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3 thoughts on commitment of Ashton Murphy to Nebraska Football

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Nebraska Football
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football needed some positive recruiting momentum and got some with a commitment from Ashton Murphy on Monday.

Perception is reality when it comes to recruiting and after a week or so of less-than-ideal news, Nebraska football got things going in the right direction again with a big commitment on Monday night.

Three-star lineman Ashton Murphy, who could play either side of the ball down the road for the Huskers, took an unofficial visit and afterward, he decided to pull the trigger on a commitment.

Murphy is the third pledge in the 2024 recruiting class for Nebraska football. He’s ranked fifth in the state in the 2024 class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings and here are three thoughts on what it means for the Huskers.

A nice recruiting win

After watching a number of key targets commit to other programs over the last week, Matt Rhule and company got back on the horse Monday night with an important in-state commitment.

The Huskers have seen a couple of in-state recruits trending with crystal ball projections to programs out of state. That caused some concern about other key targets in the 2024 class, Murphy among them.

Iowa State, Colorado, and others were making a push for the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder from Elkhorn South. He only had three power-5 offers but is 616th overall and 49th among offensive tackles.

Most importantly, the commitment added some much-needed momentum for Nebraska football.

The position is still a question mark

Murphy is listed by 247 Sports as an offensive tackle. However, Nebraska football has been recruiting him on the other side of the ball. He told Husker 247 on Monday after his commitment that he spent most of the practice observing Terrance Knighton and the defensive lineman.

“They see me as a D-lineman right now,” Murphy told Husker 247. “The first time they told me, it was a little bit of both and they wanted to see how I develop more — that’s what it was. If I went there and developed into an offensive lineman, they’d move me to offense. I don’t really have a preference. I really love both sides of the ball.”

Murphy also sang the praises of Knighton who was key in winning this recruitment.

“We had some really good conversations about football and how he got to be at Nebraska. He’s done it (in the NFL) and knows what he’s talking about. It really shows how much he loves the game.”

We know that Murphy is a strong kid. He’s 6-foot-5 and is aiming to throw the shot put 60 feet this year. He already hit 55 feet as a sophomore. I love big dudes that are athletic. I wouldn’t be shocked if offensive tackle was his best spot down the road, but tall, strong guys can make great five techniques too.

Who’s next?

It seems to me that there are three candidates to commit in the coming weeks. I still think the Huskers are in a strong position with three-star tight end Ian Flynt. He was back on campus in March and has visited Lincoln twice during this calendar year.

Flynt is from Texas but has ties to Nebraska and I would have thought the Huskers would try to close on his recent visit. We’ll see where things go, but Flynt is a name I’ve been watching in terms of commitments.

Another name to know is Mario Buford. His older brother is on the team and after taking a visit last month, he’s received multiple crystal ball projections to wind up with the Huskers. He’s a four-star prospect and one of the top defensive targets on the board.

Lastly, Caleb Benning could be another in-state recruit to watch. Nebraska football is trailing with Dae’Vonn Hall and Isaiah McMorris. Daniel Kaelin has committed to Missouri and Carter Nelson, the top recruit in the state, has been touring SEC schools, so it’s hard to know if Nebraska can land him or turn around the others.

Yet, the Huskers should have a solid shot with Caleb Benning. He’s a Nebraska football legacy and has visited five times including on March 25th. He has also visited Iowa State and Minnesota this spring. Kansas State also jumped in the mix with an offer and Iowa has offered too.

Benning is 6-foot, 185 pounds, and is ranked 734th overall in the 2024 class via the 247 Sports composite rankings. The Omaha Westside product is also the seventh-best player in the state of Nebraska.

A commitment from him would be huge and it will be interesting to see if the Huskers can add to the 2024 class in the coming weeks, especially with another big visit weekend planned for the spring game.

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Nebraska Football zeroing in on local 2025 LB

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Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football is beginning to make inroads into the 2025 recruiting class, and they will have visitors on campus next weekend. Hosting some local talent. 2025 outside linebacker Zayvion Campbell will be in Lincoln next weekend.

This is notable for a couple of reasons. For one, Ryan Gottula is the head coach at Lincoln Southeast. His son Gunnar is part of the 2023 Nebraska football recruiting class. The family connection could help Nebraska football land Campbell.

Secondly, Nebraska is continuing to recruit in-state. This is something that we have seen in the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes it appears that in-state recruiting will be a focal point. This is something the coaching staff has zeroed in on as one of their main goals during their time at Nebraska. They are sticking to that goal.

What could he bring to Nebraska football?

Campbell is a very intriguing player. He measures in at around six-foot-three, 200 pounds. He has good pursuit ability, and is able to wrap up and make tackles with ease. Campbell would be able to fit the Nebraska football defense by providing a solid presence inside. Campbell uses a variety of moves in order to get to the quarterback as well.

