Just as we thought the story on four star defensive end Keona Wilhite was coming to an end for Nebraska, and that he would be committing to UCLA on national signing day this Wednesday. Wilhite, a 6-5, 235 pound four star defensive end out of Arizona, seems to be contemplating swapping beaches for blackshirts.
With the possible departure of UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, Wilhite has opened back up his recruiting and the Cornhuskers seem to be the front runner.
Watching Wilhite’s film, one thing continued to jump off the screen at me. His length. He is a long armed, large framed defensive end with the ability to pack on another twenty five pounds of muscle. His ability to use that length for leverage is a great tool when pass rushing and has a tendency to finish plays with a touch of violence. He will need to work on his explosiveness off the ball and hand fighting but that is something that can be accomplished easily on this staff. If Wilhite can put everything together he has the ability to stand out as an every down defensive end and not just a 3rd down pass rusher.
Hailing from the Arizona powerhouse highschool Salpointe Catholic, Wilhite will have a solid base of knowledge and his fundamentals down, coming into Nebraska. Leaving plenty of time for the coaching staff to tweak the little things. Bringing in an athlete this size with room for growth when it comes to explosiveness and handwork has great upside potential for the Big Red. We should not expect to see this four star on the field very often as a freshman, but he is expected to be a Husker faithful household name by his junior year.
