Former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne never made many bones about it: The most significant recruit in his time as the head guy was a Texas kid, quarterback Turner Gill.

That said, when it came to outside-of-Nebraska recruiting Osborne never made a raid on the Lone Star State. He'd pluck a few gems from the East Coast and Florida, steal a guy or two out of Big Ten country - especially Iowa - and do plenty of damage in California.

But Texas? Usually one player per year. Maybe two. As many as four or five, but sometimes zero. And while Frank Solich and Bill Callahan both plucked guys out of Texas, none of them have hit the region as hard as Bo Pelini's bunch.

Nebraska has nine firm verbal commitments right now, and three from some of the best: Dayton quarterback Cody Green, Plano running back Rex Burkhead and Houston defensive tackle Thaddeus Randle. Last year, NU signed nine Texas guys, most of them in December and January, after Callahan had been fired and Pelini's bunch had taken over.

The emphasis makes great sense, of course, when you talk to Pelini and his assistants. And when you just think about it.

Here's five reasons:

1. The coaching and competition : We won't dawdle too much on how good high school football is in Texas - you know it is - but we'll look more closely at the coaching. Talking to NU cornerback Anthony Blue - a Texas kid rehabbing his knee this year - his coaches at Cedar Hill were constantly attending conferences given by major colleges in the state and visiting schools during bowl games. That's not a knock on high school coaches in Nebraska - they just don't get exposed to as many opportunities. Since Texas has year-round football, players are better exposed to more ideas, more offenses, more defenses, you name it.

2. On the cutting edge: You know where Missouri's fast break, no huddle offense came from? Chase Daniel's high school coach in Southlake, Texas. Believe whatever you want about Gary Pinkel and his offensive coordinator, Dave Christensen, magically coming up with it; it was developed at the high school level. And it worked.

"Most of the teams down there - they all run spread," Blue said. "All different ways, too, so you learn to stop it."

And the spread is operated in high school there by guys like Colt McCoy, Daniel, Todd Reesing, Robert Griffin,Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford, Texas backup John Chiles and Vince Young.

3. The Culture: Texas revolves around football. Not just high school football either. College football is huge there. And how bout them Cowboys? Yes, the San Antonio Spurs have their fans, the Dallas Mavericks, too, hockey has a following and baseball does OK in Houston, but, let's face it: Lone Star folks are football crazy.

Can you really say that about California? Even if USC has a terrific team, where does it rank in terms of interest in Los Angeles? Certainly behind the Lakers. Arguably behind the Dodgers and Angels. And probably neck-and-neck with UCLA basketball. And we're not even counting all the "extreme" sports in that state, which has a greater following on the West Coast than most realize.

4. It's the Big 12! It's Division I football!:This is a terrific argument often overlooked. Because Texas has four Big 12 schools inside its borders, Nebraska, almost default, is a known commodity down there. And familiarity breeds comfort. A basic example: NU coaches can go into a kid’s house and tell the parents that said kid will play at least four games inside the state during their career, and two more in nearby Oklahoma. Those are not insignificant homecomings, when you consider that UCLA, just as an example, can’t say it.

5. Not every kid wants to go to Texas: Which is why, of course, half of Oklahoma’s class each year are guys from the Lone Star State. And a whole chunk of guys head to LSU. And even more bleed out to the rest of the SEC. Look: The best Texas can do in any given year is sign 25-30 guys, depending on how many the Horns think will qualify. Ditto for Oklahoma. That leaves a lot of talent for the Huskers and others to feast on – and, in our book, NU has an advantage over most of those programs after UT and OU.

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