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

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

An unseasonably warm night game. Television cameras swarming around the field of play. A raucous Memorial Stadium crowd bubbling with noise and excitement. And most importantly, a big win over a name team – Oklahoma.

They don't happen often, but Nebraska enjoyed one of those perfect storms of football recruiting Saturday night, as three official visitors – defensive tackle Jay Guy, defensive end Tobi Okuyemi and defensive back Joshua Mitchell – committed directly following NU's 10-3 victory. Other visitors who didn't commit rated the experience highly.

“You have to live through that one,” said running backs coach Tim Beck, one of the Huskers' prime operators in Texas. “You can try, but it doesn't give it justice. Being here and experiencing that – and having those kids come here and experience that – it's once in a lifetime.”

The weekend commits made 14 overall pledges for the 2010 recruiting class. Then Lincoln Southeast offensive line Jake Cotton officially made 15, although he apparently committed weeks ago. Cotton, the son of offensive line coach Barney Cotton, is a 6-foot-7, 265-pound late bloomer whose only other offers were from UNO and Northwest Missouri State. He's an offensive lineman now, but may fit in on the defensive line in college.

“In this situation, I'm a coach,” Barney Cotton said of son's commitment. Ben Cotton already plays tight end for Nebraska. Coaches aren't allowed to talk players who haven't officially signed with a team. “I'm a dad in seeing him play and all that, but in this case I'm a coach.”

After a slow summer of few unofficial visits and two decommits – Anterio Sloan and Keeston Terry - that had message boards buzzing with concern and criticism, Nebraska has seemingly rebounded, filling most of its class. Recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore said NU's class should be in the “16 to 18 range” in terms of players, “unless something crazy happens.”

Gilmore said he's “satisfied” with NU's haul thus far.

“A lot of times people look at what other teams are doing – 'Oh, they've got this many commitments, why don't we have any commitments?' - but we're comfortable with our process and we're going to let it take its course,” Gilmore said. “It comes in spurts for us. And we're happy. We're only going to take a few more. We're right there.”

Nebraska already has a solid start on its 2011 class, as well, with commits from Crete defensive tackle Ryne Reeves and Florida offensive lineman Tyler Moore. A trip to the Big 12 Championship in Dallas – Beck's stomping ground – only improves NU's profile in the Lone Star State and elsewhere.

“Anytime you're playing in championship games, they help,” he said.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Nebraska's 10-3 win over Oklahoma is already paying big dividends in the recruiting department, as the Cornhuskers have picked up three verbal commitments for the 2010 class less than 24 hours after the victory.

NU received its fourth and fifth commitments along the defensive line, as Aldine, Texas, native Jay Guy - a squat, powerful nose tackle at 6-foot-1, 300 pounds - pledged to play for the Huskers in 2010, as did 6-foot-3, 250-pound Tobi Okuyemi of Plymouth, Minn.
Guy committed directly after NU's dominant defensive performance – which doubled as his official visit - and will enroll in January, so he'll be able to go through spring practice with the Cornhuskers.

Guy is likely slated to be Ndamukong Suh's heir apparent at the nose position, even though his stature more closely recalls that of LSU standout Glenn Dorsey. He had been a soft verbal commit to California, and had the Golden Bears and UCLA in his final three with NU. He had offers from Michigan, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Missouri, among other schools.

Guy said he committed because of Nebraska's coaches – including defensive ends coach John Papuchis, who recruited Guy – the crowd and the play of the defense in the OU win.

Okuyemi visited NU during the spring game, and made another official visit for OU. He had offers from every Big Ten school but Ohio State and Penn State, a Big 12 offer from Kansas, and offers from Kentucky and Vanderbilt. He had been high on NU since the spring game, but Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa put a full court press on Okuyemi for his services.

Nebraska won out.

NU now has verbal commitments from Guy, Okuyemi, Columbia (Mo.) standout Chase Rome, River Ridge, La., end Walker Ashburn and Arlington, Texas, defensive end Donovan Vestal. Rome is likely to slide inside and play defensive tackle. Ashburn and Vestal currently project as defensive ends. NU may try to pick up one or two more defensive line prospects before Signing Day, as well.

The third commit is Corona, Calif., defensive back Joshua Mitchell, a 5-foot-11, 190-pounder from Eleanor Roosevelt High School, which sent four players for official visits this weekend. Mitchell's offer list isn't quite as impressive – Colorado State, UTEP, Idaho and Washington State – but he's considered a late bloomer who was beginning to attract attention from Pac-10 schools. He's also a return specialist with four punt returns for touchdowns in 2009.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Nebraska picked up its 11th commitment for the 2010 recruiting class from current NU linebacker Eric Martin's former high school teammate.

Quincy Enunwa, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, committed to NU over the weekend, two recruiting sites confirmed. Enunwa is well under the radar, having only picked up offers from the Cornhuskers and moribund Washington State. Enunwa attends Rancho Verde (Calif.) High School, which is home to Martin, the true freshman linebacker who's made an impact on special teams in 2009.

