The 2019 recruiting board is here.
[See Post #2 for Offense.]
[See Post #3 for Defense.]
I wanted to wait awhile to get this out this year and ended up waiting longer than I intended. This list is always tough during staff changes as there are a ton of offers out from the previous staff that may or may not reflect the current staff. In addition, it is difficult to get a read on a new staff as every staff has its own way of conducting business. So this cycle promises to be a challenging cycle for following recruiting.
As of today, NU currently has 12 commitments. This staff seems to be our first staff since Bill Callahan that isn’t interested in keeping scholarships in their pockets for years and years. That all by itself should give this staff a decided advantage over 3 of the last 4 staffs. Another development of this staff is the recruitment of JUCOs. One of the biggest head-scratchers of the Riley era (and there were many) was the absolute disdain for JUCO athletes. Even Nebraska fans who traditionally don’t like relying on JC recruiting found themselves in the awkward position of complaining about the lack of JUCO recruiting.
Everyone is predicting a full class this year with plenty of JUCO’s and I will predict a class of 22 to 27 recruits.
And a quick word about walk-ons. Don’t be surprised if there are a number of high impact walk-ons that come from last year and this year. The main reason for optimism here is because many of the schools that recruit our would be walk-ons have for various reasons moved on from recruiting Nebraska kids. While this isn’t a good thing for some deserving Nebraska High School prospects, it is wonderful timing for Scott Frost who is looking to re-invigorate the walk-on program.
A note about the target numbers by position. This staff has heavily recruited a number of guys whose positions at the next level are unclear. Some of the variations you will see in the numbers may reflect that. For example, our QB is listed by some services as an Athlete. I have him as QB for obvious reasons but in some cases it isn’t quite so clear.
The most critical needs for this class are pretty obviously CB and OT. The current roster lacks CB’s in both quality and quantity. At OT, the quality at the top is pretty good, but the lack of depth is scary.
Meanwhile, Nebraska will lose some quality players at safety and ILB so those positions look to be restocked.
But in reality, Nebraska needs talent across the board. Look for NU to take 4-6 JUCO’s again this year.
Some of the needs will be defined by the 2018 season. Will a pass rush finally develop? Will the running game develop? Will someone step up in the QB role? Success or failure to these questions could radically change the complexion of NU recruiting strategy by the time signing day rolls around. And of course, transfer players could also affect the numbers and strategy.
Numbers (stars, height, 40 time, etc.) are from Rivals. Players listed are confirmed to have had offers at one time (except those noted under “No offers:”).
Visited players in BOLD. Future visit players in BOLD ITALICS. Visit dates shown at the end of player information. Unsigned Nebraska prepsters in Green. Verbals linked to Rivals profile in Red.
High School denote by “HS”. “CAHS” denotes California High School. JUCO denoted by “JC”. “JC-3/2” denotes 3 years to play 2. “JC-3.5/2” denotes 3 years to play 2 and a December grad.
Players largely sorted by name. This is different than past years where they were sorted by rank. I found it too difficult to edit with this format.
[See Post #2 for Offense.]
[See Post #3 for Defense.]
I wanted to wait awhile to get this out this year and ended up waiting longer than I intended. This list is always tough during staff changes as there are a ton of offers out from the previous staff that may or may not reflect the current staff. In addition, it is difficult to get a read on a new staff as every staff has its own way of conducting business. So this cycle promises to be a challenging cycle for following recruiting.
As of today, NU currently has 12 commitments. This staff seems to be our first staff since Bill Callahan that isn’t interested in keeping scholarships in their pockets for years and years. That all by itself should give this staff a decided advantage over 3 of the last 4 staffs. Another development of this staff is the recruitment of JUCOs. One of the biggest head-scratchers of the Riley era (and there were many) was the absolute disdain for JUCO athletes. Even Nebraska fans who traditionally don’t like relying on JC recruiting found themselves in the awkward position of complaining about the lack of JUCO recruiting.
Everyone is predicting a full class this year with plenty of JUCO’s and I will predict a class of 22 to 27 recruits.
And a quick word about walk-ons. Don’t be surprised if there are a number of high impact walk-ons that come from last year and this year. The main reason for optimism here is because many of the schools that recruit our would be walk-ons have for various reasons moved on from recruiting Nebraska kids. While this isn’t a good thing for some deserving Nebraska High School prospects, it is wonderful timing for Scott Frost who is looking to re-invigorate the walk-on program.
A note about the target numbers by position. This staff has heavily recruited a number of guys whose positions at the next level are unclear. Some of the variations you will see in the numbers may reflect that. For example, our QB is listed by some services as an Athlete. I have him as QB for obvious reasons but in some cases it isn’t quite so clear.
The most critical needs for this class are pretty obviously CB and OT. The current roster lacks CB’s in both quality and quantity. At OT, the quality at the top is pretty good, but the lack of depth is scary.
Meanwhile, Nebraska will lose some quality players at safety and ILB so those positions look to be restocked.
But in reality, Nebraska needs talent across the board. Look for NU to take 4-6 JUCO’s again this year.
Some of the needs will be defined by the 2018 season. Will a pass rush finally develop? Will the running game develop? Will someone step up in the QB role? Success or failure to these questions could radically change the complexion of NU recruiting strategy by the time signing day rolls around. And of course, transfer players could also affect the numbers and strategy.
Numbers (stars, height, 40 time, etc.) are from Rivals. Players listed are confirmed to have had offers at one time (except those noted under “No offers:”).
Visited players in BOLD. Future visit players in BOLD ITALICS. Visit dates shown at the end of player information. Unsigned Nebraska prepsters in Green. Verbals linked to Rivals profile in Red.
High School denote by “HS”. “CAHS” denotes California High School. JUCO denoted by “JC”. “JC-3/2” denotes 3 years to play 2. “JC-3.5/2” denotes 3 years to play 2 and a December grad.
Players largely sorted by name. This is different than past years where they were sorted by rank. I found it too difficult to edit with this format.