July Recruiting And Where We Are At: REDUX

[Beareye]

Current roster shows 83 scholarships with 15 seniors. It wouldn’t be a stretch if we see at least 3 to 6 more transfers between now and the end of the 2018 season. Decided to throw in a few numbers and thoughts to coincide with ***’s write-up.

QB: 3 on scholarship; getting McCaffrey is solid.

RB: 7 on scholarship (2 seniors); a potential medical and academic loss. 3 commits at this position is definitely a strong need. I really like Grayson but I digress.

WR: 9 on scholarship (1 senior) and a potential academic loss. This is a young group with 4 FR and 2 SO similar to the TE position. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the staff target a JUCO later in the process.

TE: Five on scholarship (4 FR and 1 SO); so this is a young group. Nebraska is only targeting only a handful of TEs. If anything a JUCO may be a more viable target.

OL: Biggest need on offense; 13 on scholarship with 3 seniors + a potential academic loss and another possible transfer. “At least” 4 are needed in this class and Nebraska is targeting a couple of JUCOs.

DL: 13 on scholarship (3 SR, 4 JR, 2 SO, 4 FR). Similar to TE, Nebraska is only in on a handful of DTs. DE is a different story. Offered a good number of DEs and are in on a few JUCOs at this position.

LB: 15 on scholarship. 3 seniors and a few that are dead weight (probably a bit harsh). Numbers look ok “now” but things could change in a hurry.

DB: Huge need with 15 on scholarship; two seniors and a few guys that need to thank Husker Nation and exit stage right. Will Jackson and Deontai Williams were huge JUCOs from last cycle and should help out immediately but they need more help.

Note: Nebraska’s ‘feel good’ Scott Frost road show is a strong anchor but the team needs to show it on the field to get some of these recruits in house. I re-read what I wrote and noticed I used the acronym “JUCO” quite a bit. The roster has a lot of holes.

Very helpful overview of the roster numbers by position. You mentioned quite a few academic risks. Are those incoming freshman, guys who are already on the team, or some of both?

 

[TheOneders]

Very helpful overview of the roster numbers by position. You mentioned quite a few academic risks. Are those incoming freshman, guys who are already on the team, or some of both?

I'm guessing the post is referring to the three incoming freshman that are not on campus yet as academic risks. Maurice Washington, Dominick Watt, and Willie Canty.

 

[One Hit Wonder]

Great write up thanks for the time you put in. One question. of the 4 OL you are recommending. I would think we need to be 3-1 TKL-G. Would you agree? Seems like most the guys we have are geared more towards guard than tackle.

Short answer is “yes” and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them try to pick up 5 OL commits but some analysis goes into responding to your question to provide substance. Let me see if I can muddy up the water. :confused:

1) There are 16 OLs listed on the roster (13 scholarship + 3 walk-ons); 3 are seniors and let’s say Canty doesn’t make it (we can leave Barnett in for the time being). That brings the 2019 OL roster number to 12 (an alarmingly low number). Looking at that roster I could easily make the argument that they need more OTs. [Note: I changed their class status to reflect 2019.]

1) Jalin Barnett [6’ 4” 315] SR
2) Christian Gaylord [6’ 6” 300] SR
3) Matt Farniok [6’ 6” 315] JR
4) Brenden Jaimes [6’ 5” 280] JR
5) John Raridon [6’ 4” 290] JR
6) Boe Wilson [6’ 3” 295] JR
7) Matt Sichterman [6’ 5” 270] SO
8) Broc Bando [6’ 5” 295] SO
9) Trent Hixson [6’ 4” 260] SO (Walk-On)
10) AJ Forbes [6’ 4” 230] SO (Walk-On)
11) Hunter Miller [6' 5" 275] SO (Walk-On)
12) Will Farniok [6’ 3” 260] rFR

2) Currently, there are three commits: Piper (6’4” 280), Bland (6’4” 300) and Anderson (6’7” 250) which tells me 2 OGs and 1 OT. Now the 2019 roster is at 14 if these 3 stay committed.