Martin was Enunwa's host on a Oct. 18 official visit to Nebraska.

Enunwa joins Curtis Carter as a NU receiver recruit. The Huskers are probably looking to land three, and have a large pool of candidates from which to choose.

Join Husker Locker today and get all the Husker news you can handle - for FREE!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Nebraska added a big piece of the 2010 recruiting puzzle Thursday – especially on offense – when Stonewall, La., athlete Curtis Carter verbally committed to NU, two recruiting sites confirmed.

Carter, at 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, visited campus for the Cornhuskers' 31-10 loss to Texas Tech. He plays quarterback at North De Soto High School, but is expected to move to a receiver/returner role once he comes to Lincoln.

The reason for the commit? In part, because Nebraska defensive ends coach John Papuchis was there first, establishing a relationship with Carter well before competing schools. Alabama, TCU, Missouri and Mississippi State offered, but home-state LSU never did. Carter also told recruiting sites he enjoyed his visit to the campus.

Carter's biggest asset is speed. He shot up the recruiting charts after consistently running the 40-yard dash in 4.3 and 4.4 seconds.

See also: Curtis Carter Video

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Nebraska started like a tortoise for its 2010 recruiting class, particularly at defensive tackle and defensive end.

But the Huskers are coming on like hares, and beating out Oklahoma State to do it.

Chase Rome, a 6-3, 290-pound defensive end from Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge High School, decommitted from OSU Friday to announce his decision for NU, the Columbia Missourian reported Friday.

Why NU? Academics played a role, as Rome wants to be a coach and Nebraska lays out a pretty good plan for that.

Why not Missouri, which also offered Rome? Too close to home.

See also: Instant Analysis: Chase Rome

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

It turned out to be a fat Tuesday for Nebraska’s 2010 football recruiting class, as a second high school player pledged his commitment to NU, two recruiting services confirmed.

Ciante Evans, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound cornerback from Juan Seguin High School in Arlington, Texas, told coaches Tim Beck and Bo Pelini he was ready to pledge his services to NU. Beck was the primary recruiter for Evans. Earlier, River Ridge, La., defensive end Walker Ashburn gave his verbal commit. Neither pledge is binding until letters of intent are signed in February.

Evans nabbed four interceptions last year for Juan Seguin, which belongs to the 4A class, Texas’ second-largest classification. Evans had offers from Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Illinois and Iowa, but NU’s primary competition for Evans’ services was Oklahoma State, Utah and Kansas.

Evans said he chose Nebraska for its coaching staff and the overall experience when he visited on junior day July 31. Evans will take an official visit to NU, but hasn’t scheduled it yet.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Nebraska picked up another piece of defensive line recruiting puzzle Monday as Louisiana defensive end Walker Ashburn pledged his commitment to NU.

“I decided to commit to Nebraska,’’ Ashburn told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “It has always been known as a good school and a good football program. Coach (Bo) Pelini being there was something that attracted me.”

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Ashburn finished with 90 tackles, 12 sacks and a fumble recovery at John Curtis High School, a small, Christian prep academy on the outskirts of New Orleans. NU strong safety P.J. Smith also played at Curtis, which has won five straight state titles and routinely churns out Division I prospects.

Ashburn had offers from Oklahoma State, Stanford, Southern Mississippi and every Division I school in Louisiana except LSU.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

An official visit for Nebraska’s season-opening win over Florida Atlantic was enough to convince one Texas defensive back to verbally take a spot in NU’s 2010 recruiting class.

Harvey Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety from Missouri City, Texas, selected NU over a host of Big 12 schools, Arizona and Arizona State, two recruiting services confirmed Sunday. Jackson had offers from Missouri, Oklahoma State and Baylor, among other schools.

Jackson was recruited primarily by Mike Ekekler. He is the sixth verbal commitment to NU’s 2010 class, which figures to be small – possibly no bigger than 15 players.

What do we think of Harvey Jackson? Click here.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

“I thought Coach Osborne was very genuine. I knew he really cared about me as a person, even more than he did as a football player. Yes, he recognized me initially because of my football talents and all that, but I knew he cared about me deeply as a person. That means a lot to me.” -- Turner Gill

From “Beyond the Final Score” by Tom Osborne, 2009 published by Regal

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Anterio Sloan had been an out-of-left-field verbal commitment for the Nebraska football team’s 2010 recruiting class when pledged to NU in spring without visiting campus.

Sloan trotted back to his position Sunday, saying to two recruiting sites he has decommitted to the Huskers’ program for lack of contact with NU coaches.

Nebraska isn’t out of the race, Sloan, but Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State are now in. From Helena, Ark., Sloan actually seems most interested in attending home-state Arkansas, but the Razorbacks haven’t offered.

Sloan said he’s tried to call coaches a few times, but they haven’t returned the phone calls. He added that written correspondence has dwindled significantly, as well. However, previous updates of Sloan indicated he was still looking at other football programs. He also confirmed he was trying to organize his academic transcripts just so he could take official visits.

Nebraska is now back to five verbal commitments.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post