3 thoughts on Dawson Merritt’s flip to Nebraska football

Say what you will about the results on the field but Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football coaching staff continue to knock it out of the park on the recruiting trail.

The latest recruiting win for the Huskers came after flipping four-star linebacker Dawson Merritt from Alabama — yes Alabama. Nebraska football has also flipped four-star prospects from Oregon and Kansas this cycle.

Merrit is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and ranked No. 116 overall in the 2025 class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Flat out, this dude is a difference-maker.

Merritt is now the top-ranked commitment for Nebraska football in 2025. The Huskers are ranked 20th overall in the 2025 class. They have eight blue-chip commitments with Dawson now in the fold and here are three thoughts on his commitment.

A huge recruiting win

It might be obvious to say but it’s hard to overstate what a win this is for Matt Rhule. Not only did Nebraska beat out Alabama for Merritt, but it also kept one of the top players from the Midwest in the Midwest.

If the Huskers can start doing that consistently, watch out. Dawson and Isaiah Mozee are hopefully just the start of the Midwest boon for Nebraska football recruiting.

Jamar Mozee is making an impact and it’s not a coincidence that all three flips in this cycle have come from Kansas or Missouri.

Nebraska should continue to recruit Texas and Florida, as well as the state of Nebraska, but there is a lot of elite talent in the Midwest and it’s good to see the Huskers becoming a factor for those players.

The pipeline should only continue to grow.

Another versatile defender

Merritt can play multiple spots in the future for Nebraska football. He could be a true linebacker, he could be a JACK, or he could even be an EDGE.

There are some definite pass-rush skills. That might be the thing he does best when it’s all said and done, but he’s a rangy linebacker and a twitchy athlete. He had seven sacks as a junior. I’m sure that number has only gone up as a senior.

More than anything, Merritt is a playmaker and Nebraska football needs more of those guys on defense. He’s explosive and it will be fun to see how the Huskers utilize him.

Nebraska football isn’t done with flips

It’s impressive what this program has been able to do on the recruiting trail considering it still has just five wins and hasn’t made a bowl game since 2014.

Having Dylan Raiola on the roster helps. It helped with Merritt and that’s another reason why the hire of Dana Holgorsen was so shrewd. It will help keep Raiola in Lincoln, especially if the offense looks better in the last three games, and keeping Raiola is critical.

Not only for on-field success but recruiting success too. Nebraska football is aiming to flip Cortez Mills, a four-star wideout committed to the Oklahoma Sooners and a new OC could help with that, especially if the offense looks more explosive.

Dana Holgorsen certainly has ties to the state of Texas where Michael Terry, another flip target is from, and maybe, just maybe, his addition can help the offense in the future in more ways than one.

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