What is it like to put on a major recruiting weekend like the one Nebraska is about to host around its Red-White Spring Game?
Well, it’s not exactly a walk in the park.
“I’ve got a lot of anxiety about this weekend. There’s a lot going on. It’s excited anxiety,†Vince Guinta, NU’s new senior director of player personnel and recruiting, said with a smile earlier this week.
The Huskers are slated to have more than 100 players on campus this weekend, ranging from most or all of its remaining, summer-arriving 2022 signees — think players like wide receivers Janiran Bonner and Decoldest Crawford, in-state athlete Gage Stenger, transfer kicker Timmy Bleekrode and the rest — to a key transfer portal official visit for TCU edge rusher Ochaun Mathis; to the No. 1 player in the 2024 class according to 247Sports and On3 in five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola; to in-state kids, regional recruits and more.
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"Any chance we get to get recruits on campus is a win for us," coach Scott Frost said Monday. "I think we're scheduled to have quite a few good ones here Saturday, so we're looking forward to it.
"It turns into almost like a fall gameday. … We love our fans and the enthusiasm around Husker football, and we want recruits to get to see that as many times as possible."Â
A weekend like this, then, is not one-size-fits-all.
“You’ve got different things going on,†said Guinta, who, like coaches, cannot comment on any specific recruit until a national letter of intent is signed. “You’ve got an official visit going on, that’s a 48-hour process in conjunction with signees that are coming back, guys that are going to be on our team. A high percentage of our regional recruits that are going to be here have already been here. Then you’re going to have some out-of-state kids that it’s going to be their first time.
“So you just want to make sure that as you build your schedule, you build it so that you’re staffed right so that you’re able to take care of the needs of people that maybe need to see a little bit more and that you build your schedule so that the coaches can be there to accommodate all the things that might come up.â€
While Mathis and Raiola are the clear headliners, the Huskers are also hosting many other recruits this weekend, including class of 2023 verbal commits in quarterback William Watson (Springfield, Massachusetts), offensive linemen Sam Sledge (Creighton Prep) and Gunnar Gottula (Lincoln Southeast), and dozens of prospects that hold offers already.
Here’s a look at some of the key uncommitted players expected to be on campus, based on social media confirmations and Journal Star interviews and sources.
The in-state guys: A well-known 2023 duo at this point for the Huskers, but a pair remain uncommitted in Elkhorn South edge Maverick Noonan and Lincoln East athlete Malachi Coleman. Noonan is a legacy and has a bunch of good options including Stanford, while Coleman has become one of the top prospects in the Midwest and in recent weeks alone has picked up offers from Georgia, Oregon and Iowa, among others. Noonan is slated to be at the game and it's unclear if Coleman will be. He’s not an in-state prospect anymore, but former Lincoln Southeast edge Teitum Tuioti, now at Sheldon High in Eugene, Oregon, is also slated to be back on campus.
A young but promising in-state duo to watch is class of 2025 prospects DL Tyson Terry (Omaha North) and LB Christian Jones (Omaha Westside), who are set to also be on campus again.
The Cedar Grove group: The Huskers are hosting several players from Cedar Grove High in Georgia, where Bonner played in high school and will graduate this spring. It includes four-star defensive back Kayin Lee, wide receiver Barry Jackson Jr. and edge Adonijah Green, a Louisville commit.
Nebraska is also set to host a highly recruited duo from Langston Hughes High in Fairburn, Georgia, in four-star tackle Bo Hughley (6-7, 290), a Georgia commit, and three-star defensive lineman Joshua Horton (6-5, 290), who has a host of SEC offers himself.Â
The Chicago group: A group that visited with now-signee Jalil Martin last summer is returning, including wide receiver Malik Elzy (Simeon Academy), defensive back Khalil Tate (Kenwood Academy) and 2024 four-star I’Marion Stewart (Bolingbrook). Also from the Chicago area: 2023 linebacker K’Vion Thunderbird (Kenwood) and defensive back Dash Dorsey (Wheaton), and 2024 edge Marquise Lightfoot (Kenwood), among others.
