The Nebraska football team is having a nice run regarding their 2024 recruiting class, but if one prospect flips, it’s a wrench in the works.
If in-state prospect Malachi Coleman was the crown jewel of the 2023 recruiting class, then Carter Nelson is absolutely the 2024 version of Coleman. The Ainsworth prospect is sought after by every big program in college football, including Alabama, Georgia, and Notre Dame.
For the last few months, Carter Nelson has seemed as solid for Nebraska football as a recruit can be. But things changed on Saturday night.
Nelson took a trip to see Notre Dame play the USC Trojans.
No big deal right? Sometimes recruits just like to see what’s going on elsewhere even if they’re solid commitments. That could be the case here.
Things feel a bit different here though. The biggest reason for that feeling is because Nelson’s visit to Notre Dame appeared to be a surprise to most recruiting analysts.
The #Huskers highest-rated commit is in South Bend today. Nebraska is in a fight to keep him. @Rivals / @adamgorney https://t.co/VSM5bJkLnd
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithRivals) October 14, 2023
While there are certainly people that aren’t all that worried about losing Nelson to anyone outside of the Nebraska football program, mainly because he’s been such a seemingly solid commit. There’s also the fact that he’s from Nebraska.
#Nebraska 2024 four-star tight end commit Carter Nelson (@Carter83854638) is currently visiting #NotreDame.
— Charleston Bowles (@cbowles01) October 14, 2023
The Irish hosted Nelson on an official visit in June before he committed to Nebraska. @insideNDsports / @GregSmithRivals / @NebraskaRivals pic.twitter.com/mzDfzh4y9A
However, those not worried about the possibility of a flip seem to forget just how hard Nebraska football coaches had to work to get Nelson to commit in the first place. Up until late June, there were plenty of people who were concerned the state’s top prospect in 2024 was headed elsewhere.
Nebraska football could be in trouble
Notre Dame, for what it’s worth, was one of the places that Husker fans were afraid they were going to lose the tight end prospect to. They thought it was over when July rolled around and Nelson had given his pledge to be a Husker.
The Fighting Irish clearly kept working on the 4-star recruit. His visit to South Bend during Notre Dame’s biggest game of the year isn’t great for Nebraska football fans. Now we wait to see how the next few weeks play out. Though a move could come much sooner.