The Nebraska football recruiting and Colorado football recruiting rivalry is continuing to heat up with the recent commit of a player both schools wanted.
Nebraska football recruiting just wrapped up the 2023 cycle and has officially moved onto the 2024 class. Unfortunately, the start of that cycle has already led to a loss in the latest head-to-head battle against the Colorado Buffaloes.
Ju’Juan Johnson is not only the first commit for Deion Sanders and his new squad in the 2024 class. It’s also the first official loss for Nebraska football recruiting efforts. It also shows that the “battle of the backyards” will only heat up with someone like “Coach Prime” in Boulder.
On Saturday, Ju’Juan Johnson announced he committed to Colorado. The 4-star athlete out of Louisiana has been a pretty hard lean towards Sanders’ team since he was offered by CU but now he’s made it official. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t sting a bit that Nebraska football recruiting couldn’t close the deal.
#WECOMING #SKOBUFFS pic.twitter.com/8L8GM4dQCW
— Ju’Juan Johnson (@JujuanJohnson7) February 4, 2023
Even if a former coach started the deal. Matt Rhule had shown interest in the athlete since he arrived in Lincoln.
Nebraska football recruiting rivalry with Colorado ramps up
Ju’Juan Johnson was one of the offers that went out when Mickey Joseph was helming the Cornhuskers. The Huskers were actually one of the first Power 5 programs to see that Johnson had something to offer. In hindsight, it appears that the move backfired in a way.
Johnson had offers from Florida, LSU, Alabama, Texas and others from all over the country. And yet, despite hailing from the deep south, he’s decided he’d like to play football in ski country.
While I have found Deion Sanders’ approach to recruiting on social media more than a little weird, he’s clearly having success when he’s in a player’s living room. The fact that CU is trying to come into Lincoln, Omaha, and anywhere else where Nebraska football recruiting is also busy trying to reestablish a foothold isn’t great news.
That he’s able to steal a player out from under the noses of the Husker coaches when location isn’t a consideration is especially concerning.