3) The 2019 OL roster will only have 2 (possibly 3) OLs at 6’ 6” (nothing taller) and then I look at who Nebraska is recruiting (listed below), in addition to athleticism, they are going after height. Taller (typically) means OTs although if you look at Wisconsin's OL, they're gravitating toward "tall" 5 across. So it wouldn’t surprise me to see 3 OGs and 2 OTs.

Bryce Benhart [6' 9" 301] Lakeville, MN
Bamidele Olaseni [6' 8" 320] Garden City, KS
Brant Banks [6' 8" 250] Houston, TX
Martin Veinberg [6' 8" 320] Helsinki
Grant Treiber [6' 7" 280] Sioux Falls, SD
Michael Lynn [6' 7" 280] Greenwood Village, CO
Danielson Ike [6' 6" 315] Kansas City, MO
Darnell Wright [6' 6" 275] Huntington, WV
Brayden Rohme [6' 6" 260] Gilbert, AZ
Sean Rhyan [6' 6" 295] San Juan Capistrano, CA
Trevor Keegan [6' 6" 310] Crystal Lake, IL
Walter Rouse [6' 6" 280] Silver Spring, MD
Will Harrod [6' 6" 305] Ft. Washington, MD
Zachary Franks [6' 6" 280] Baltimore, MD
Javonne Shepherd [6' 6" 285] Houston, TX
Anthony Whigan [6' 5" 295] Scranton, PA
Asim Richards [6' 5" 264] Haverford, PA
Enokk Vimahi [6' 5" 270] Kahuku, HI
Howard Allen [6' 5" 280] Baldwin, FL
Ira Henry [6' 5" 320] St. Louis, MO
Barrett Miller [6' 5" 250] Centennial, CO
Jonah Tauanu'u [6' 5" 280] Harbor City, CA
Michael Cartwright [6' 5" 295] Hialeah, FL
Coker Wright [6' 4" 275] Brookhaven, MS
Dohnovan West [6' 4" 290] Mission Hills, CA
Duke Clemens [6' 4" 265] Honolulu, HI
Jayme Simmons [6' 4" 259] Alabaster, AL
Sataoa Laumea [6' 4" 310] Rialto, CA
Will Putnam [6' 4" 280] Tampa, FL
Keiondre Jones [6' 3" 318] Hogansville, GA
Logan Sagapolu [6' 3" 330] Lehi, UT

 

[Deleted member 5200]

Short answer is “yes” and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them try to pick up 5 OL commits but some analysis goes into responding to your question to provide substance. Let me see if I can muddy up the water. :confused:

1) There are 16 OLs listed on the roster (13 scholarship + 3 walk-ons); 3 are seniors and let’s say Canty doesn’t make it (we can leave Barnett in for the time being). That brings the 2019 OL roster number to 12 (an alarmingly low number). Looking at that roster I could easily make the argument that they need more OTs. [Note: I changed their class status to reflect 2019.]

1) Jalin Barnett [6’ 4” 315] SR
2) Christian Gaylord [6’ 6” 300] SR
3) Matt Farniok [6’ 6” 315] JR
4) Brenden Jaimes [6’ 5” 280] JR
5) John Raridon [6’ 4” 290] JR
6) Boe Wilson [6’ 3” 295] JR
7) Matt Sichterman [6’ 5” 270] SO
8) Broc Bando [6’ 5” 295] SO
9) Trent Hixson [6’ 4” 260] SO (Walk-On)
10) AJ Forbes [6’ 4” 230] SO (Walk-On)
11) Hunter Miller [6' 5" 275] SO (Walk-On)
12) Will Farniok [6’ 3” 260] rFR

2) Currently, there are three commits: Piper (6’4” 280), Bland (6’4” 300) and Anderson (6’7” 250) which tells me 2 OGs and 1 OT. Now the 2019 roster is at 14 if these 3 stay committed.

3) The 2019 OL roster will only have 2 (possibly 3) OLs at 6’ 6” (nothing taller) and then I look at who Nebraska is recruiting (listed below), in addition to athleticism, they are going after height. Taller (typically) means OTs although if you look at Wisconsin's OL, they're gravitating toward "tall" 5 across. So it wouldn’t surprise me to see 3 OGs and 2 OTs.

