Nebraska's drama-free signing day was a product of many things, most notably the type of people the Husker coaching staff recruited, coach Scott Frost said Wednesday.
With the setting sun streaming through Memorial Stadium's west-facing windows on a clear day, Frost stepped to a podium on the sixth floor of the press box and reflected on his staff's work on the recruiting trail.
"I feel great about the guys we signed. You'll probably get tired of hearing me say this, but I not only feel good about the type of player we brought in, I feel great about the type of kid that we're bringing in, in this class," Frost said. "I had the privilege of going around, stopping at all these guys' homes, meeting their families and talking to the kids all through December, and what kept making an impression on me was the type of character kid has chosen to become part of our family at Nebraska."
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What the group of 23 scholarship players and eight walk-ons who signed Wednesday does on the field will ultimately shape the direction of the program. But Frost felt just as strongly about what the group will bring to Nebraska's locker room.
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"I think this is a special group in a lot of ways," Frost said. "But the type of individuals that they are was really impressive to me."
That character led Frost to utter a sentence rarely heard from a football coach, much less on signing day.
"It was a pretty relaxing day for us."
The majority of the class was signed before noon. The Huskers won a couple of key battles for uncommitted players — defensive linemen Ty Robinson (Gilbert, Arizona) and Brant Banks (Houston) and offensive lineman Jimmy Fritzsche (Greenville, South Carolina). The Huskers got signatures from the state of Nebraska's top five recruits. And there was precious little of the nervous waiting some coaching staffs go through as decisions come down to the wire.
"I think it was a pretty drama-free signing day for us because the commitments we had were commitments — a bunch of good kids that gave us their pledge, and we honored it, and they honored it," Frost said. "There's a couple kids we were fighting for right down to the end, but this group committed to us, and were fired up to sign and become a part of our family."
Frost expected a few more signatures by the end of the week. There may be more additions after the New Year. The coach said NU could sign up to 30 players.
"So the work never ends. But my coaching staff has done a great job. I hired the right guys when I got a job the first time, and I'm grateful to those guys for the work that they've done," Frost said.
"We're tired, though. First years are hard. There's a lot of work, there's a lot of things to be done. This staff's gone three straight years without a bye week, so we haven't had a lot of time to rest. I think we're all going to enjoy the Christmas break, and come back ready to go to work."