Thoughts on a new crystal ball for Nebraska football, plus objectives for a big visit weekend

Things were a little slow for Nebraska football first the first two weekends of June. But things are picking up this weekend as the Huskers will host some of their top priorities in the 2025 class.

One of those is four-star linebacker Christian Jones. He’s the top-ranked recruit in the state of Nebraska and the Omaha Westside linebacker is ranked 149th overall according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.

Jones visited Auburn last weekend. He’s also got a visit scheduled for Oklahoma next weekend. Those appear to be the biggest threats to get his commitment. The athletic linebacker has been a top target for Nebraska football since the day Matt Rhule was hired.

The Huskers lead the crystal ball here. They are also the favorite according to the On3 prediction machine thanks to Jones taking 11 visits to Nebraska football. No other program has hosted him more than twice, that’s one reason the Huskers have an 88 percent chance of landing Jones via the prediction machine.

One of the big objectives this weekend for the Huskers is closing with Jones. That might seem ambitious but they closed with Carter Nelson last June. Maybe Matt Rhule can do the same with the top in-state recruit in 2025.

Would Nebraska football take three running backs in 2025?

Brian Dohn of 247 Sports is very plugged in when it comes to East Coast recruiting, so you can usually trust his crystal balls. On Thursday, he logged a crystal ball prediction for 2025 running back Mekhi Nelson to commit to Nebraska. 

Nelson just took an official visit to Nebraska, but with Jamarion Parker and Conor Booth in the fold, the Huskers would need to take three backs to add Nelson, when they signed just one in the past two classes.

Maybe that’s the motivation. But Nelson’s visit wasn’t canceled after the Parker commitment. So that tells you Nebraska football is serious. EJ Barthel has known the kid from when he was at UConn and it could be a chance to add some depth to a room that could be short on numbers in the future.

Nelson is a three-star prospect according to 247 Sports but unranked in the composite rankings. And since Parker just committed and Booth is visiting this weekend, maybe three backs in one class is possible.

A big weekend for O-line recruits

Nebraska doesn’t have any offensive linemen committed in the 2025 class and it’s time to change that. Douglas Utu, a five-star O-lineman just visited this week. His teammate, another top-100 recruit, SJ Alofaituli, will also take an official visit along with three-star offensive tackles Brian Tapu and Shawn Hammerbeck.

Tapu is from New Zealand. He’s 6-foot-7 and hasn’t played football for that long. Iowa State is another contender but I would love to see this kid at Nebraska. They could coach and develop him into an NFL draft pick.

Regardless, the Huskers don’t have any offensive linemen visiting next weekend, so it will be vital to make headway with all three targets this weekend.

Nebraska can afford a lighter haul of linemen this year, but you don’t want to get out of the summer without any offensive line commitments.

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