Bryce Benhart [6' 9" 301] Lakeville, MN
Bamidele Olaseni [6' 8" 320] Garden City, KS
Brant Banks [6' 8" 250] Houston, TX
Martin Veinberg [6' 8" 320] Helsinki
Grant Treiber [6' 7" 280] Sioux Falls, SD
Michael Lynn [6' 7" 280] Greenwood Village, CO
Danielson Ike [6' 6" 315] Kansas City, MO
Darnell Wright [6' 6" 275] Huntington, WV
Brayden Rohme [6' 6" 260] Gilbert, AZ
Sean Rhyan [6' 6" 295] San Juan Capistrano, CA
Trevor Keegan [6' 6" 310] Crystal Lake, IL
Walter Rouse [6' 6" 280] Silver Spring, MD
Will Harrod [6' 6" 305] Ft. Washington, MD
Zachary Franks [6' 6" 280] Baltimore, MD
Javonne Shepherd [6' 6" 285] Houston, TX
Anthony Whigan [6' 5" 295] Scranton, PA
Asim Richards [6' 5" 264] Haverford, PA
Enokk Vimahi [6' 5" 270] Kahuku, HI
Howard Allen [6' 5" 280] Baldwin, FL
Ira Henry [6' 5" 320] St. Louis, MO
Barrett Miller [6' 5" 250] Centennial, CO
Jonah Tauanu'u [6' 5" 280] Harbor City, CA
Michael Cartwright [6' 5" 295] Hialeah, FL
Coker Wright [6' 4" 275] Brookhaven, MS
Dohnovan West [6' 4" 290] Mission Hills, CA
Duke Clemens [6' 4" 265] Honolulu, HI
Jayme Simmons [6' 4" 259] Alabaster, AL
Sataoa Laumea [6' 4" 310] Rialto, CA
Will Putnam [6' 4" 280] Tampa, FL
Keiondre Jones [6' 3" 318] Hogansville, GA
Logan Sagapolu [6' 3" 330] Lehi, UT

What do you consider the ideal number of scholarship OL to have on roster?

I've always thought somewhere around 16.

 

[Huskerthom]

Short answer is “yes” and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them try to pick up 5 OL commits but some analysis goes into responding to your question to provide substance. Let me see if I can muddy up the water. :confused:

1) There are 16 OLs listed on the roster (13 scholarship + 3 walk-ons); 3 are seniors and let’s say Canty doesn’t make it (we can leave Barnett in for the time being). That brings the 2019 OL roster number to 12 (an alarmingly low number). Looking at that roster I could easily make the argument that they need more OTs. [Note: I changed their class status to reflect 2019.]

1) Jalin Barnett [6’ 4” 315] SR
2) Christian Gaylord [6’ 6” 300] SR
3) Matt Farniok [6’ 6” 315] JR
4) Brenden Jaimes [6’ 5” 280] JR
5) John Raridon [6’ 4” 290] JR
6) Boe Wilson [6’ 3” 295] JR
7) Matt Sichterman [6’ 5” 270] SO
8) Broc Bando [6’ 5” 295] SO
9) Trent Hixson [6’ 4” 260] SO (Walk-On)
10) AJ Forbes [6’ 4” 230] SO (Walk-On)
11) Hunter Miller [6' 5" 275] SO (Walk-On)
12) Will Farniok [6’ 3” 260] rFR

2) Currently, there are three commits: Piper (6’4” 280), Bland (6’4” 300) and Anderson (6’7” 250) which tells me 2 OGs and 1 OT. Now the 2019 roster is at 14 if these 3 stay committed.

3) The 2019 OL roster will only have 2 (possibly 3) OLs at 6’ 6” (nothing taller) and then I look at who Nebraska is recruiting (listed below), in addition to athleticism, they are going after height. Taller (typically) means OTs although if you look at Wisconsin's OL, they're gravitating toward "tall" 5 across. So it wouldn’t surprise me to see 3 OGs and 2 OTs.

