Nebraska Cornhuskers news: An unprecedented NIL deal, an elite target sets commitment date, and more

The Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team landed an incredible NIL deal, an elite Nebraska football target is deciding soon, and more.

Volleyball is a premier sport for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and on Thursday, there was a major NIL announcement that should allow Nebraska volleyball to continue to field one of the best programs in the sport for years to come.

1890 Initiative announced a $5 million deal with Nebraska Crossing outdoor lifestyle center and JUSTDATA over the course of 10 years and all of that money is going specifically to the Nebraska volleyball program.

The word unprecedented is overused in NIL.

I have yet to see a partnership valued at $5 million that solely benefits a volleyball team or female sport. https://t.co/sDhMhdfvLr

— Pete Nakos (@Pete_Nakos96) July 20, 2023

Pete Nakos, who covers NIL for On3.com, Tweeted this: “The word unprecedented is overused in NIL. I have yet to see a partnership that solely benefits a volleyball team or female sport”

That makes it seem unprecedented and it is. It should also help a lot with recruiting.

Nebraska Cornhuskers landed elite volleyball recruit

Speaking of recruiting, Nebraska volleyball landed another top recruit in the 2025 class on Thursday as Ryan Hunter committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

COMMITTED ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9SAdtWOrco

— Ryan Hunter (@RyanHunter2025) July 20, 2023

BREAKING: Nebraska volleyball has landed a commitment from Ryan Hunter (@RyanHunter2025), the No. 35 overall prospect by PrepDig and No. 3 right-side hitter in the 2025 class #Huskers

More from @Ex_On_Sports:https://t.co/f8w4gcoWZs

— Inside Nebraska (@NebraskaRivals) July 20, 2023

Hunter is 6-foot-2 and she’s left-handed which is a good thing to be as an opposite hitter. She’s ranked 17th overall by prepvolleyball.com and 35th according to prepdig.com. She joins a loaded recruiting class that includes Campbell Flynn (setter), Keri Leimbach (libero/DS), and Teraya Sigler (outside hitter).

Elite recruit Gatlin Bair has a commitment date

In terms of Nebraska football recruiting, the big news from Thursday is the fact that Gatlin Bair has set a commitment date for August 5th.

4-star WR Gatlin Bair will announce his commitment on August 5‼️

He has clocked 100M times of 10.15 and 10.25 this spring👀

Read: https://t.co/0QUan1CuVv pic.twitter.com/WmPPH8S74S

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) July 20, 2023

Nebraska football made its final top five along with Michigan, Oregon, Boise State, and TCU. However, it’s hard to feel optimistic. Bair has always said positive things about the Nebraska Cornhuskers and took an unofficial visit during the spring that seemed to put Nebraska football in a good spot.

However, the Huskers are the only team, outside of Boise State, that didn’t get an official visit. Bair is taking an extended unofficial visit coming up with Boise State once the dead period ends.

After that, he’ll announce a commitment. I don’t think the Nebraska Cornhuskers have much of a chance and Bair is technically more of a 2026 recruit anyway because he’s taking a Mormon mission, but he runs the 100-meter dash in 10.15 seconds.

You can’t coach that kind of speed. That’s why the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder is ranked 40th overall according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Michigan leads the On3 prediction machine after Sean Callahan changed his prediction from Nebraska to Michigan (25 percent confidence on a 1-100 scale).

No other predictions have followed from On3.com or 247 Sports, so who knows, maybe Nebraska football can pull a rabbit out of the hat. Also, on the subject of Nebraska football recruiting, we analyzed three candidates to next the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ next commitment. 

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