The Nebraska football team added two more players to its 2008 recruiting class as Rivals.com has reported that Texas running back Lester Ward and Georgia defensive back Alfonzo Dennard have pledged to the Huskers.
With less than a week to go before next Wednesday's national letter-of-intent day, Nebraska now has 23 known commitments.
Ward is a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from Brenham, Texas. The son of former Baylor standout and NFL player Lester Ward Sr., Lester Ward Jr. originally committed to the Bears prior to the 2007 but apparently changed his mind after a recruiting visit to Nebraska in January.
The Huskers also received a surprise commitment in Dennard, who switched his pledge from North Carolina to Nebraska. The 5-10, 190-pounder helped his team, Wilcox County High School, reach the state title game in Class A Georgia's smallest class.
Also, the Lincoln Journal Star reported Friday that Jordan Makovicka will be a walk-on for Nebraska. He becomes the fourth member of the Makovicka family to walk on, joining Jeff, Joel and Justin, who will be a redshirt sophomore next season.
NU 2008 Commitments List
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
Antonio Bell WR 6-2 177 Daytona Beach, Fla.
Will Compton ATH 6-2 214 Bonne Terre, Mo.
Ben Cotton TE 6-6 217 Ames, Iowa
Alfonzo Dennard DB 5-10 185 Rochelle, Ga.
Sean Fisher LB 6-5 210 Omaha
David Grant OL 6-6 278 Killeen, Texas
Ricky Henry OL 6-4 300 Omaha
*-Tyson Hetzer TE 6-7 265 Glendora, Calif.
Micah Kreikemeier LB 6-4 215 West Point
John Levorson ATH 6-4 185 Crete
Cameron Meredith DE 6-4 222 Santa Ana, Calif.
Collins Okafor RB 6-1 210 Omaha
Courtney Osborne ATH 6-2 170 Garland, Texas
Steven Osborne WR 6-4 182 Garland, Texas
Kyler Reed ATH 6-3 204 Overland Park, Kan.
Kody Spano QB 6-2 202 Stephenville, Texas
Baker Steinkuhler OL 6-6 290 Lincoln
Brandon Thompson OL 6-6 280 The Woodlands, Texas
Quentin Toailoa DT 6-5 275 Redlands, Calif.
Lester Ward RB 6-3 186 Brenham, Texas
Alonzo Whaley LB 6-0 213 Madisonville, Texas
David Whitmore DB 6-2 190 Port Arthur, Texas
Josh Williams DE 6-4 220 Denton, Texas
Source: Rivals.com
*-Signed letter of intent
Rudolph to Wisconsin
Former Nebraska assistant coach Joe Rudolph, a first-team All-Big Ten guard at Wisconsin in the early 1990s, has been hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater, head coach Bret Bielema announced.
Rudolph will coach the Badgers' tight ends.
"I've heard about Joe Rudolph ever since I came to Wisconsin," Bielema said. "It's great to have another former Badger player join our staff. Joe has a reputation for being a great coach on and off the field and I'm very excited he's coming back to Madison."
Rudolph most recently served as tight ends coach at Nebraska in 2007.
"I couldn't be more excited to be coming back to Wisconsin," Rudolph said. "I remember when Coach (Barry) Alvarez recruited me and told me he wanted me to help build the program. It's been fun to watch that continue and flourish. The opportunity to come back and contribute and have my family share in that is very exciting."
Prior to his year at Nebraska, Rudolph was a strength and conditioning coach (2006) and graduate assistant coach (2004-05) at Ohio State. During his time at Ohio State, the Buckeyes played in the 2004 Alamo Bowl, 2006 Fiesta Bowl and 2007 BCS National Championship game.
Elmassian lands job
Louisiana-Monroe football head coach Charlie Weatherbie announced the hiring of 34-year coaching veteran Phil Elmassian.
Elmassian joins the Warhawks after four years at Nebraska where he was the defensive backs coach. The veteran coach has been a part of championships in four conferences and has served as the defensive coordinator at four Division I schools: LSU, Virginia Tech, Boston College and West Virginia.
In his career, he has coached 17 players who received all-conference honors and two All-Americans. Elmassian has coached in a bowl game in 17 of the last 23 seasons and coached 16 players with NFL experience.
"Coach Elmassian has vast experience and brings a great deal of knowledge to the table," Weatherbie said. "He has been both a position coach and coordinator at schools all over the country and is a great addition."
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