With it being the offseason one of the things we focus on at this time of year is recruiting. Husker coaches are making visits and trying to schedule official visits throughout June and around the ‘Battle of the Boneyard.’ What’s easy to forget is the fact that even if a recruit gives a verbal commitment, the earliest he can sign isn’t until December. That’s a lot of time for other schools to stay in touch and perhaps flip a guy. All of which puts pressure on Matt Rhule and his staff to ensure they have a season good enough to keep recruits excited and wanting to be a part of Nebraska football.
Early in the 2027 recruiting cycle Nebraska claimed a top 10 ranking with the commitments of four-star players like quarterback Trae Taylor, safety Tory Pittman III and running back Amir Brown. But the Huskers have since taken a slide and now find themselves sitting at 14. The Huskers currently have eight commitments and have taken big swings at multiple top ranked players.
However, several 4 & 5-star targets have opted out on official visits to the Huskers. Some have already committed to other schools or have eliminated Nebraska from their top five. Four offensive linemen, all 5-Stars, are all looking at Texas A&M, they are Mark Matthews, Oluwasemilore Olubobola, Albert Simien, and Kennedy Brown. 4-Star running back Isaiah Rodgers committed to ND. 4-Star wide receivers, Quinten Burrell is looking at ND and Charles Davis has committed to Cal. 4-Star tight end Cooper Terwilliger has committed to Penn State. Defensive lineman, 4-star David Folorsunsho is leaning towards ND, and 4-Star linebacker Brandon Lockley Jr. has committed to Oregon. 4-Star cornerback Juju Johnson is close to committing to Oklahoma, and 4-Star safety Semaj Stanford committed to Oregon.
Why do I feel the need to name guys that Nebraska has missed out on? Because I want you to remember the names and realize Rhule and his staff are working their tails off to bring the best talent available to Lincoln. The problem, they’ve been unable to connect on any of the big swings they are taking. Why? It’s a problem of promises versus production. Nebraska has yet to prove themselves on the field, and until they do, they’ll continue to strike out.
“Come help us win,” has a much different ring than, “Come be part of another Big Ten Championship.”
Nebraska has multiple prospects they are working on at four positions, defensive back, wide receiver, defensive line, and offensive line. That isn’t to say they aren’t recruiting and working hard on other positions, but they seem to be more set at those positions and are in play for fewer prospects.
Most of the information I have gathered came from On3 Rivals. But if you honestly want the best recruiting info available, then follow Inside Nebraska’s Tim Verghese. He’s simply the best.
As far as Star rankings I wouldn’t put a ton of stock in them, just look at them as indicators of the prospect’s potential.
Defensive Backs
While losing out on defensive backs like Johnson and Stanford hurts, coach Addison Willimas has already picked up the commitments of 5-Star Tory Pittman and 4-Star Corey Hadley. Now he is looking to add more and has scheduled 6 official visitors in 4-Star Bryce Williams, 6’2”, 170-pounds, 4-Star Jailen Hill, 6’3”, 160-pounds, 3-Star Kamari Whitfield, 5’10”, 180-pounds, 3-Star Elijajuan Houston, 6’1”, 170-pounds, 4-Star, Taveres Harrington, 6’3”, 180-pounds, and 4-Star Kennedy Green, 6’1”, 200-pounds.
Two more players with offers who haven’t scheduled visits are Alonzo Green and Nathaniel Mensah. If they hesitate too long, they may find there are no longer spots available. Especially since a new offer just went out. Evidentially Addison Williams saw something he liked in Evan Via, a 5’11”, 175-pound corner from St. Louis. Williams rarely offers CBs under 6 foot, which makes the offer to Via puzzling. He typically likes cornerbacks in the 6’2” and up range. With that said, Bryce Williams and Jailen Hill are the most likely to commit.
A name to keep an eye on is Jerry Outhouse, the 6’0”, 180-pound 4-Star just decommitted from Georgia. He has an offer from Nebraska and visited last November.
Defensive Line
The Huskers would still like to add one or two defensive linemen. They currently have a single commit in 3-Star Jayden Travers, 6’4”, 260-pounds. Nebraska has scheduled three official visitors in 3-Star Zai’Vion Meads, 6’3”, 260-pounds, 3-Star Errol Demontagnac, 6’4”, 300-pounds, and 3-Star Zahmar Tookes, 6’3”, 260-pounds.
Defensive line coach Corey Brown will try to get 4-Star Nehemiah Embati, 6’2”, 275-pounds, 3-Star Waylon Wooten, 6’1”, 315-pounds, and 3-Star Antonio Underwood, 6’3”, 265-pounds, to schedule official visits as well. Underwood is from Houston and decommitted from Texas Tech. Nebraska is his only Big Ten offer and he has never visited Lincoln. Demontagnac and Tookes have shown the most interest in the Huskers.
Wide Receiver
Nebraska currently has two commits at wide receiver, Tay Ellis, 6’0”, 170-pounds, and Kaden Howard, 5’10”, 145-pounds. While committed to Nebraska, Howard continues to make visits, which explains why the Huskers continue to recruit and make offers. Not only do they want a third receiver in this class, but there is the chance they may have to replace Howard. Ellis and Howard’s size also tells you why receivers coach Daikiel Shorts is looking for a big, bodied guy as an outside target.
Players who have official visits scheduled for Lincoln include Matthew Gregory, 6’0”, 170 pound 4-Star, Khalil Taylor, 5’11”, 190-pound 4-Star, and Isaiah Alverez, 6’0”, 175-pound 3-Star. Notre Dame is the team to beat for Gregory’s services while Penn State may have Taylor locked down. However, Taylor has a strong relationship with Husker QB commit Trae Taylor on the 7-on-7 circuit. Of all the players Nebraska is pursuing, Alverez may be the closest to committing to the Huskers.
