Nebraska football loses out on OL target that seemed to be on board

The Nebraska football team likely thought it was in pretty good standing with Brian Tapu when Matt Rhule and company brought a bunch of Tapu’s family to Lincoln from New Zealand. In fact, it’s safe to say that they thought playing that particular card would make all the difference.

While the Huskers were seen as the team that the offensive lineman was leaning to, it seems that was only the case until he took another official visit. When he did that, he was not only swayed, but ended up pulling the trigger for another school. 

Nebraska football loses out on OL target that seemed to be on board

On Sunday, the Nebraska football team lost out on Tapu to Oregon State. The Beavers had just finished up a recruiting visit with the Utah prospect. They showed Tapu all that he needed to see and now the Huskers are left in the dust.

"My family has a history of playing at Oregon State, the Moala family, so that's cool because recently my cousin (Jessaia Moala) committed to Oregon State and (it's) cool to see that the family legacy continues,” Tapu said after he announced where he’d committed.

While offensive line coach Kyle DeVan led Tapu's recruitment, defensive line coach Ilasia Tuiaki and Tapu's relative JR Moala helped land Tapu, who has NFL bloodlines as relative Fili Moala spent six seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

The family ties appear to have been more than the Nebraska football team could overcome. The good news there is that the Huskers have plenty of offensive linemen on the line. Tapu might have been a bit of a backup plan in the first place. 

Of course, now they need a backup plan to the backup plan if they’re going to get the number of offensive linemen they’re looking to land in the 2025 class.