NEBRASKA RECRUITING SUMMARY FOR 2000

This years recruiting class turned out to be one of Nebraska's finest in recent memory. The action started early, with nine recruits verbally committing before the football season had begun. In fact one of Nebraska's highest ranked recruits, Chris Septak, had committed in the spring, shortly after the official signing day for the 1999 class. This first batch of athletes, as is the case in most years at Nebraska, were scouted mostly from the summer football camps at Memorial Stadium, and other colleges.

The recruiting action remained hot through the fall season, although the verbals trickled to a slow pace. This is the time where Nebraska really has to reach coast to coast and compete with other major schools for athletes. Five more players gave verbals from September through November. December saw a dramatic increase in activity. This is normally the case, as Nebraska coaches see their schedules lighten up, usually preparing for a bowl game. This combined with a hectic schedule of student athletes coming to the campus to visit. December turned out to be very profitable, as seven more athletes from these visits eventually committed to Nebraska. The fall season did see a couple of setbacks, as two athletes de-committed from their previous verbal agreements, while January saw another decomittment and last second loss of a highly rated quarterback. I tried to grade not just with the raw recruiting numbers, but also took into account our specific needs and if we met them.

Here is a breakdown on grading of this recruiting season:

Quarterbacks/Running backs---( C+ ) Thunder Collins, Steve Kriewald.

Other top prospects not signed---Chris Kelley, Carlyle Holiday, Corey Webster, Diamond Ferri, Jermelle Lewis, Derrick Arnold, Tyson Thompson, Derrick Graves.

This was the only questionable and disappointing area of the season. Kriewald appears to be a solid fullback in the mold of the Mackovica brothers, and I expect him to be a significant player in 2 to 3 years. Collins is a recruit from the junior college ranks. He is quite an unknown player at this time, as he red-shirted this season in order to preserve his sophomore status. He was originally going to enroll this spring and participate in spring drills, but those plans have changed and he will lose this opportunity. He will report in the fall at this time. The coaches are very high on this young man being the game breaker for the Huskers for the next couple of years. The fact of the matter though is that Collins was not Nebraska's first choice for the top running back spot, and the Huskers missed out on several big name players that had expressed some interest in Nebraska. As far as quarterback, this year was important to get at least one, as the Huskers only have two quarterbacks currently on scholarship. At one point in December, the Huskers were in serious contention for three top option style quarterbacks, but one by one they all chose other schools. To help fill in at quarterback, Nebraska did pick up two quality walk-ons in Donny Sizemore and Scott Siefkin. The 2001 recruiting season becomes imperative for signing at least one quality quarterback. This area could have easily been graded lower, but I believe Kriewald is a future very good player, and I am somewhat optimistic with the potential of Collins.

Receivers/Tight Ends/Wingbacks--- ( B- ) Chris Septak, Ben Zajicek, Dewayne Long,

This group obviously begins with tight end Chris Septak, who is rated the second best tight end in the country. Septak was bothered by injuries this senior season so his statistics aren't overwhelming, but he will be a top addition to the squad. Look for him to red-shirt next year due to great depth at the position. He should get playing time in 2001, and then be on the top unit the following year. Receivers at Nebraska are more difficult to evaluate. As much as the coaches look for game breakers, the receivers have to be able to block to get playing time. Pilkington and Zajicek look like possession type receivers in the Matt Davison mold, although both are a bit more athletically talented than Davison. Zajicek is a sprinter, so he may develop into a receiver who can stretch defenses vertically. The concern with Pilkington was that he may turn to professional baseball, and unfortunately he did this summer. Long is a wingback candidate. Again, due to injury, Long is somewhat of a mystery, but athletically gifted. Long did impress the coaches at summer camp. With the top two returning wingbacks both seniors in 2000, it is imperative that some young depth is developed to be ready for the following year. Long or Zajicek may very well see some playing time in 2001. The coaches also have some flexibility, being able to move McPherson or Butler to wingback if desired but I don't see that happening. Marshall is a tremendous athlete, and could have figured into the wingback spot in 2 years, however Randy did not qualify and likely will be placed in a preferred junior college.

Offensive Lineman---( A+ ) Mike Erickson, MJ Flaum, Jake Anderson, Nick Povendo.

