Latest Christian Jones update isn’t great for Nebraska football

There are a few recruitments still pending for the Nebraska football program in the 2025 recruiting class and one of the most important is four-star linebacker Christian Jones.

Jones is out of Omaha. He’s 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and ranked No. 159 overall in the 2205 class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Jones is also ranked first in the state of Nebraska and he’s been a top target for the Huskers since Matt Rhule was hired as the head coach.

It’s been a hard recruitment to read. Nebraska football has been the constant but it almost feels like Jones is looking for a reason to go somewhere else.

On Thursday, he told Steve Wiltfong of On3.com that his recruitment is down to Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Miami. Oklahoma is a “team to watch” according to Wiltfong. The Sooners hosted Jones for the final visit before the recruiting dead period, although Jones also took an official visit to Nebraska in June.

There were some expert projections around that time in favor of the Huskers but there wasn’t enough momentum for a commitment.

Oklahoma, Miami and Nebraska are battling for 4-star LB Christian Jones, with his recruitment extending into the fall, according to @SWiltfong_

Read: https://t.co/slhtUyDUDZ pic.twitter.com/U5wqBxUOJ6

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) August 8, 2024

“Probably going to commit three games into the season,” Jones said. “See some things and make a decision.”

Jones said he “loves” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables but also talked up the culture of Matt Rhule and Nebraska. My gut tells me that the Huskers have work to do.

I know they are the leader according to the On3 prediction machine and also the crystal ball predictions. But when you “lead” for as long as the Huskers have with Jones, you have to ask why there hasn’t been a commitment. What’s holding him back?

Rhule and company have done well with in-state recruits but missed on Chase Loftin. With Will Hawthorne likely going to Iowa State, the Huskers could use Jones, and frankly, any top-200 recruit is a key priority.

If Jones commits around the third week of the season, that means about a month for these teams to win him over. The dead period ends after August. Nebraska should try to get Jones to visit for another game, but he’s been to Lincoln plenty of times. He knows what it offers.

We’ll see if Oklahoma or Miami are more attractive.

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