He would give Nebraska a player that could be used in multiple ways in a 3-3-5 defense. It would be fun to see defensive coordinator Tony White work with him. He has the ability to rush as well as fill gaps on the inside. That type of versatility is what Nebraska football should be looking for defensively with the scheme they have.

At the very least, Campbell is coming to campus to check things out.  It’s important that Nebraska continues to look at multiple candidates at the linebacker position. At the very least,  they need to make an effort to continue the recruiting pipeline in-state. The 2023 and 2024 classes were filled with Nebraska-born players. This is a trend that needs to continue.

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Nebraska Football: QB visit canceled and a Carter Nelson update

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Nebraska football
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football is set for its first official visit weekend of June and Kamari McClellan has canceled, plus the latest on Carter Nelson.

One of the big questions lingering about Nebraska football recruiting this weekend was whether or not three-star quarterback Kamari McClellan would make it for his official visit.

It was still on the schedule for this weekend according to the recruiting sites and in a recent interview, McClellan indicated he was still coming. However, with the recent commitment of Daniel Kaelin, it was only going to happen if Nebraska football suddenly decided to take two quarterbacks in 2024.

Anything is possible but the visit has now been canceled according to Sean Callahan of Husker Online. I think McClellan will wind up at Clemson or another team scrambling for a QB. Nebraska football was in that position and the kid is talented, but Kaelin, who is heading to the Elite 11, is a much better get.

Daniel Kaelin will visit Nebraska football again

Speaking of Kaelin, it wasn’t lip service when he said he wants to be around when any recruit comes to visit. The quarterback will take his official visit the same weekend as Carter Nelson.

But he’s now on the list for an unofficial visit this weekend. There are a couple of wideouts expected to visit. Jacory Barney is one and the Huskers lead for the three-star wideout via the On3 prediction machine. He’s ranked 459th overall out of Miami, Florida.

Williams Nettles is also visiting but he could be a cornerback or receiver. Caleb Pyfrom is a three-star in-state tackle also visiting and Kaelin being on campus could help push him toward a commitment, which seems to be where things are trending according to recent crystal balls.

It’s just clear that Kaelin is serious about doing what he can for this class, no matter how many times he needs to come to campus.

Another Carter Nelson visit

Add Penn State to the list of teams to worry about in the Carter Nelson sweepstakes. He’s going to visit the Nittany Lions on June 16th, which will be his fourth scheduled official visit.

Nelson is going to visit Georgia this weekend, followed by Notre Dame next weekend. The Huskers just got a Futurecast projection from Greg Smith of Rivals to land Carter, the top-ranked recruit in the state in 2024 and things seem to be trending in the right direction.

My thought is that Nelson is likely going to take these visits and make a decision sometime this summer, maybe in July or August. That’s just a guess. I don’t see this recruitment bleeding into the season and Nebraska football has put more effort in than any other program.

That doesn’t mean anything on its own. But Carter just took a visit to Nebraska along with Kaelin and that connection seems to be helping. Nelson hasn’t talked about his recruitment a ton, so it’s hard to get a read, but the tea leaves are pointing in Nebraska’s direction.

We’ll see if that’s still true after the next three weekends.

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Nebraska Football trending in right direction with Florida CB

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Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football is having a newsworthy recruiting month to start up June. The program is already trending with four-star corner Mario Buford. Now, it appears that another corner may be in their sights as well.

Amare Sanders is the name to keep an eye on. He is a four-star corner He is ranked numerically at 87.50 according to the On3 recruiting rankings. He plays at Gulliver Prep high school, and is from Miami, Fla.

Sanders is a three-star recruit and measures in at 6-foot-2, 167 pounds. Right now, Nebraska is in the lead for his recruitment according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. He is also visiting Nebraska this weekend, in what is turning out to be a big weekend for visitors.

Sanders has tremendous athleticism for a corner. He is able to make the proper reads on passing plays, and that allows him to close on wide receivers quickly and break up potential completions. He does a good job of turning his hips, and reading the play in its entirety. This is certainly important to his game and the way he plays. He also is a decent size for a corner, as he measures in at 6-foot-2 167 pounds.

Nebraska football making Florida a priority

It’s clear that Nebraska football wants to establish a stake in Florida. They are trending with wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr, and already have a commitment from Willis McGahee IV. Both of those players hail from Miami Palmetto. Sanders goes to Gulliver Prep, which is another highly-touted school in the state of Florida.

Currently, the 2024 Nebraska football recruiting class ranks 31st overall nationally with seven commitments. They have focused on both sides of the football, and are landing talented prospects both in and out of the state of Nebraska.

It will be interesting to see if Sanders ends up coming to Nebraska. The fact that he is visiting this weekend and is trending towards the Huskers is certainly a positive sign. The program done work in Florida before, but it seems like this time around their efforts will stick. Recruiting in Florida is a key component for success. Nebraska football is trying to establish that.

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