Nebraska Football taking care of business with in-state recruiting

Nebraska football is trending in a big way with the top-ranked in-state recruit in the 2023 class and now has received a crystal ball for the No. 1 in 2024. 

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any college football program. That’s no different for Nebraska football and while the Huskers don’t have a talent-rich backyard compared to some of the other states in the country like Florida, Texas, and California, to name a few, Nebraska still produces some talented football players.

For years, decades even, those players were almost automatic commitments for the Nebraska football program. However, in recent years, head coach Scott Frost has struggled to keep some of the top players in the state of Nebraska, at Nebraska.

In the 2022 recruiting class, the Huskers missed on the top four recruits in the state of Nebraska, and in 2021, the Huskers missed out on the top two.

Say what you will, but if Nebraska can’t even get Nebraska kids, that’s a problem.

Trev Alberts knew that and surely, when he agreed to give Frost more time via a re-worked contract, recruiting better had to be a top priority.

The Huskers have done a great job in the transfer portal heading into the 2022 season and Alberts has talked about how impressive that effort has been.

Turning the tide in the state of Nebraska

Yet, the effort to re-establish the Huskers as the dominant recruiting force is the state is also starting to pay dividends. The top-ranked player in Nebraska for 2023 according to the 247 sports composite rankings is Malachi Coleman.

Coleman is 6-foot-5, 190 pounds, and out of Lincoln. He’s ranked 129th overall in the 2023 class and is eighth among athletes. He could play wide receiver or be an edge rusher and right now, Nebraska football is the clear favorite to win his commitment.

Oklahoma State landed the No. 2 prospect in the state and Oklahoma landed the commitment of No. 3 Kade McIntyre, however, the Huskers lead with No. 4 prospect Maverick Noonan and also have verbal pledges from the other recruits ranked in the top 8.

So if Nebraska football is able to get the commitments of Coleman and Noonan as expected, that would be six of the top 8 players staying home, a year after losing each of the top four.

Looking ahead to the 2024 recruiting class, Nebraska football is also off to a strong start and just received a crystal ball for Dae’vonn Hall, the No. 1 prospect in the state in 2024.

Hall is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds out of Bellevue, Nebraska, and in addition to being No. 1 in the state, he’s ranked 100th overall in the 247 sports composite rankings and is the 16th-best wideout.

Moving to the Big Ten was a tough transition for Nebraska football recruiting but the Huskers are getting back to basics and locking down their home state. That’s a huge start and from there, as long as the program gets back to winning, it can build out.

Nebraska’s national brand has faded, but it’s still there and if the Huskers can start winning again, the positive recruiting momentum should follow.