Bryce Benhart [6' 9" 301] Lakeville, MN
Bamidele Olaseni [6' 8" 320] Garden City, KS
Brant Banks [6' 8" 250] Houston, TX
Martin Veinberg [6' 8" 320] Helsinki
Grant Treiber [6' 7" 280] Sioux Falls, SD
Michael Lynn [6' 7" 280] Greenwood Village, CO
Danielson Ike [6' 6" 315] Kansas City, MO
Darnell Wright [6' 6" 275] Huntington, WV
Brayden Rohme [6' 6" 260] Gilbert, AZ
Sean Rhyan [6' 6" 295] San Juan Capistrano, CA
Trevor Keegan [6' 6" 310] Crystal Lake, IL
Walter Rouse [6' 6" 280] Silver Spring, MD
Will Harrod [6' 6" 305] Ft. Washington, MD
Zachary Franks [6' 6" 280] Baltimore, MD
Javonne Shepherd [6' 6" 285] Houston, TX
Anthony Whigan [6' 5" 295] Scranton, PA
Asim Richards [6' 5" 264] Haverford, PA
Enokk Vimahi [6' 5" 270] Kahuku, HI
Howard Allen [6' 5" 280] Baldwin, FL
Ira Henry [6' 5" 320] St. Louis, MO
Barrett Miller [6' 5" 250] Centennial, CO
Jonah Tauanu'u [6' 5" 280] Harbor City, CA
Michael Cartwright [6' 5" 295] Hialeah, FL
Coker Wright [6' 4" 275] Brookhaven, MS
Dohnovan West [6' 4" 290] Mission Hills, CA
Duke Clemens [6' 4" 265] Honolulu, HI
Jayme Simmons [6' 4" 259] Alabaster, AL
Sataoa Laumea [6' 4" 310] Rialto, CA
Will Putnam [6' 4" 280] Tampa, FL
Keiondre Jones [6' 3" 318] Hogansville, GA
Logan Sagapolu [6' 3" 330] Lehi, UT

I have contended that as a general rule an OL can be too tall. My thought is that anything over about 6'6" is too tall in General. It allows DL to get under the pads of the OL and gives them a leverage advantage. Your thoughts? Again a general rule as there are always exceptions.

 

[One Hit Wonder]

What do you consider the ideal number of scholarship OL to have on roster?

I've always thought somewhere around 16.

15 is a number I thought was a solid figure to manage. Given what the OL does every game, I'm surprised there aren't more injuries to those guys. However, you can mitigate the need for signing more OLs each year if the walk-on program is well-developed.

Let's use Wisconsin, Alabama and Oklahoma as an example. For the recruiting classes of 2015 - 2018 and 2019 commits, Wisconsin has 12 OLs (signed or committed) in that period while Alabama and Oklahoma each had 20. 8 additional scholarships for other positions of "need" is huge within the 85-limit.

 

[One Hit Wonder]

I have contended that as a general rule an OL can be too tall. My thought is that anything over about 6'6" is too tall in General. It allows DL to get under the pads of the OL and gives them a leverage advantage. Your thoughts? Again a general rule as there are always exceptions.

10 years ago I would have agreed with you but if you look at the evolution of the game, every position on the roster is getting bigger, stronger and faster. I remember when DBs taller than 6' 1" was not very common; now they're taller. I remember in the 80s when the Washington Redskins OL "Hogs" were big and nasty... they averaged about 270 lbs which is almost 50 pounds less than what the average NFL lineman is today. Scary to think what it will be in another 20 or 30 years.

 

[Huskerthom]

10 years ago I would have agreed with you but if you look at the evolution of the game, every position on the roster is getting bigger, stronger and faster. I remember when DBs taller than 6' 1" was not very common; now they're taller. I remember in the 80s when the Washington Redskins OL "Hogs" were big and nasty... they averaged about 270 lbs which is almost 50 pounds less than what the average NFL lineman is today. Scary to think what it will be in another 20 or 30 years.

Very true. I still remember when this started to happen in the late 90s. The San Diego Union Tribune did an article that showed. The 60s Packer lines, the 70s Steelers lines and the 80s 49ers lines. All averaged between like 240-280#. Then they showed the All San Diego HS OL 1st and 2nd team were all over 300#. Just scary.

 

[Keefover]

Penn State night games are horrible experiences for opposing fans seriously horrible.

I was told that on multiple occasions on the board. I made the trek out there last year for the ass whooping we recieved and the fans were actually quite pleasant. I would say there was a “fair” amount of smack talk but let’s face it, they absolutely ran all over us.

