Nebraska football poised for a key commitment, plus more Cornhuskers news

Nebraska football has turned the tide with a key 2024 target, plus more Nebraska Cornhuskers news.

You can never say never when it comes to college football recruiting and Nebraska football fans are getting a taste of that in the recruitment of three-star EDGE Keona Wilhite.

Wilhite signed with Washington during the Early Signing Period but after Kalen DeBoer left Washington for Alabama, Wilhite was released from his letter of intent.

Nebraska football was one of the programs to quickly jump into the mix. Texas, Michigan State, and UCLA were the other programs involved. Last week, Wilhite eliminated Texas. He had a top three of Nebraska, UCLA, and Michigan State.

Then, the crystal balls started coming in for UCLA. Nebraska football was supposed to take an in-home visit with Wilhite on Friday but it was canceled. Then, all of a sudden, the crystal balls started flipping to the Huskers.

The best explanation for this is the uncertainty surrounding Chip Kelly. He’s been connected with some NFL offensive coordinator jobs and all of a sudden, UCLA has questions about its head coach. Nebraska football doesn’t, which is why you can expect Matt Rhule to get Wilhite’s commitment and signature later this week (Signing Day).

In terms of what it means, well, it’s huge for the Cornhuskers. Their only true EDGE commitment in 2024 was from Jordan Ochoa. He’s ranked in the 2,087 according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Wilhite is ranked No. 602 according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. He’s also a guy, at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, who has a much bigger upside and a better chance to contribute right away.

Nash Hutmacher and the Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling team win again

The Nebraska wrestling team won its fifth consecutive dual with a 29-8 victory over Illinois on Sunday.  The Cornhuskers used four bonus-points victories to win with ease as they improved to 10-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten in duals.

Sixth-ranked Nebraska saw victories from all of its ranked wrestlers including pins from seventh-ranked Brock Hardy at 141 pounds and 14th-ranked Silas Allred at 197. Nash Hutcmacher, the Nebraska football player turned heavyweight wrestler, earned a 12-9 decision, improving his record to 4-1 on the season.

Nebraska basketball NET ranking improves

The Cornhuskers suffered a tough loss on Sunday night, falling to 14th-ranked Illinois by three points in overtime. Regardless of all the bad calls, especially the foul on C.J. Wilcher that allowed Illinois to force overtime when Nebraska was up one with five seconds left,  Nebraska basketball helped itself on Sunday night.

Not only did it look like an NCAA tournament team and one that could hold up against top competition on the road, but the NET ranking of Nebraska jumped six spots after the loss.

The Huskers are 6-6 in the Big Ten and 16-7 overall. But if they can go 5-3 down the stretch, which is very doable, there should be no drama come NCAA tournament selection Sunday.

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