Another year, and Nebraska football has another big fight on its hands to keep the best player in state, at home. Last cycle, it was Carter Nelson who got more attention and accolades from programs outside the state than local high school watchers had seen in years.
This year, it appears Matt Rhule and company's fight for the best player in Nebraska will focus on Omaha Westside's Christian Jones. The linebacker is not only the best player in the state, but considered one of the best players in the entire country.
As the recruiting calendar turns the page on the 2024 cycle and attention focuses on the 2025 class, it stands to reason that the pressure will mount on Jones and pressure will mount on the Nebraska football program to keep him in the fold.
To be fair, Jones isn't a commit to the Huskers just yet. So perhaps saying Rhule needs to keep him in the fold isn't quite fair. He needs to reel him in first. Though according to recruiting services like 247Sports, Jones is a stone cold, lead pipe lock to be a Husker.
That's not deterring schools like Notre Dame and Oklahoma, who Tom Loy recently reported is looking for a visit from Jones, from coming hard after the linebacker prospect.
It's going to be a long year and things are just getting started. On January 20, Jones will be in Lincoln on what is going to be a massive recruiting weekend. Then, on January 27 he'll head to Norman and get the hard sell from Sooners' head coach Brent Venables.
Nebraska football standing tall in the face of Christian Jones pursuit
The visits at the end of this month are the only ones Jones currently has scheduled. However, Notre Dame is almost certainly going to spend the next few months pushing hard for the Omaha Westside product.
The Irish already have a couple of his teammates coming to South Bend in Teddy and Anthony Rezac. Nebraska born Irish star Xavier Watts is going to be recruiting Christian Jones hard as well.
There will almost certainly be other schools that step to the forefront in the next few months as well. It's going to be up to Matt Rhule to make sure that he shows Jones the same kind of love he showed Carter Nelson and make sure when the time comes, he signs with Nebraska football.