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3 thoughts on commitment of Walter Rouse to Nebraska Football

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Nebraska Football
Oct 5, 2019; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal offensive tackle Walter Rouse (75) celebrates after the game against the Washington Huskies at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football has added another experienced offensive lineman Walter Rouse from the transfer portal. Here are three thoughts for the Huskers.

As Nebraska football fans learned last offseason, finding quality offensive linemen in the transfer portal can be a bit of an adventure.

However, new head coach Matt Rhule has made it a priority and after missing on one target on Tuesday night, the Huskers rebounded to land the commitment of former Stanford left tackle Walter Rouse.

Rouse was also considering Iowa and Oklahoma. He visited each of those schools in the past week. Yet, his last visit was to Nebraska football and the Huskers were able to close.

Here are three thoughts on what the addition means for the Huskers going forward.

Another nice recruiting win for Matt Rhule

Rouse isn’t super highly-ranked or anything in terms of the transfer portal, but this was a contested recruitment for a reason. He’s started 39 games at left tackle over four seasons and that’s extremely valuable to the Huskers and lots of other college football teams.

He was also one of the last quality offensive linemen left in the transfer portal right now. This window is open for another week. There is also another transfer window in the spring but it was vital that Nebraska football landed another starting-caliber lineman in the portal and Matt Rhule did that.

One thing Rhule has shown so far is that he knows how to close and win a recruiting battle. He had some nice victories in the 2023 class and in the portal — Jeff Sims, Ben Scott, and now Walter Rouse all fall into that same category.

Nebraska football offensive line is immediately better

Even if Rouse doesn’t wind up starting, Nebraska football just got better up front. He’s a guy that has started 39 games for a reason and has been an honorable mention All-Pac-12.

Rouse is 6-foot-6, 318 pounds and it’s going to take some really solid play to beat him out. Teddy Prochazka is another name to know obviously as the 6-foot-9 former four-star recruit is projected to be the starter at left tackle.

That was under the previous staff though. Prochazka could be moved over to right tackle or Rouse could too. Bryce Benhart and Turner Corcoran could also be moved inside to guard as he was to start last season.

Ethan Piper (8 starts in 2022) is also back and so is Nouredin Nouili who started seven games at left guard in 2021 for Nebraska football. Henry Lutovsky (2 starts in 2022) is also returning and suddenly, Nebraska has some depth.

Figuring out the best five is going to take some time, but Rouse has played over 2,000 snaps in college football and there really is no replacement for that kind of experience. The Huskers now have eight players on the roster that have started at least two games and I for one, feel much better about the group going into 2023.

Nebraska has been stellar about filling needs

High school recruiting will always be important. You have to be able to recruit talented players and develop them. The transfer portal though is a great way to fill specific needs and to turn around a struggling program.

Nebraska has had a lot of recruiting misses in the past few years. That’s not really debatable. So it’s good to see Rhule addressing some of those depth/talent issues in the transfer portal.

The offensive line was an obvious need and the Huskers have two guys who have at least 28 starts in the Pac-12. UCLA and Auburn were in the mix for Scott, while Iowa and Oklahoma were the threats for Rouse.

Billy Kemp was another solid get as a four-star transfer at wide receiver. He’s short but he’s a player, and with 192 receptions, he’s got the production Nebraska football needs at that position. Just one proven guy.

Sims is a great addition at QB. If he doesn’t win the job this year, he’s got a redshirt year. He could still start four games and redshirt if something happened to Casey Thompson, assuming he won the job in that scenario.

The Huskers have also added multiple players on defense that should be among the two-deep right away. It’s a really good transfer portal haul and outside of tight-end depth, just about every need has been satisfied.

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More crystal ball projections for Nebraska Football ahead of big weekend

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Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football has landed two more crystal ball projections ahead of a huge recruiting weekend for the Huskers.

There are going to be 26 recruits on campus this weekend visiting the Nebraska football program. Five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola is the headliner, along with a number of other top-100 recruits and the top-ranked player in the state of Nebraska Carter Nelson.

It’s one of the most impressive visit weekends for Nebraska football recruiting in a long time, maybe ever, but how many commitments are going to come this weekend if any?

I certainly wouldn’t expect a pledge from Raiola. As much as Nebraska football fans might want that, the top-ranked QB in the 2024 class just scheduled an official visit in June with Georgia, the defending national champs. This is on the heels of another visit to UGA, so the Huskers need to recapture some momentum.

The key objective with many recruits will be getting them back for an official visit. Gatlin Bair is a name that comes to mind since the kid is ranked 40th overall in the 2024 class via 247 sports. He’s visiting this weekend and if the Huskers got him back for an official visit in June, they’d have to feel good about their chances.

