Nebraska Football has three major sleepers for ’24 recruiting class

Nebraska football has a loaded 2024 recruiting class. It currently ranks 23rd overall in the country per the 247Sports Team rankings. 29 players have signed their letter of intent, headlined by five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola. The latter has certainly grabbed a ton of headlines over the past couple of days.

However, there is more to the class than just the quarterback group, which also includes Daniel Kaelin. There are several other players that have generated headlines as well. Carter Nelson is one of them as are Grant Brix and Preston Taumua on the offensive line. All of the mentioned players are worthy of praise.

However, there are some commitments that have flown a bit under the radar in this class. With so many names, there are multiple options for candidates who are not getting the recognition they should be at multiple positions.

With that in mind, we have listed three in particular as  sleepers for the 2024 class.

WR/TE Keelan Smith

Athlete Keelan Smith is undoubtedly a sleeper in this class. Smith was the top offensive player in the state of Missouri and earned Offensive Player of the Year honors. He caught 74 passes for 1,268 yards and 17 touchdowns last season for Liberty North high school.

As a recruit, he was rated the 39^th overall tight end and the 2024 class, and the 12 overall player in his classroom state of Missouri per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Smith comes to Nebraska as a tight end. However, he is not limited to just one position. He could also play as a hybrid wide receiver. He has the size at six-foot-two, 205 pounds. For what it’s worth, he is listed as a wide receiver on the Nebraska football website.

Smith played on the outside as receiver in high school. It was there that he was able to show off his skill set. He has tremendous speed, and is able to make things happen after the catch.

He was originally recruited to the Nebraska for the program as a tight end. However, there is no denying that the program has a bunch of tight ends at their disposal. The interesting thing about Smith is that he has the flexibility to play either at the tight end or wide receiver position. Ian Flynt, Carter Nelson, and Eric Ingwerson are also in the class for the tight end position.

Nebraska football has options on where to put Smith. He could make a large impact, wherever they decide to put him.

CB Larry Tarver Jr.

Larry Tarver Jr. is a weapon for the Nebraska football secondary. Nebraska football was able to flip him from Maryland during the course of Early Signing Day. Now they have a cornerback weapon at their disposal.

Tarver measures in at five-foot-11, 165 pounds. He played both sides of the football for TRU Prep. He has good instincts as a corner. His speed is perhaps his most notable asset. This allows him to be able to contest any pass, despite being a bit undersized. His closing speed was perhaps one of the more notable parts of his game.

In addition to his coverage ability, he can also come down and make a tackle. He is aggressive when trying to defend and that could work well in Nebraska’s 3-3-5 defense. Much of that defense is predicated on being positionless. Tarver fits the bill in that regard due to his desire to make plays.

Nebraska has several good defenders in this class. Tarver has flown under the radar a bit as a result. He could definitely be considered a sleeper, as his aggressive play style makes him a very good fit for this defense.

ATH Quinn Clark

Quinn Clark is perhaps one of the best kept secrets in the Nebraska football wide receiver room. He was the consensus top player in the state of Montana, and he also has a bit of history attached with him. His father, the late Ken Clark, was the Nebraska running back from 1985 to 1989.

The younger Clark had 1,791 receiving yards last season.  The wideout also recorded 30 touchdown catches. He measures in at six-foot-five, 195 pounds.  He is a unique wide receiver in the sense that he has both the combination of physicality as well as speed. In terms of her current Nebraska football player comparison, Malachi Coleman would perhaps be the most accurate.

The wide receiver room is crowded, there is no doubt about that. However, Clark has a chance to be one of the best not only in the room itself, but in the 2024 class. His tall frame should make him a fun target for the Huskers quarterbacks.

There is little doubt that the program has a lot of receiving weapons weapons at their disposal. Clark is one of them.

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.