As more than 300 campers worked out on a steamy Memorial Stadium turf during the first of Nebraska’s two Friday Night Lights camps, Scott Frost high-fived and chatted with a needle the Huskers have already pulled out of the haystack.
That’s Mesa (Arizona) Community College cornerback Will Jackson, who’s already committed and is set to begin classes here this summer, making him eligible to play in the fall.
While Jackson chatted with Frost, outside linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt, inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud and defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, the camp whirred all around.
Here are a few observations:
Several local players dotted the attendance list. Currently 2020 Bellevue West receiver Zavier Betts (6-foot-2, 196 pounds, 4.58 40-yard dash) is the only one with a scholarship offer, but others impressed as well.
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Fellow 2020 prospect Miko Maessner (6-1, 195, 4.64), a running back from Kearney, runs fluidly and showed off his track speed in positional work and individuals. Lincoln North Star athlete Luke Reimer (2019) reportedly ran well — campers did individual measurements and testing in the Hawks facility before coming out for the start of the open portion of camp — and looked good working with Dewitt’s outside linebacker group.
Reimer and his family spent a few minutes after camp talking with Ruud.
Other local products, among many others: Lincoln Southeast 2020 athlete Isaac Gifford, who worked out with defensive backs, and Omaha Burke running back James Burks.
Valentas impresses: Scott Valents (6-2, 197) of Kapaun Mount Carmel High in Kansas clearly impressed the NU coaching staff. Frost came over and talked to him during 1-on-1 drills, and then Dewitt pulled him aside and worked him through 1-on-1 footwork drills and talked to him about technique.Â
Valentas doesn't have an offer, but likely opened some eyes with a 40-yard time under 4.6 seconds.
Trustin Oliver is an intriguing athlete. The 6-foot-3 three-star 2019 prospect from Colorado is the brother of incoming freshman defensive end Tate Wildeman. Oliver does not have a Nebraska offer, but had as good a day as anybody on Friday. He went over three-star defensive back Jayden Russell for an acrobatic catch and dominated the 1-on-1 segment.
Not only that, but he ran :04.57 in the 40-yard dash at a solid 195 pounds.
Oliver has offers from BYU, Colorado State and Utah.
Las Vegas had a presence. Bishop Gorman High had four players in town, and three-star 2020 quarterback Micah Bowens worked out. The 6-foot-1 prospect worked with defensive backs here. Bowens impressed by running a 4.47-second 40-yard dash.
A ton of high school kids will be filtering through Lincoln this month. The Huskers have already hosted several individual camps and more are on the way. After 300-plus on Friday night, NU is hosting around 150 high school linemen for a half-line ‘big-man’ camp on Saturday. At the same time, more than 300 players on 16 7-on-7 teams will be participating in a daylong tournament. Every team is guaranteed at least seven games.
Then, next Friday, NU is expecting around 200 for Friday Night Lights No. 2.
A good crowd on a hot night: The Memorial Stadium crowd on Friday wasn’t like last year’s 6,000-plus, but an estimated 2,200 or so braved the heat to see the new staff in action.
Frost the greeter: Frost stayed after the camp and shook hands and took photos with every kid that wanted one. The line stretched at least 30 yards down the field and took 30 minutes or so to dwindle.
All through the night: A group of players from Century High in Oregon made a 24-plus hour trek to be at the camp. Outside linebacker Zachary Nyborg, a 6-3, 207-pound 2019 prospect, showed some athleticism.
A young player to watch: Omaha Westside defensive back Avante Dickerson just finished his freshman year as a class of 2021 prospect, but he had a good day in Lincoln.
The 5-11, 165-pounder ran sub-4.5 in the 40 and had one of the best vertical jumps of the day at more than 34 inches. A long way to go, of course, but those kinds of numbers will grab attention.
Four-star linebacker visits:Â Daniel Heimuli is one of the most sought-after linebackers in the country, sporting offers from Alabama, Southern California, LSU, Oregon, Washington, Nebraska and many others.Â
The four-star prospect from Menlo Park, California, earned an offer from Nebraska a month ago and took in campus, but left before the camp started.
Henrich visiting Wisconsin this weekend: Nick Henrich hasn’t given much indication as to whether he’s leaning one way or another in his recruitment. The four-star Omaha Burke linebacker is certainly not short on options, of course, and Nebraska badly wants to land the in-state talent.
While Henrich, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder, plays it close to the vest, the wheels are certainly starting to turn as summer wears on.
Henrich is using his first of five potential official visits this weekend to Wisconsin, which was among a handful of schools — Nebraska included — he also saw unofficially in the spring. The Badgers are hosting a large recruiting weekend with most of their verbal pledges for 2019 along with several targets, and convinced the talented inside linebacker to make the trip.
Henrich told the Journal Star earlier this spring that he may use a couple of his official visits and may see others again unofficially. He doesn’t have anything else set in stone currently, but is working through options.
Another interesting development: Notre Dame, perceived by some to be a strong contender for Henrich, has garnered verbal commitments from two linebackers in the past three days. Three-star Jack Kiser is listed as an outside linebacker at 6-2 and 215, while four-star Osita Ekwonu is listed as an inside player at 6-2, 220.
Of course, the Irish could very well still be in on Henrich. UW getting a visit means the Badgers are still in the mix. Will Henrich make it to Lincoln again this summer before making a decision? Only time will tell, but it certainly seems possible.