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Final thoughts on Nebraska Football spring game

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Nebraska Football/Twitter@HuskerFBNation

Here are some final thoughts on the Nebraska football spring game and the entire weekend that was for the Huskers.

Nebraska football played its first spring game under new head coach Matt Rhule on Saturday and more than 66,000 fans showed up to watch.

Plenty more watched on TV. It was an event and became a memorable affair when the Huskers decided to honor former head coach Frank Solich, who was the last man to lead Nebraska football to a conference title (1999).

The first play of the scrimmage was a give to the fullback — the former position of Solich — and it was perfect. Things weren’t perfect on the field, but things never are in the spring.

Still, there were a lot of encouraging signs, and here are some final thoughts on the Nebraska football spring game.

Don’t overreact about anything

Some Nebraska football fans already need to be talked off the ledge. I saw some talking about how they think the Huskers are only going to win 3-4 games next season.

At the same time, other fans were over the moon about the performance. Nebraska football fans should be excited about Jeff Sims. He looked legit and impressed me as a thrower, as much as he did with his athleticism. He just seemed in control.

The defense had a really good day overall. It allowed just two touchdowns and two field goals. Nebraska’s defense also forced eight turnovers and got some quality pressure on the quarterback.

Tony White looks like the real deal. I don’t think that’s an overreaction based on his career. Yet, be cautious about overreacting to what we saw Saturday.

Matt Rhule gets it

I don’t know how big of a role Rhule played in honoring Frank Solich this weekend, but Rhule is the perfect ambassador for Nebraska football. Giving it to the fullback was a perfect call.

You can feel the genuine passion in Rhule when it comes to Nebraska football. It’s great to see him embrace Solich, Tom Osborne, and so many others from the past. He invited former Heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch to speak to the team last week.

It feels like he’s building a bridge between the past and the future. You can also tell that Rhule and Trev Alberts are completely aligned. They share the same vision and that’s important.

All eyes are on Casey Thompson, others

I’ll be watching to see what Casey Thompson does. As a graduate, he does have the ability to transfer without having to sit out for a year.

Rhule said he would be meeting with each player this week to discuss where they stand. He told Husker 247, “We don’t predict the future.” But they will tell the players where they stand if there was a game today.

I’m wondering how that conversation will go with Thompson. If Rhule says that Sims would be the starter as of today, it would leave Casey with two choices: Stay and attempt to win the job or leave via the portal.

I hope that he stays because you need more than one stating-caliber quarterback. Without Thompson on the roster, I’m not sure Nebraska has that based on what I saw Saturday.

We’ll see what happens with Thompson, but departures are coming. The Huskers need to reduce their scholarships by double digits. Some will enter the portal. Others might take the option of “retiring” which essentially allows them to have their school paid for, without counting towards the scholarship limit as they wouldn’t be on the team.

Roster movement is coming and it’s going to be a storyline for the next couple of weeks.

A solid recruiting weekend

Nebraska football started the weekend with the commitment from Willis McGahee IV, a talented EDGE. I love the commitment and it seemed like a positive weekend overall.

Carter Nelson was on campus and seemed to really enjoy himself. Brandon Baker, the No. 1 tackle in 2024, visited for the second time this spring and indicated he could return for an official visit.

I don’t know if any more commitments are coming soon, but it was a positive weekend for the Huskers, who had 24 recruits on campus including Brian Robinson, a four-star EDGE from Ohio I’m really excited about. According to Brandon Collier, the visit went really well and it seems like there is an opening in his recruitment.

After watching the Nebraska defense on Saturday, you have to feel like the Huskers helped themselves.

Rhule wasn’t blowing smoke about the O-line

Bryce Benhart looks really good. He also played well. He wasn’t perfect by any means and I need to do an extended look to get a better feel, but on the first watch, he was much better than a season ago.

In the running game, I was impressed by how he was able to get to the second level. Benhart was much more mobile and was definitely getting out of his stance better.

The pass protection wasn’t perfect but Nebraska didn’t have its preferred starting left tackle either. Ben Scott was a great addition. He jumped off the screen at me. I also thought Nouredin Nouili looked like a guy that has a shot to be drafted.

When Turner Corcoran went out with an injury, he stepped in at left tackle and held his own. He’s going to be a good player this season and if Teddy Prochazka can get healthy, the offensive line won’t be the wart it was last season.

It might even be a strength. I’m still a little worried about the depth and that’s one position I’d like to see a transfer portal addition, assuming Nebraska is able to create enough room. A swing tackle would be perfect, although right now, Corcoran might be the guy, especially since Ethan Piper can easily step in as a starter.

In fact, with Piper saying he’s getting snaps at center, you can easily see a scenario where he ends up as the backup for multiple interior spots, allowing Corcoran to serve as a backup tackle in a pinch.

All in all, I liked what I saw on Saturday and it did nothing to dissuade me from predicting a winning season and a bowl game in 2023 for Nebraska football.

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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.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find our podcast on Apple or Spotify

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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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