LINCOLN, Neb. – Recruiting visits are beginning to take shape as Nebraska shifts its focus from winter conditioning and into spring football. Dead period ended March 3rd as the Husker staff look to carry the momentum from the spectacular finish to the 2024 class, into the early period of the 2025 class.
Rhule’s recruiting strategy focuses on building his roster with high school kids that his staff can develop first, and then augmenting it with transfer portal players for immediate roster needs, so don’t be surprised when you don’t see a lot of transfer portal visits. This strategy allows the roster to be developed while building a culture that is sustainable.
Out of the 37 players that signed in the 2024 class, 31 of them were High School players. In Rhule’s first recruiting cycle, 40 players signed on to play for Nebraska, 27 of them were High School players with one JUCO. Rhule has stated multiple times that he wants Nebraska to be the premier developmental program in college football, and he is going about it the right way.
Husker Recruiting Visits
As always, Nebraska will kick off it’s first major recruiting weekend the Friday before the annual Red White Spring Game (April 27th) This weekend has always been the springboard to solidifying the recruiting classes because Nebraska sells out the stadium for the scrimmage. It’s a great opportunity for the recruits to get an early experience to Nebraska’s devoted fanbase.
From there, more visits are scheduled for Mid-June, which line up with the Matt Rhule Football Camps.
Current Visitor List
April 26th & 27th
Michael Terry III QB 6’3″ 210lbs
TJ Lateef QB 6’2″ 185lbs
Elijah Barnes LB 6’2″ 225lbs
Rylon Dillard-Allen S 5’11” 165lbs
Emmanuel Choice WR 6’4″ 190lbs
Adonyss Currie CB 6’2″ 165lbs
June 14th & 15th
Dawson Merritt LB 6’3″ 215
Aiden Manutai S 6’0″ 170lbs
Bryson Hayes WR 5’11” 180lbs
Cortez Mills WR 6’1″ 170lbs
June 21st
Jack Lange IOL 6’8″ 275lbs
Jaylen Williams DL 6’6″ 265lbs
Zay Gentry CB 6’1″ 165lbs
Houston Kaahaaina-Torres IOL 6’3″ 265lbs
While these are just the confirmed visitors who currently hold offers from Nebraska, keep an eye out for even more recruits starting to schedule their visits throughout the spring and early summer as new targets emerge. Below are some recruits that have recently landed offers from Nebraska.
Isaiah Mozee ATH/WR 6’1″ 185lbs
Brock Heath IOL 6’5″ 260lbs
Trent Wilson DL 6’3″ 270lbs
Joseph Smith CB/ATH 6’0″ 170lbs (Current ASU Commit)
Terry Shelton WR 6’3″ 200lbs
David Sanders Jr. OT 6’6″ 270lbs
With the current visitors already scheduled and some of the new offers going out, Matt Rhule and his staff definitely have prototype athletes in mind. Big, fast, and athletic. Everything you want in a player when building your roster the way Rhule wants.
NCAA Early Signing Date
Wednesday, NCAA officials voted to move the December signing day up to the Wednesday before the Conference Championship Games. Tom Wistrcill, the Big Sky commissioner who also serves as the chairman of the National Letter of Intent subcommittee told The Athletic “The biggest reason we’re doing this is to clear up the football recruiting calendar so the signing period and the transfer portal don’t overlap,” Wistrcill said. “The feedback we’ve received from all coaches is that December is a mess. Especially with the expansion of the CFP coming next year, that just creates more chaos in December. This should help.”
Also in these talks there have been proposals to add a third signing period sometime in the summer. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the summer signing day would be the last Wednesday in June or possibly sometime in August to give recruits who would like to end their recruitment before their Senior season started could do so.
UPDATE: NCAA football officials meeting in Indianapolis this week to discuss calendar change for Signing Day. Here’s what they are proposing — three signing periods: Last Wednesday in June, the Wednesday following the regular season and first Wednesday in February. pic.twitter.com/ckPHuh5bs1
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 28, 2024
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