However, Nebraska football could land a couple of commitments this weekend. One candidate is three-star tight end Ian Flynt. He visited back in January, has family ties to Nebraska football, and just received another crystal ball projection for the Huskers. That’s four total for the No. 456 overall recruit in the 2024 class (247 composite).

A commitment might not happen this weekend, but I’d look for a commitment date coming soon out of this weekend. Flynt is out of Texas and so is three-star offensive lineman Gibson Pyle, who also received a crystal ball projection on Friday (Flynt did too).

Pyle is 735th overall and he teased an announcement a couple of weeks ago but it didn’t come. He’s got six crystal ball predictions for the Huskers and that’s another potential commitment to watch out for this weekend.

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Nebraska Football hosting elite tight end, 4-star EDGE to return

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Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The Nebraska football recruiting buzz has been off the charts and another top-100 recruit is on campus today plus more on the Huskers.

Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football coaching staff have been doing a spectacular job on the recruiting trail. The Huskers are set to host 26 recruits this weekend and that number could grow.

However, those weren’t the only visitors for Nebraska football this week. On Monday, the first day of spring ball, the Huskers hosted a three-star offensive lineman and also Willis McGahee IV, a four-star EDGE.

McGahee is out of Miami, Florida and his dad, of course, was a legendary running back for the Hurricanes who also played for the Bills and Ravens in the NFL. The pedigree is there and the 6-foot-1, 225 pounder who is actually a three-star in the 247 sports composite rankings, is expected to return for the Nebraska football spring game.

McGahee is listed by 247 sports as a linebacker, but he’s an EDGE. He had 13 sacks as a junior and he’s got the kind of athleticism that Rhule loves. This is definitely heading in the right direction for the Huskers but Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and UCF are all set to get visits too and are in the mix.

Nebraska football hosting top 100 tight end

Rhule and the Huskers are trying to make the state of Missouri a bigger priority and so far, it’s worked pretty well. Nebraska football is making headway in the state, especially with one of the best Missouri prospects in the 2024 class in Jaden Reddell.

Reddell is 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, and out of Raymore, Missouri. He’s ranked 68th overall in the 247 sports composite rankings for the 2024 class and is fourth among tight ends, as well as a third-ranked player from the Show Me State. He’s also visiting Nebraska football on Thursday according to his Twitter account.

The On3 prediction machine currently gives the Missouri Tigers a slight advantage, but this will be the second trip for Reddell to the Nebraska football program. The next objective will be getting him back for an official visit in June.

That’s the same with McGahee. If he comes back for the spring game and then takes an official visit, you’d have to feel good about Nebraska’s chances. And while fans want commitments, visits are an important part of building the relationship that can lead to a commitment down the line.

As of now, Rhule and company are doing exactly what they should on the recruiting trail and it’s refreshing to see.

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Nebraska Football in good spot for 2024 WR Gatlin Bair

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Nebraska football has been recruiting at a high level ever since the new coaching staff stepped on campus. They have made their recruiting priorities clear, and that includes 2024 Idaho wide receiver Gatlin Bair.

Bair is the ninth overall wide receiver in the 2024 class. The wide receiver is the top player in the state of Idaho, and has a 95 overall numerical ranking on 247DSorts. He has two schools in the lead for his recruitment in Michigan and Nebraska. Garret McGuire is taking care of Bair on Nebraska’s end, and it appears the coach is making a good impression.

Bair could give Nebraska a downfield weapon that spreads the field. This is something that Nebraska football wants in the program, as they are targeting playmakers that open up the offense. He has the size and speed to be a legitimate threat, at six-foot-two, 180 pounds. The Huskers have gotten several playmakers already in the offense. Bair would fit the bill, and make the wide receiver room even deeper.

Initially, he was one of the more under-recruited prospects, but now more programs are catching on. Even still, the wide receiver spoke highly of the Nebraska football program during a recent interview with the Omaha World-Herald. Bair is coming to Lincoln this weekend, along with several other prospects for the big Junior Day. He really likes the energy   surrounding the program, and the willingness of McGuire to learn as transcribed by Sam McKewon.

“There’s just an energy about the program,” Bair said Tuesday evening. “It just seems like every single person in the building really wants to turn that program around and get things rolling. I was really drawn to that, and what they’re trying to do.”

“I really like people who are open to learning,” Bair said of the 23-year-old McGuire, perhaps the youngest assistant in major college football. “I don’t like people who are set in their ways. I really enjoy the fact that he’s open to learning and progressing. That would allow me to progress with him at the same time, allow me to grow.”

It seems as though Nebraska football recruiting pitch has been very good to this point. Several fans were worried about McGuire’s age, but it seems as though that is not a problem for recruits. It certainly bodes well for Nebraska football that Bair thinks so highly of them. This could be extremely important heading into the upcoming weekend.

Nebraska football will not have a shortage of wide receivers, nor will they have a shortage of talent in the room. Bair’s recruitment and subsequent interest is proof of that.

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