Nebraska Football: 3 thoughts on Malcolm Simpson’s commitment

Nebraska football landed a commitment from 2025 four-star defensive lineman Malcolm Simpson on Sunday afternoon. Hayes Fawcett made the announcement on X.

The addition of Simpson gives Nebraska football additional depth on the defensive line. This is huge, as defensive line has been a position of strength in recent seasons. On top of that, defensive line coach Terrence Knighton has done a good job of developing the position. Simpson will be in good hands under Knighton, as the Nebraska defense looks to get even stronger.

I offer my three thoughts to Simpson’s commitment, as Nebraska football recruiting keeps rolling.

Nebraska football gets depth for the future

Simpson gives Nebraska football a nice backup plan for the future at the defensive line position.

Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher are no longer going to be in the picture after the 2024 season. There was some concern that Nebraska football only had one defensive line commitment in the 2025 class. Granted, Tyson Terry is certainly nothing to scoff at.

Even still, there was needed depth at the defensive line position for the future. They were able to fulfill it with the Simpson commitment on Sunday. His athleticism and his ability to get into the backfield quickly will certainly help in this defense. This defensive scheme is predicated on getting after the quarterback and getting into the backfield. In addition, the ability to rush the passer is also needed in this defense. Simpson can do all of that and more.

Knighton has done a nice job of recruiting the defensive line position. Simpson is proof of that. On a larger scale, Nebraska football now has player that they can develop and build around for the future of the defensive line. This is huge, especially if this position continues to be a focus on the recruiting trail.

The Texas ties continue to pay off

Simpson makes this another commitment out of the state of Texas. Nebraska football has certainly had a Texas flare over the last couple of classes. Currently, Simpson is the only commitment out of the state of Texas in the 2025 class.

However, prior classes indicate a strong focus on Texas. The 2024 class had five commitments in the state. The 2023 class, Matt Rhule’s first, had six commitments in the class from the state. The coaching staff made clear early on that they were going to recruit in the state, and they have done exactly that.

Princewill Umanmielen made a major impact last year for the Nebraska football defense. Riley Van Poppel showed that he could have a future on this defense as well. For what it’s worth, Van Poppel was a defensive line commitment as well, also from the state of Texas, and also recruited by Knighton.

Nebraska has done a good job of identifying their needs, and recruiting in the state. It also helps when Matt Rhule, and some other members of the coaching staff, are familiar with the state. They have found a formula for recruiting in the state of Texas, and it’s working. This undoubtedly bodes well for the future, especially with the conference becoming more crowded.

The 2025 class is going to be a special one

This 2025 class has the chance to be really special. Simpson is the second-highest rated player in the class. Only TJ Lateef has a higher rating, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

As it stands right now Nebraska has three four-star commitments in the 2025 recruiting class. They have 11 commitments in total, including four in the month of June. They have been on a roll on the recruiting trail, and they have been able to seal the deal with many of their targets.

This is certainly not a coincidence or by accident. This coaching staff has been working hard over the last couple of months. Even still, it’s impressive how they have been able to get so many highly -ranked players at this stage of the recruiting cycle. On top of this, the month of June promises to be a very busy one. It would not be a stretch to say that Simpson will not be the only commitment for this month.

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