A name many Nebraska recruiting followers became quite familiar with over the past year-plus will not be part of the Huskers’ 2020 recruiting class.
That’s four-star outside linebacker Kaden Johnson, who hosted the NU coaching staff on a visit Saturday and then picked Wisconsin on Wednesday morning.
What the Huskers did do, in signing 21 scholarship players on early National Signing Day, though, is bolster not only their ranks at outside linebacker but on the defensive front-seven in general.
Nebraska signed nine front-seven players in all — defensive linemen Marquis Black, Nash Hutmacher and jucos Jordon Riley and Pheldarius Payne; outside linebackers Blaise Gunnerson, Jimari Butler and juco Niko Cooper; and inside linebackers Keyshawn Greene and juco Eteva Mauga-Clements.Â
“We thought as we moved forward in the Big Ten that we had to get a little more size and we had to address a couple of things up front,†defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said Wednesday afternoon. “One is size up front and then some pass rush on the edge, and I think we got both of those areas addressed in this class.â€
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The Huskers did it by targeting different types of players.
At outside linebacker, for example, they landed a Gunnerson, a longtime commit who’s 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, along with the likes of Butler, who at 6-5 and 215 has length and explosion. Nebraska thinks Cooper, who has three years of eligibility remaining, can grow from his current 220 on a 6-5 frame to upwards of 250 with time in its strength and conditioning program.
“Someday I hope (my son) is as big as Blaise and that good of a kid. We’re excited about him,†head coach Scott Frost said. “Niko Cooper is just a specimen of an outside linebacker that we think could play in a lot of different places for us and help out with pass rush. Jimari Butler is another kid that we got late from Alabama. He’s another kid that when you walk in the room with him, you can see the potential there. His tape is really good, and he shows a lot of ability to get after the quarterback.
“We felt that we needed to improve ourselves in that area and we like who we got.â€
NU’s recruiting at inside linebacker had some twists and turns, from a commitment and decommitment with high schooler Rodney Groce to parting ways with juco Jamoi Hodge nine days after he committed. But the Huskers ended up with Mauga-Clements and perhaps the steal of the class in Greene, who was heavily sought-after by the Florida powers and had been pledged to Florida State for more than a year.
“I think getting Keyshawn Greene out of Florida really helped solidify what we have there,†Frost said. “We have ‘Va’ from California. I thought we needed to add a little depth to the inside linebacker room. (Mauga-Clements) is really a run-and-hit guy that we’re excited about. I have no doubt that he’s going to help our football team.
“Keyshawn is an unusual athlete when you watch his tape. His ability to get close to the football and make plays is pretty special. That was a tough get. He got up to Lincoln last week and fell in love with it.â€
On the defensive line, Hutmacher and Riley both go 6-5 and 300-plus pounds, while Black is 6-4 and 290.
Hutmacher and Gunnerson, Chinander said, are staple-type players for the future.
“(Hutmacher) is a great kid, a big, physical guy that loves football and wants to be at Nebraska more than anything in the world,†Chinander said. “I think those two guys are really going to help solidify the class.â€