This group looks very impressive on paper, being a top five unit in the nation. Offensive line production had diminished the past couple of years due to bad luck in several consecutive recruiting seasons. The coaches made this area a top priority, and last year signed five lineman. We signed four more this year, and the quality unit wide appears much higher this year. This is important because next years class will be small (around 15), and with nine lineman in two years, we can look at probably three recruits for next year. Hard for me to judge lineman talent, but all four of these guys likely will redshirt, unless numerous injuries occur on the squad next year. Erickson is lighter and may need a second year to develop physically, but the other three players all likely will get some playing time in their second year. One down spot; Plisch had verbally committed but then backed out. This possibly might have caused us to lose out on Christopfel too, but overall no complaints with this unit.

Defensive Lineman---( A- ) Bernard Thomas, Manaia Brown.

This area was not a critical need for the Huskers. However I believe rush end is a premier position in our scheme and it never hurts to get at least one every year. This year we got Bernard Thomas, rated #6 DE in the west. The coaches are high on him and he looks to be a solid contributor his second year. Likely facing a redshirt year due to depth at his position. At defensive tackle, Manaia Brown was signed. His situation is still not clear. He may wait until January 2001 to report, or he may qualify and report with the rest of this years class come this fall. Whichever he does, he may be the surprise of the class. Although Husker coaches had Jammal Brown rated higher, Manaia has consistently been right with Jammal according to Rivals analysts, and was there another Nebraska prospect this year rated so high and lacking so much publicity? Would likely face a redshirt year if he reports this coming fall, again due to depth at this position. Brown's status is solidified but it appears as though he will be qualified for 2001.

Linebackers-----( A ) Jason Richenberger, Ira Cooper, TJ Hollowell, Lanny Hopkins.

Linebacker was a critical position this year. Actually last year was the critical year, and in my opinion, we should have gotten a class similar to this year for the past class. Anyhow, this year's linebacker class shapes up as one of the best in the nation. Richenberger and Cooper are top 20 linebackers, and one or both may see freshman playing time to due lack of depth at both outside linebacker positions. Getting players of this caliber last year would have afforded them a redshirt season while we still had the good linebacker depth of 1999. Hollowell and Hopkins are highly thought of athletes out of Texas (#12 and #13 respectively, for linebackers, in the state). Hopkins has great speed, and could be looked at for safety (see below). Both these athletes likely will redshirt. The one disappointment was not getting a true middle linebacker. Satchell was the one, but de-committed. Curry was another very good prospect, but I believe the Huskers gave up on him too early. Hollowell could eventually fill that bill if necessary.

Defensive Backs---( A-) Lornell McPherson, Terrell Butler, Willie Amos.

Nebraska appears to have gotten two great athletes for cornerback, a position in the blackshirt scheme that is critical to allowing man coverage and a blitzing, attacking style of defense that fans have become accustomed to. Both have great speed and also versatility. Both could play WR/WB in a pinch, and I look for Butler to be an excellent return man, in addition to Marshall. Getting two cover corners was critical to add depth, and in my opinion the conference is beginning to lean toward more passing. The only weakness was not picking up a safety where Nebraska lacks some depth. The coaches think highly of Amos being able to switch to safety, a hard hitter in their words. Timbers and Mayes would have been ideal, and were highly sought after, but in the end both chose elsewhere. We do have some flexibility, as Hopkins could make the switch rather easily in my opinion. Zajicek could also be moved from offense to the secondary if the coaches deemed that necessary.

Kicker/Punter---(A-) Sandro DeAngelis.

Nebraska once again went after another good kicker, signing DeAngelis. In addition to kicking he is a very good athlete and gives some extra options for the coaches. He also will free up Josh Brown in case the coaches want to try him at a couple different positions.

In summary, I give this class an overall A-. We fell short at RB and QB, and I took one tick off A+ for that reason. I took another tick off for not getting a safety, although the corners appear outstanding. OL and LB were big needs and we not only filled with quantity, but with quality. At WR/WB, we filled with quantity and athleticsm, but quality is a bit of a question mark. DL was not a pressing need, but we still filled with 2 quality players. Overall kudos to the coaching staff and good luck to all the new athletes this fall. Also kudos to the Rivals scouts and analysts, which obviously was a big help for this analysis.