part of what some Husker coaches were hinting at with celebratory tweets.
Of course, it’s also possible that Ives won’t be the last, considering that defensive line coach Terrance Knighton threw the bones in one of his tweets.
Beverly (N.J.) Palmyra RB Kwinten Ives (@kwintenives) informs me that he committed while on his official visit to #Nebraska. #Huskers
— Bryan Munson (@BryanMunson_) December 11, 2022
Ives is officially the second commit of the Matt Rhule era and like the first is someone that has been running a bit under the radar. Ives is not rated by either On3 or 247Sports and that seems unlikely to change before signing day.
Great Day!!! ☠️☠️ #GBR pic.twitter.com/0znmQabSgF
— Terrance Knighton (@Coach_Knighton) December 11, 2022
Rhule and company have made it clear that when it comes to Nebraska football recruiting, the staff will be going after players they think fit their system and may not be high profile prospects. We have heard this rhetoric from previous coaches and we’ll have to keep an eye on how Rhule carries his approach out.