Nebraska football scholarship chart
Position | Freshman | RS Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | Fifth/Sixth-year senior |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
QB (3) | Dylan Raiola | Heinrich Haarberg* | ||||
Daniel Kaelin | ||||||
RB (5) | Kwinten Ives* | Emmett Johnson* | Gabe Ervin Jr.* | Rahmir Johnson* | ||
Dante Dowdell | ||||||
TE/FB (7) | Ian Flynt | Ismael Smith Flores* | Janiran Bonner* | Thomas Fidone* | ||
Eric Ingwerson | Nate Boerkircher* | |||||
Carter Nelson | ||||||
WR (13) | Jacory Barney Jr. | Jaidyn Doss* | Malachi Coleman | Alex Bullock | Jahmal Banks* | Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda* |
Quinn Clark | Demitrius Bell* | Jaylen Lloyd | Isaiah Neyor* | |||
Dae'vonn Hall | ||||||
Isaiah McMorris | ||||||
Keelan Smith | ||||||
OL (19) | Grant Brix | Gunnar Gottula* | Justin Evans* | Henry Lutovsky* | Micah Mazzccua* | Bryce Benhart* |
Landen Davidson | Sam Sledge* | Jacob Hood* | Teddy Prochazka* | Ben Scott | Turner Corcoran* | |
Jake Peters | Jason Maciejczak* | Tyler Knaak* | Ru'Quan Buckley* | |||
Gibson Pyle | Brock Knutson* | |||||
Preston Taumua | ||||||
DL (15) | Ashton Murphy | Mason Goldman* | Brodie Tagaloa* | Jimari Butler* | Nash Hutmacher | Ty Robinson* |
Keona Wilhite | Vincent Carroll-Jackson* | Kai Wallin* | AJ Rollins* | |||
Sua Lefotu* | Riley Van Poppel | Chief Borders* | ||||
Cameron Lenhardt | Elijah Jeudy* | |||||
LB (11) | Vincent Shavers | Dylan Rogers* | Gage Stenger* | Mikai Gbayor* | MJ Sherman | John Bullock* |
Willis McGahee IV | Maverick Noonan* | Princewill Umanmielen | Stefon Thompson* | Javin Wright* | ||
DB (24) | Caleb Benning | Dwight Bootle II* | Ethan Nation | Marques Buford* | DeShon Singleton | Isaac Gifford |
Mario Buford | Syncere Safeeullah* | Blye Hill | Koby Bretz* | Tommi Hill | ||
Roger Gradney | Rahmir Stewart* | Malcolm Hartzog | ||||
Rex Guthrie | Jeremiah Charles* | |||||
Donovan Jones | D'Andre Barnes* | |||||
Braylen Prude | Brice Turner* | |||||
Amare Sanders | ||||||
Larry Tarver Jr. | ||||||
Evan Taylor | ||||||
Amare Sanders | ||||||
ST (3) | Kamdyn Koch | Tristan Alvano | Brian Buschini* | |||
Class Total | 30 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 7 | 10 |
Overall Total: | 100 | |||||
*Redshirt |
Other expected 2023 unofficial visitors
LB Raul Aguirre (Fayetteville, Georgia): One of the most highly recruited players expected on campus this weekend, the consensus four-star prospect has recently been to Ohio State and has offers from a host of top schools nationally.
DL David Borchers (Eldridge, Iowa): An interior defensive line recruit, Borchers has been on campus already this spring and told the Journal Star that Nebraska is recruiting him harder than anybody else.
DB Christian Ford (McKinney, Texas): A rising prospect from Texas who has offers from several Pac-12 schools, Ford is from a state where the Huskers are trying to re-solidify their presence.
DL Edric Hill (Kansas City, Missouri): Hill has an impressive offer list that includes LSU, USC and Oregon and many others.
DB Watts McBride (Cedar Rapids, Iowa): A multiple-time visitor who first picked up an offer last summer, McBride is becoming a popular name in Big Ten country.
WR Joshua Manning (Lee’s Summit, Missouri): Manning is a key receiver target for the Huskers and has already been to campus earlier this spring. One of several prospects Nebraska would love to land from the Kansas City area in 2023. Special teams coordinator Bill Busch is working the talent-rich city for NU.
DB Braeden Marshall (Lake Mary, Florida): Already a longtime target for Travis Fisher and company, Marshall has an impressive set of offers.
ATH Zach Ortwerth (Kansas City, Missouri): NU was the first to offer Ortwerth. Since then, he’s picked up several others, including Big Ten schools like Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois and Indiana. He could play either side of the ball in college, either tight end or edge rusher.
Edge Caleb Otlewski (Melissa, Texas): An edge prospect from Texas, Otlewski has a growing set of offers and will see NU for the first time.
LB Phil Picciotti (Perkasie, Pennsylvania): Picciotti is a four-star according to Rivals and has racked up a bunch of offers, including in-state Penn State.
ðŸ“Lincoln, NE tomorrow for the Spring Game
— Phil Picciotti (@PhilPicciotti)
DB Phillip Roche (Merrillville, Indiana): The three-star defensive back started to see his recruitment really pick up this winter with offers from NU, Purdue, Boston College and others.
RB Sergio Snider (Arlington, Texas): NU running backs coach Bryan Applewhite has deep ties in Texas, and the Martin High standout appears to be one of his targets. The back has a big set of offers, including Baylor, Texas Tech, Washington and several others.
Edge Trey Wilson (Garland, Texas): At 6-3 and 230, Wilson projects as an edge in college and will be seeing NU for the first time this weekend.
Class of 2024 unofficial visitors
RB Titus Cram (Bondurant, Iowa): Cram’s already been to campus and now is returning for the spring game. The young back already has offers from Iowa and Iowa State along with NU and Kansas State.
DB Curley Reed (Lake Charles, Louisiana): A four-star defensive back, Reed is already a sought-after player who wide receivers coach and New Orleans native Mickey Joseph offered not long after he got to NU this winter.
RB Aneyas Williams (Hannibal, Missouri): A late add to the list, Wililams is an early four-star prospect in the 2024 class who has offers from in-state Mizzou and also Oregon so far.