 

[Deleted member 3889]

Current roster shows 83 scholarships with 15 seniors. It wouldn’t be a stretch if we see at least 3 to 6 more transfers between now and the end of the 2018 season. Decided to throw in a few numbers and thoughts to coincide with ***’s write-up.

QB: 3 on scholarship; getting McCaffrey is solid.

RB: 7 on scholarship (2 seniors); a potential medical and academic loss. 3 commits at this position is definitely a strong need. I really like Grayson but I digress.

WR: 9 on scholarship (1 senior) and a potential academic loss. This is a young group with 4 FR and 2 SO similar to the TE position. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the staff target a JUCO later in the process.

TE: Five on scholarship (4 FR and 1 SO); so this is a young group. Nebraska is only targeting only a handful of TEs. If anything a JUCO may be a more viable target.

OL: Biggest need on offense; 13 on scholarship with 3 seniors + a potential academic loss and another possible transfer. “At least” 4 are needed in this class and Nebraska is targeting a couple of JUCOs.

DL: 13 on scholarship (3 SR, 4 JR, 2 SO, 4 FR). Similar to TE, Nebraska is only in on a handful of DTs. DE is a different story. Offered a good number of DEs and are in on a few JUCOs at this position.

LB: 15 on scholarship. 3 seniors and a few that are dead weight (probably a bit harsh). Numbers look ok “now” but things could change in a hurry.

DB: Huge need with 15 on scholarship; two seniors and a few guys that need to thank Husker Nation and exit stage right. Will Jackson and Deontai Williams were huge JUCOs from last cycle and should help out immediately but they need more help.

Note: Nebraska’s ‘feel good’ Scott Frost road show is a strong anchor but the team needs to show it on the field to get some of these recruits in house. I re-read what I wrote and noticed I used the acronym “JUCO” quite a bit. The roster has a lot of holes.

Your username is misleading. You're no one hit wonder.

 

[huskerndenver]

Great write up thanks for the time you put in. One question. of the 4 OL you are recommending. I would think we need to be 3-1 TKL-G. Would you agree? Seems like most the guys we have are geared more towards guard than tackle.

I'm wondering if the OL is a little harder position to recruit to in this offense. We don't seem to be attracting talent like we are to the QB, WR, and RB positions. Perhaps it's just an off year.

 

[HuskerGene]

I'm wondering if the OL is a little harder position to recruit to in this offense. We don't seem to be attracting talent like we are to the QB, WR, and RB positions. Perhaps it's just an off year.

Some would say we haven't attracted OL talent for quite a few years. I for one believe we have good enough talent on the line to win now. I really hope Austin & Duval are as good as advertised and can improve the line play immediately.

 

[Beareye]

I'm wondering if the OL is a little harder position to recruit to in this offense. We don't seem to be attracting talent like we are to the QB, WR, and RB positions. Perhaps it's just an off year.

The 2018 class wasn't particularly strong at the OL position either. It may be that only one scholarship OL recruit makes it to campus.

We need to let the full cycle for the 2019 class play out before drawing any conclusions, but having difficulty recruiting top OL prospects in back-to-back years would be the start of a concerning trend.

 

[huskerndenver]

The 2018 class wasn't particularly strong at the OL position either. It may be that only one scholarship OL recruit makes it to campus.

We need to let the full cycle for the 2019 class play out before drawing any conclusions, but having difficulty recruiting top OL prospects in back-to-back years would be the start of a concerning trend.

16 and 17 'appeared' to be strong. The results have yet to prove that out. 18 was weak. I'm concerned about 19 at this point. I hope we are ok.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Sorry about the spelling fiasco. Boy, that escalated quickly!

If Piper goes to the offensive side, does that change your opinion about the OL recruiting?

I was waiting to see what happened with Canty before responding to this. My answer is no for 2 reasons. First, we would be moving Piper to a position that we did not recruit him for due to depth issues. The second, with taking not a single OL in the 2018 class, Piper is not a big enough get to erase that. He could be very good in year 3, 4, or 5 with the Huskers. But having zero OL recruits for 2018 make it so we have to have a couple guys that we may possibly look at not redshirting. Bland is one of them luckily.