Still working to get that third or possibly fourth commitment Nebraska continues to make new offers and players contacted include Myles McAfee, 6’0”, 165-pound 4-Star, Jamar Taylor, 6’4”, 190-pound 3-Star, James Johnson, 6’3”, 185-pound 3-Star, Darnell Jackson Jr, 5’11”, 165-pounds, and Malahn Green, 5’10”, 176-pounds.
Jackson has never been to Nebraska, so unless they can get him to visit, the offer may be a moot point. A recent find by Shorts during a recruiting visit, Nebraska is Malahn Green’s only Power Four offer. He is currently unranked due to not playing his junior season because of a transfer causing eligibility issues.
Offensive Line
Even though some of the biggest swings and misses were on offensive linemen, Geep Wade and Lonnie Teasley are still zeroing in on 4-star players such as 6’4”, 295-pound OT, Timi Aliu and 4-Star Kyler Kuhn, a 6’3”, 280-pound IOL. Aliu and Kuhn are both scheduled for official visits. Aliu will visit the same weekend as current commit Matt Erikson, a 6’8”, 285-pound 3-Star OT and QB commit Trae Taylor. Perhaps between the two they can convince Aliu there is no place like Nebraska.
3-star IOL Barrett Kittrell, 6’4”, 270-pounds is a legacy player from in-state but is being heavily perused by several schools. While the Huskers are considered a favorite to land Kitrell, he has yet to schedule an official visit and is reported to be taking a visit to Iowa. They also still have a shot at 6’3”, 315-pound, IOL Jordan Agbanoma. With 26 Division I offers including Georgia and Florida, Agbanoma has been called a “coaches dream.” Nebraska is the only Big Ten school to make his top school list.
Wade and Teasley are still making offers, the most recent was to KD Jones of Loganville, Georgia. Considered one of the top prospects in Georgia, the 6’4”, 270-pound Jones has a 4-Star ranking and said to have unmatched focus, athleticism and twitchiness.
Running Back
One of the most controversial positions at Nebraska over the last couple of years, the Huskers seem to be comfortable with their current backfield along with the addition of 2027 commit Amir Brown. A 5’11”, 200-pound 4-Star prospect, Brown originally committed to home state school North Carolina. He then decommitted in October and picked the Huskers in November. The Huskers beat out schools like Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State for Brown. Alabama came in with a late offer that peaked Brown’s interest, but he has stuck with the Huskers thus far. The Huskers have backed off aggressively, perusing anyone else but have kept their options open.
Currently there are no running backs scheduled to visit Lincoln, although they’ve kept in touch with Xavier Bala and Kylonn Haynie. Bala is a 5’11”, 200-pound 3-Star who is thought to be high on Virginia. Haynie, a 5’10”, 205-pound 3-Star from Omaha. As of now I don’t see either player joining the Huskers. However, a lot can happen between now and December.
Edge
While coach Roy Manning and Nebraska have made several offers to Edge players, they’ve yet to add anyone for 2027. A new offer went out this week to 3-Star Ifeanyi Emedobi, 6’2”, 214-pounds. However, the Huskers are behind in his recruitment as he has already set official visits for Minnesota, Penn State, and Notre Dame.
Jason Armbruster a 6’3”, 225-pound Edge who is unranked is scheduled to visit Lincoln June 2nd. He currently has offers from North Dakota and Eastern Washington but has recently gained interest from Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Washington.
Nebraska could use an Edge rusher that makes a difference. It’ll be interesting to see what develops between now and the end of the season.
Linebacker
Another position the Huskers have yet to add in the 2027 class. As of now two prospects stand out. 4-Star Prince Goldsby, 6’4”, 200-pounds and 3-Star Kobe Rhymes, 6’1”, 225-pounds. Rhymes has an official visit scheduled for June 12th.
Goldsby’s size and ability could make him the Edge rusher the Huskers are looking for. Scouts like his quickness and the ability he’s shown to get to the quarterback, registering 22.5 tackles for losses, 13.5 sacks, and 18 hurries in his junior season. He also has offers from Ohio State, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Alabama.
Rhymes is considered as one of the top players at his position with offers from all the big names, Georgia, Miami, Alabama, Missouri, and Big Ten schools Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, and Indiana. As of now Missouri and Nebraska are considered the front runners.
Tight End
Nebraska set their sights on two guys from the start, Cooper Terwilliger and Ahmad Hudson. But with Terwilliger committing to Penn State a couple of weeks ago Nebraska has gone all in on Hudson. The 6’6”, 230-pound 5-Star is the 16th ranked player nationally, number 1 at his position, and 4th in the state of Louisiana. Hudson recently narrowed his choices to two schools, Nebraska and LSU. With being a legacy at LSU and Lane Kiffin being the recruiter he is, it’ll be tough for Nebraska to get him out of Louisiana. A dual sport athlete, Hudson has made it clear he intends to play both football and basketball. That has called for Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg and LSU’s Will Wade to become involved in Hudson’s recruitment. If it was anyone else besides LSU and Kiffin, I’d like Nebraska’s chances. But this one will be all uphill for Rhule and Nebraska. The wild card in Rhule’s pocket, Hudson’s relationship with Nebraska QB commit Trae Taylor.
Right now, Nebraska has struggled to connect, but give Rhule and his staff credit, they’ve done an excellent job considering the Husker’s win-loss record. There is still time for them to land two to three big name guys on their list, and when they do, all the misses will be forgotten.
GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST VIOLENT!!
Photo courtesy of the Falls City Journal Home – Falls City Journal – Falls City, NE
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