Welcome back to another HuskerExtra recruiting notebook. There's no shortage of activity between Nebraska's two Friday Night Lights camps, a series of other camps, Friday's new verbal commitment and other happenings.Ìý
Check out the Journal Star's story on new running back commit Ronald Thompkins II (Grayson, Ga.) here and also get the latest on four-star Omaha Burke linebacker Nick Henrich's recruitment here.Ìý
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And off we go to the updates:Â
Nebraska under first-year head coach Scott Frost has already shown a willingness to move players around or envision athletes at new positions.
Jonathan Alexander is no exception.
The 6-foot-3 Alexander, from Kilgore (Texas) Junior College, plays safety currently, but the Huskers think he could potentially play a number of positions here, including outside linebacker.
“Coach (Jovan) Dewitt wants me to be an outside linebacker for them and be a guy that doesn’t have to come out on third downs,†Alexander said this week.
He’ll get his first look at campus beginning Thursday night and extending through the Friday Night Lights camp the following evening with an unofficial visit. Alexander said NU has been recruiting him for a while.
“It started about three months ago,†he said. “They started recruiting me harder maybe about four weeks ago, that’s when they really got on me. They’ve been telling me they need some defensive players, and I was telling them that I was interested.â€
In fact, Alexander was interested in Central Florida because of this coaching staff as he watched the Knights put together an unbeaten season and then prepare for the Peach Bowl.
“I don’t care about the name of the school, I don’t need a big name or anything like that,†Alexander said. “I care most about coaches because it’s not about where you go, it’s about what you do when you get there. If you have the right coaches that will push you and put you in the right spots, they can make it happen.â€
Alexander is a full qualifier, so he could theoretically transfer this summer and play the 2018 season. He could also play at Kilgore, graduate in December and transfer this winter. He’s visited LSU and TCU recently and is also being pursued by a host of smaller schools.
In fact, he’s leaving after the FNL camp and driving through the night to get to a Texas State visit on Saturday. He’s no stranger to long drives.
“I live in Fort Worth, so TCU is like six minutes from my house,†he said. “I went to the TCU camp and LSU camp was a day later. So we did the TCU camp, showered up, chilled for a minute and then we got on the road at midnight. We left at 12, got there at 6, so we slept in the car for two hours and then we killed that camp.
“You’ve got to make sacrifices.â€
FNL No. 2 on tap: Nebraska hosts its second Friday Night Lights camp this week as it wraps up the June camp season.
The most recent numbers for the camp have Nebraska pushing to about 250 registrants. They include several verbal commits — Ethan Piper (Norfolk Catholic), Garrett Snodgrass (York), Garrett Nelson (Scottsbluff), Luke McCaffrey (Littleton, Colorado), Jackson Hannah (Nashville, Tennessee), Desmond Bland (Arizona Western) and perhaps others, though some likely won’t actually participate in the camp itself.
Among other prospects expected to attend, per HuskerOnline, are four-star defensive back Jaden Davis (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) and three-star wide receiver Jamie Nance (Blanchard, Oklahoma). Nance (6-0, 160) has just the kind of speed the Huskers covet, running in the 10.5 range in the 100 meters this spring as a junior. He recently used his first official visit to TCU.
All of the known visitors for NU’s weekend, which includes a recruits’ barbecue among other activities, are unofficial visitors.
Another camp offer extended: Perhaps the most physically imposing player at NU’s Saturday OL/DL camp was 2021 offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts (Lenexa, Kansas). The 6-6, 320-pounder was tough to handle for others at the camp, and the Husker staff clearly noticed. On Wednesday morning, they offered him a scholarship.
Proud to receive my second D1 offer from !
— Jaeden (@jaeden27125535)
A fast-rising legacy QB: Speaking of 2021 prospects, NU legacy Jake Garcia had himself a whale of a week.
The Narbonne High (Harbor City, California) sophomore-to-be picked up offers from Georgia, Arizona State, Florida, LSU and USC between Thursday and Sunday. Nebraska offered in early May.
It’s a little hard to fathom that recruitments such as Roberts’ or Garcia’s take off as they do with so much time before they ever step foot on a college campus, but that’s the way college football is these days.
Huskers showing up in more top groups: Nebraska is showing up in more top groups for 2019 prospects. A few from recent days include:
Four-star wide receiver Jameson Williams (St. Louis).
glee! top5... commitment next
— juiceman (@juicedupjameson)
Four-star linebacker Daniel Heimuli (Menlo Park, Calif.), who was just on campus for an unofficial visit a couple of days before trimming his list.Ìý
In God’s hands.
— DANIEL HEIMULI (@DanielHeimuli)
Three-star offensive lineman Chris Akporoghene (IMG in Bradenton, Fla.)
Gods plan....
— Chris Akporoghene 🇳🇬🇺🇸 (@yomzking)