While Nebraska's haul of new prospects might not make large-scale waves on the national scene Wednesday, it appears that new head coach Bo Pelini and his staff have essentially saved the Cornhuskers' 2008 recruiting class.
Despite 15 players who decommitted, including 14 recruits who had given their verbal pledges to former coach Bill Callahan, Nebraska appears poised for a top-30 finish when the final recruiting rankings are revealed. As of Tuesday evening, Scouts.com ranked the Huskers' 25-member class No. 22 in the country, while Rivals has NU tied for No. 27.
While the accuracy of recruiting ratings can certainly be debated Callahan's staff produced some of Nebraska's best recruiting finishes ever, but had losing seasons in two of the past four years some might view it as a miracle that the Huskers could finish as high as it appears they will.
After the defections of Callahan recruits started piling up in December, Nebraska's recruiting rankings sank. The Huskers had been among the top 10, according to Rivals.com, before a disappointing 5-7 season that produced a shakeup in the football program.
"Boasting a strong class in the spring of 2007, the Cornhuskers class was headed for an all-time meltdown, but new head coach Bo Pelini has stopped the bleeding and has Nebraska headed back in the right direction," wrote Scouts Inc. recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill. "Luring back linebacker Will Compton and defensive end Josh Williams have been small victories for this new staff."
It seems Nebraska's coaches have gone to great lengths to try and scramble to put together a respectable class. That was especially the case in the recruitment of Williams as Huskers' linebackers coach Mike Ekeler actually got a temporary Blackshirts tattoo on his shoulder with Williams' name on it to try and impress the standout from Denton, Texas.
"It looked awesome," Ekeler told ESPN.com. "I said, 'I got this to remind me that if you don't sign with us you're making the biggest mistake of your life, and I have to look at it for the rest of my life.'"
Williams committed to Nebraska two days later.
Baker Steinkuhler, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive line recruit from Lincoln Southwest is widely regarded as Nebraska's top recruit, earning five stars from Rivals.com. Defensive back David Whitmore of Port Arthur, Texas, and Compton, recruited as an "athlete" out of Bonne Terre, Mo., are both four-star players, according to Rivals.com.
Nebraska's class features a strong Texas flavor as nine of the Huskers' 25 known verbal commitments hail from the Lone Star state. New assistant coach Tim Beck, who coached at Kansas last year, is a former Texas high school coach and has been instrumental in helping Pelini's program in one of college football's top recruiting hotbeds.
Perhaps due in part to the coaching change, Nebraska hasn't exactly locked down its home state. Of the state's top 10 recruits, according to Rivals.com, the Huskers have just five, led by Steinkuhler, Millard North linebacker Sean Fisher, Omaha Westside running back Collins Okafor, Crete athlete John Levorson and West Point Central Catholic linebacker Micah Kreikemeier.
Elkhorn offensive lineman Trevor Robinson, the state's No. 2-rated player, decommited from Nebraska and is now headed for Notre Dame. Kansas is getting the state's No. 5-rated player in Omaha Westside tight end Tim Biere, while Iowa has verbal commitments from two Omaha Central standouts in defensive back Shaun Prater (No. 7) and wide receiver Shane Prater (No. 8).
Should individual player rankings pan out, it would seem that two of Nebraska's Big 12 Conference North Division rivals benefited greatly from the coaching change in Lincoln.
Two of Missouri's top five recruits, according to Rivals.com, were once committed the Huskers in quarterback Blaine Gabbert and offensive lineman Dan Hoch. Three of Nebraska's decommits landed at Colorado in offensive lineman Bryce Givens, linebacker Doug Rippy and linebacker Shaun Mohler, who is ranked as the best junior college player at his position in the country.
Then again, the importance of who's in Nebraska's class of scholarship recruits might not completely determine the future success. With former Hall of Fame coach Tom Osborne now the school's athletics director, the Huskers are once again placing a greater emphasis on their walk-on program. Reports are that NU will bring in around 25 walk-ons this year.
As for this year's recruiting national title, many of the usual suspects once again lead the way. Scout.com has Florida No. 1, followed by USC, Texas, South Carolina and Notre Dame. Rivals.com's top five includes Florida, Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma.
Nebraska 2008 Recruiting Class
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
Antonio Bell WR 6-2 177 Daytona Beach, Fla.
Will Compton ATH 6-2 214 Bonne Terre, Mo.
Khiry Cooper WR 6-2 175 Shreveport, La.
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
x-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.
P.J. Smith DB 6-2 205 River Ridge, La.
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
x-Signed letter of intent
Source: Rivals.com
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