Soon we will find out if it Bill Callahan and his staff were good recruiters but not so good as coaches, because as Nebraska’s recruiting class for 2008 dwindles the classes of Colorado, Missouri, and Kansas State grow in direct proportion.
It appears that over the next four to five years the Bo Pelini-led Huskers will be facing many of the players the program formerly had commitments from.
Rivals.com five-star quarterback Blaine Gabbert from the St. Louis, Mo. area was the pivot point to Nebraska’s recruiting class late last summer and into the season. Prospects wanted to play with the kid who was named MVP of the prestigious Elite 11 Quarterback Academy.
Gabbert was personally recruiting other prospects, and seemed to be as solid in his commitment as he could be. He once said on an Omaha radio station “I will not pull a Josh Freeman”, in reference to the Kansas State quarterback’s last-minute flip from the Huskers to the Wildcats.
Then uncertainty arose about Callahan and his staff due to the team’s performance on the field and Gabbert was gone to Missouri shortly thereafter.
Now four-star linebacker Will Compton of Bonne Terre, Mo. – committed to Nebraska since late July – has decommitted from NU and has narrowed his final two choices to the Tigers and Illinois.
Adrian Hilburn – a 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver from City College of San Francisco – decommitted from Nebraska and committed to Kansas State the following weekend.
The biggest beneficiary of the Huskers’ rash of decommitments is Colorado. The Buffaloes have picked off four previously-committed NU prospects.
Four-star and Rivals100 offensive tackle Bryce Givens (6-6/257/5.1) of Denver, Colo. is the biggest fish the Buffs have hooked. He had committed to Nebraska in late June, but after Callahan was fired he opened up his recruitment and December 18 he chose the home-state school.
He was joined by Trotwood, Ohio linebacker Doug Rippy (6-2/218) and Denton, Texas defensive end Josh Williams (6-4/220/4.8), both three-star prospects according to Rivals.
Those three followed four-star junior college linebacker Shaun Mohler (6-3/225/4.6) of Costa Mesa, Calif. who flipped to Colorado Dec. 9.
There may be more leaving soon as well. Four-star offensive lineman Dan Hoch (6-6/302/5.21) of Harlan, Iowa, three-star defensive end Reilly Reiff (6-6/250/4.8) of Parkston, SD, and three-star running back Collins Okafor (6-1/210/4.54) of Omaha are all looking around. The trio visited Iowa together the weekend of Dec. 14.
What does all of this mean? Why is it happening?
There are many reasons in my opinion:
- The former NU recruits had developed a relationship with the former staff at Nebraska. Once those coaches – minus Shawn Watson and Ted Gilmore – were released by the University they felt no connection to the school. They committed to the coaching staff, not the University.
- During the uncertain times when Callahan’s staff was in limbo, they were honest with recruits and told them they didn’t know if they’d be around in 2008. In effect they encouraged the commitments to have a ‘backup plan’ in place, so those kids started taking visits to other schools. College coaches are always looking for an advantage in recruiting, and the Husker staff’s status gave them quite an edge.
- Many prospects to sign with NU in the last four years came because of the lure of playing for a former NFL head coach in Callahan. They came to play “at” Nebraska, hoping to get to the League. Pelini is looking for players who want to play “for” Nebraska. It’s a different mentality now, and some players are not looking for that type of environment. Call it selfish if you want, but it’s reality.
- There are rumors that Callahan and staff promised recruits playing time as freshman. If true, that could explain why you saw many highly-touted freshmen playing on the kickoff and kick return teams but rarely seeing offensive or defensive playing time. Pelini has stated that redshirts will be used, but if a player is capable they will play as a freshman. Nothing is being promised, however. Again, it’s a bit of selfishness on the recruits’ parts.
- Prospects don’t fit Pelini and staff’s system and are being encouraged to look elsewhere.
What’s going to happen now?
Nebraska is now working on recruits who were not previously on the Huskers’ radar or were just on the edge of view. Players like four-star running back LaMichael James (5-9/1804.4) of Texarkana, Texas and unrated defensive back Greg Burns (6-1/200/4.5) of Houston visited Lincoln Dec. 14 and gave the trip very high marks.
Three-star Louisiana wide receivers Laron Byrd (6-4/205/4.46) of Boutte and Khiry Cooper (6-2/175/4.5) of Shreveport are both considering January visits to Lincoln.
Byrd, who has offers from schools such as Miami, Auburn, and Florida, has his visit to Lincoln scheduled for Jan. 11.
Cooper lists Arkansas and Tulsa as offers. He has yet to set a date for his official visit, but I would expect it to come that same weekend as Byrd’s.
Another Elite 11 quarterback, three-star Sean Renfree (6-3/201/4.5) of Scottsdale, Ariz. is back on the market after decommitting from Georgia Tech following the Yellow Jackets coaching change. He said recently that hometown Arizona State and Nebraska are his top two schools, with Duke also making a late move after the hire of David Cutcliffe as head coach.
Renfree plans to visit NU in January, but could make a commitment to ASU before then given that they were his No. 2 school when he originally committed to Georgia Tech.
Greenwood, Ark. three-star quarterback Tyler Wilson (6-3/183/4.75) is committed to Tulsa, but has been visited by NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and is interested in the Huskers.
Redlands, Calif. three-star defensive tackle Quentin Toailoa (6-5/275/5.2) sounds ready to commit to the Big Red as well.
"I've thought about committing (to Nebraska)." Toailoa told HuskersIllustrated.com, "but I'm going to wait until January 26 and announce my choice at the Southern California Bowl. It's an all-star game I'll be playing in."
"I'll likely take a couple of official visits in January but Nebraska is definitely my leader. I still have to pin down some of the other schools I want to see. I know I'll visit Fresno State."
Pelini will coach the LSU defense in the Jan. 7 BCS Title Game and then will have two visit weekends remaining before the dead period resumes up to Signing Day. The coaching staff has their work cut out for them, but this recruiting class can still be saved.
