- June 12 - Sophomore cornerback Corey Young asks for and is granted release from his scholarship. Young signed with Nebraska out of Omaha (Neb.) Millard North in 2006.
- June 14 - Omaha (Neb.) Millard North linebacker prospect Sean Fisher verbally commits to play college football for Nebraska.
- June 16 - Crete (Neb.) safety John Levorson verbally commits to play college football for Nebraska.
What does this all mean for the Huskers and for in-state recruits?
Well, Young's departure doesn't really mean much except that NU now has another scholarship to offer to prospects this year. He was not among the two-deep at cornerback and would likely have been relegated to special teams and mop-up duty for the rest of his career in Lincoln. With incoming freshmen Eric Hagg, Anthony Blue, Shawn Sullivan, and Prince Amukamara along with JUCOs already in school Larry Asante and Armando Murrillo - as well as 2008 recruit David Whitmire - the writing was pretty much on the wall for Young. He will look to transfer, and early possibilities include Iowa and Washington.
What do Fisher and Levorson's commitments mean?
- Nebraska has currently wrapped up 5 of the top 6 players in Rivals.com's Nebraska top 10.
- Number four prospect (tight end) Tim Biere committed to Big Twelve rival Kansas this week after leaving Nebraska's camp without a Husker offer. Rumor is that the NU staff felt that Biere had a "low ceiling" and was therefore only a walk-on candidate. They are considering his high school teammate Damon Bechtold, however.
- Fisher is a Husker legacy and despite being rated "only" three-stars by Rivals had an offer list of 16 and growing. He chose NU over Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Colorado, and Iowa among others. Fisher will start at outside linebacker when he gets to Lincoln, but if he grows any more (he's already 6-foot-5) a move to defensive end might be imminent.
- Levorson was the star of the first day of session 2 of the Husker football camp, recording a 4.5+ second 40 on multiple watches, a 32-inch vertical jump, and a 4.33 second shuttle run. He measured in at 6-foot-3 1/2 and 186 pounds. Levorson is likely to be a safety, but don't rule out head coach Bill Callahan "stealing him" from defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove and moving him to receiver. Levorson is currently rated only two-stars by Rivals, but should move to at least three in the next ratings update this fall.
Led by five-star Baker Steinkuhler and four-star Trevor Robinson, 2008 is one of the best years in recent memory for Division I football talent in Nebraska. Nine of the top ten players in the state have earned scholarship offers from Division I schools, and the top seven all have multiple offers.
Here is Rivals.com's Nebraska top 10 and their scholarship offers of note. Please note that Steinkuhler and Okafor both committed to Nebraska in September of their junior seasons, hence they had only one official scholarship offer.
1 Baker Steinkuhler Lincoln (NE) Lincoln Southwest OL 6-6/290 Nebraska
2 Trevor Robinson Omaha (NE) Elkhorn OL 6-5/300 Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas A&M, Boston College, Iowa, N.C. State
3 Sean Fisher Omaha (NE) Millard North LB 6-5/210 Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa
4 Tim Biere Omaha (NE) Westside TE 6-4/235 Kansas, Kansas State, Ohio, Colorado State
5 Collins Okafor Omaha (NE) Westside RB 6-1/210 Nebraska
6 John Levorson Crete (NE) ATH 6-3/186 Nebraska, Wyoming, Ohio
7 Shaun Prater Omaha (NE) Central High School DB 5-10/162 Iowa, Iowa State, Ohio
8 Brian Thorson Omaha (NE) Millard North OL 6-3/279 Buffalo
9 Shane Prater Omaha (NE) Central High School WR 5-10/161 NONE
10 Brett Maher Kearney (NE) Kearney Sr High School K 6-0/170 Ohio
