Nebraska Football: 4-star speedster Roger Gradney commits

Nebraska football picked up their first commitment of the 2024 class late Monday night. Roger Gradney committed to the program. He made the announcement via Twitter.

Gradney is the 28^th overall athlete in the country, and the 40th overall player in the state of Texas per the 247 sports rankings. He is the 234^th overall player in the 2024 class, and is a four-star athlete.

Gradney had several offers on the table, most of them from smaller schools. Campbell, Texas Tech, and UTSA offered him in addition to Nebraska. He was recruited to Nebraska by secondary coach Evan Cooper.

@MJDesignr GBR‼️‼️24/7? pic.twitter.com/7tYYvStFn5

— roger gradney (@rogergradney15) February 21, 2023

What can he bring to the table for Nebraska football?

Gradney is a player who is an athlete in every sense of the word. He was a prolific kick returner, as he used his speed and elusiveness to make things happen once he got the football. Injuries were a problem for him last season, as he only played in five games for Rice Consolidated High School.

The 2021 season was a bit of a different story however. He played at receiver, quarterback, and safety in addition to his duties as a returner. He was able to score a touchdown at every one of those positions. His versatility was on full display, and that’s perhaps what Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football coaching staff saw in him as well.

It is certainly intriguing that he had a small offer sheet, given his speed and his talent. However, one has to wonder if injuries played a factor in his recruitment. Nevertheless, his recruitment moved fast. He was offered by Nebraska on Sunday, and committed on Monday night.

Gradney is certainly a strong start to a 2024 class, that up until  Monday evening, had no commitments in it. It will be interesting to see what the program can do to help grow out the class even further. In addition, this is also another Texas commitment. It’s becoming very clear that Texas will be a fertile ground for the Nebraska football program.