Who is this year’s Rex Burkhead or Dejon Gomes? Six recruits in the 2010 class who can make an immediate impact:

Defensive tackle Jay Guy: Short, squat and presumably strong by his tape, Guy, an Aldine, Texas native, fits the nose tackle mold, especially in goal line sets. If Terrence Moore doesn’t make the leap in 2010, Guy could figure heavily into the rotation.

Linebacker LaVonte David: He’ll have to learn on the fly when he arrives in the summer, but David is a natural playmaker. He will compete for a starting job.

Defensive tackle Chase Rome: The Columbia (Mo.) kid is ready-made, both in size and first-step quickness, to play on Nebraska’s defensive line. Rome and Guy may battle each other for the 3rd/4th lineman role in the interior rotation.

Offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick: NU brought in the Fort Scott (Kan.) Junior College prospect to compete for the starting right tackle job. If Hardrick, arguably the best junior college lineman available for the 2010 class, doesn’t make an immediate impact, it will be a surprise and disappointment. We won’t crown him the next Carl Nicks just yet, though.

Running back Braylon Heard: This Youngstown (Ohio) Mooney prospect was hand-plucked by Bo to be a game breaker. Since Nebraska didn’t exactly need a running back in this class, Heard is a luxury pick, designed to boost the Husker offensive engine immediately. He’ll get every shot to become NU’s No. 3 guy, which would allow Bo to red shirt Traye Robinson.

Tight end Chase Harper: Shawn Watson likes to stockpile and use tight ends; he used five with regularity in 2009. Harper, a junior college prospect from Navarro, Texas, will fit in there somewhere. Bank on it.

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Nebraska already has a stable of tight ends. But, apparently, there is room for one more.

Chase Harper, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas, became the 16th verbal commitment of NU's 2010 recruiting class Wednesday, two recruiting sites confirmed.

Harper originally signed with Iowa State out of high school, but didn't qualify. At Navarro, he blossomed into a consistent pass-catcher, garnering offers from Miami (Fla.), Missouri, Baylor Kansas and Kansas State, plus Iowa State and NU. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State were also expressing interest, but Nebraska controlled recruiting of Harper for some time.

He visited during NU's 300th Sellout win over Lafayette and was recruited by tight ends coach Ron Brown.

The Huskers don't exactly need a tight end in the class – they have six on scholarship, five underclassmen who play routinely, plus redshirt J.T. Kerr – but Harper's combination of size and speed was too hard to pass up for a Nebraska team struggling, in 2009, to find playmakers.

See also: Instant Analysis on the Harper signing

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