Nebraska is going to have a Bootle in its secondary room once again.
Class of 2023 cornerback Dwight Bootle, the younger brother of former Husker corner Dicaprio Bootle, gave his verbal commitment to the program Monday, just days after first earning a scholarship offer.
In fact, Dwight told the Journal Star that he knew where he was headed to play college football as soon as he picked up the offer.Â
"It’s great. I really actually committed on Friday. Got the offer on Thursday and committed on Friday," he said. "I just felt like it was a great place for me to continue my legacy and piggyback off of my brother. It was just the move. I’ve been there already, I’m familiar with it and I know the coaching staff will push me to the max."Â
"All smiles, everything excited," he said. "'It’s another Bootle!'"Â
The younger Bootle has been on Nebraska's radar screen for years, of course, because his brother spent five years at NU from 2016-20.
Over the course of his high school career, though, Dwight Bootle turned himself from a guy with an older brother at a Big Ten school to a recruit being courted by schools all over the country.
A standout at Killian High in Miami, Bootle picked up offers from Boston College and Kansas in the summer and then South Florida, Louisville and others so far this winter.
Those came after he last year earned offers from Michigan, Indiana, Ole Miss, Pitt and others.
At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Bootle is considered a three-star prospect by both Rivals and 247Sports.
Finally, on Thursday, Bootle received a visit from Nebraska secondary coach Travis Fisher at his school and got the news he had been waiting for.Â
"He’s like family," Bootle said of Fisher. "I could pick up the phone right now and call him and tell him that, 'Hey, I coach I just passed my test,' and he’ll go crazy. It’s like that. I can tell him anything."Â
Not only that, but watching his older brother go through his career at Nebraska, including the final three seasons with Fisher as his position coach, was its own form of trust-building.Â
"I just learned that Nebraska is going to make sure you get to where you want to be, no matter where it is or when it is, they’re going to develop you and make sure you’re right," Dwight said.Â
the good life.🌽
— Dwight Bootle II (@BootleIi)
Bootle is the third player to join Nebraska’s 2023 class, joining in-state tight end Benjamin Brahmer (Pierce) and offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula (Lincoln Southeast). Early on, the class is ranked No. 15 in the country by Rivals and No. 22 according to 247Sports.Â
Dicaprio, of course, was a three-year starter at defensive back for the Huskers and a 2020 team captain. He played in all 44 games Nebraska had from 2017-20 and started 32 straight over his last three years after redshirting in 2016. He finished his career with 27 passes defensed and one interception, which he waited until his senior year for.Â
This fall, Dicaprio Bootle played in three games as an undrafted rookie for the Kansas City Chiefs, logged eight tackles and spent the rest of the season on the practice squad.Â
"It was great to watch him, just knowing I’ve got somebody that’s been there," Dwight said. "So that advice is always going to be there. The experience, it’s just great knowing that my brother did it. Somebody I’ve lived with, somebody I still talk to every day, just knowing his ups and downs and how far he’s came and how far he’s still going, it’s really a blessed feeling. I’m just thankful to be in this position and very thankful. Extremely thankful."Â
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