When looking at our 500 mile radius, the area that I feel like we've missed out the most on over the last 2 staffs has definitely been Missouri. Kansas City and St. Louis have produced a ton of top level talent that I am hoping we focus on with Rhule and co. Easy driving access to multiple other Big Ten schools, short hop, skip, or drive to Lincoln directly, minimal state competition to worry about (i.e. Mizzou and KU are historically not good programs). In 2023, they had 8 players in the top 250. 7 of them went outside of Missouri to national programs (ND, OU, UT, Bama, LSU). In 2024, there are 7 top 250 players in KC/STL... 2 of which are top 20. In 2025, they already have 3 players in the top 50 (that's all they've ranked so far). This is a KEY, non-Nebraska area for us to focus on in addition to Texas, NJ, and Georgia.
I saw Rhule was down in Lee's Summit yesterday and what looked like Rockhurst High School shortly after. One of my concerns with the staff he put together was the lack of previous experience within our region. If this hustle continues into Y2, Y3, and beyond... I am confident my concern will be completely put to rest very quickly.
What do others think? Are there other areas inside our 500 mile radius that we need to really hone in on?
I saw Rhule was down in Lee's Summit yesterday and what looked like Rockhurst High School shortly after. One of my concerns with the staff he put together was the lack of previous experience within our region. If this hustle continues into Y2, Y3, and beyond... I am confident my concern will be completely put to rest very quickly.
What do others think? Are there other areas inside our 500 mile radius that we need to really hone in on?
