NEBRASKA RECRUITING SUMMARY FOR 2004

Obviously the big news in Lincoln this season was the changing of the guard as Frank Solich was fired and Bill Callahan hired to take over the reins. Also Nebraska will go through a quantum change in offense, discarding the power-option based offense and going to a balanced West Coast offense. As expected this created quite a bit of turmoil with recruiting, as Nebraska suffered 3 defections after Callahan was named head coach. Callahan and his staff were also behind the eight ball with time left to recruit. In this respect they did about as good of job as could be done. The two top target areas for this class were the offensive line and quarterback. The coaches signed 5 offensive lineman, including one Junior College (Thomas) player who will be expected to at least provide depth if not start at some point. Another lineman, Lydon Murtha, has a chance to see playing time and add depth too. Coach Callahan really needed to find a quarterback to run his offense and just did not have time to get in early on top quarterbacks. He did find one potential gem, Jordan Adams, who has Junior College experience running a similar offense. He will need to step up immediately, because our only other option in 2004 will be Joe Dailey. Adams will be given the chance and will have to at least progressed to where he can be a capable backup, if not the starter. After those two units, the remainder look to be average at best. We needed new blood along the defensive line. At defensive tackle we probably needed two players (one that could play in his first year) and got neither. The Huskers are a bit deeper at defensive end, and got two prospects there, but neither one seems destined for stardom. Linebacker was another urgent position as 3 of our top 4 returning linebackers are in their last season. We needed two athletic outside linebackers and one middle linebacker. We did get one athletic linebacker, but one who appears to be somewhat inexperienced at that spot. The other one looks solid and could be a decent contributor by year 2 or 3. 

Wide receiver was another critical area, because despite good depth with returning players, hardly any of them will be suited for the new offense. We needed 3-4 receivers which we got. Nunn looks to be a potential star and could be playing next season. We signed two Junior College players after late after LOI day. It remains to be seen what they can bring to the table, although McCray appears to have good athletic ability and could see special teams return duty. Throw in a sleeper at tight end who will have some time to develop as we got decent depth at that spot. All in all this appears to be an average class, but considering what the new coaching staff faced, it was probably about as good of a class that we could put together.

Here is a breakdown on grading of this recruiting season:

Quarterbacks--- Jordan Adams, Beau Davis, Joe Ganz (B)

• Other top prospects not signed--- Rocky Hinds, DT McDowell, Allan Everidge, 

The coaches were behind the eight ball with the change of staff, as McDowell and Everidge de-committed late. Nebraska was able to sign 3 quarterbacks. The most promising is Adams who played one year in the Junior College system. He shows a lot of promise and knows much of the West Coast offense system. He should be able to at least provide depth for Dailey, if not possibly even starting by mid season. Davis and Ganz were basically added for extra depth. Ganz and Davis will both likely redshirt and I would be surprised if either player is on the team 2 to 3 years down the road as the coaches upgrade talent. It is imperative that we get 1-2 top quarterbacks in 2005.

Runningbacks--- Brandon Jackson (B)

• Other top prospects not signed--- Andre Brown, Tony Temple, Darius Walker, Delbert Ferguson, Brandon Gunn, Peyton Hillis.

Nebraska picked up a fine running back in Jackson. Jackson is fairly well built for a newcomer and could press for some playing time behind the returning players. He is not a burner but does have adequate speed and appears to have good vision and knowledge of using blockers. He likely will avoid a redshirt. Decent depth here, but will need to get 1-2 good ones in 2005. We were close on Hillis at fullback and would have been a huge get, but this was not an essential spot this season.

Receivers/Tight Ends--- Nathan Swift, Terrence Nunn, Shamus McKoy, Marque McCray, Clay Sievers (C)

• Other top prospects not signed--- Nikita Stover, Quentin Chaney, Del Roberts, Damacho Ousley. 

Nebraska got a very good prospect in Nunn. Again, Nunn is pretty well developed physically and played in a pretty good passing offense. Nunn also showed well in a post season All Star game. He has good hands and shows pretty good running ability after the catch. Swift is underdeveloped and will need a redshirt year. Again with the expected influx of receiver talent over the next 2 years, its questionable whether Nathan will ever see the field. McKoy and McCray were late addition Junior College players. Both may redshirt, although McCray shows signs of elusiveness and may be tried out for punt/kick returner. Sievers is kind of a sleeper. He will likely redshirt to develop and then will be grouped with Mueller and Phillips in 2005 to relieve Herian. This group was graded down just due to lack of big time potential other than Nunn.

Offensive Lineman--- Andy Christensen, Mike Huff, Danny Muy, Cornelius Thomas, Lydon Murtha (B-)

• Other top prospects not signed--- Brandon Braxton, Brett Gallimore, Taitusi Latui, Nyere Aumaitre, Calvin Darity, Seth Olsen, Thomas Nyaoga, Jeff Byers. 

Good numbers which were needed for a depleted unit at Nebraska. Murtha is the farthest along and could very well avoid a redshirt with backup playing time. Muy also has a lot of potential, though he will likely redshirt. Thomas was brought in from Junior College and will be looked upon to provide some playing time too, if not possibly even breaking the starting lineup. Huff and Christensen are both highly thought of instate players, but both will need a redshirt and hopefully be getting playing time by their 2nd to 3rd year in the program. Nebraska was very close to a couple of top players including Byers, Olsen and Latui, but lost out in the end.

Defensive Lineman--- Ty Steinkuhler, Adam Blankenship, (D)

• Other top prospects not signed--- Jeff Schweiger, Nathan Peterson, Chris Bowers, Byron Smith, Marlon Favorite, Neil Brown.

Nebraska struggled with this unit in recruiting. 1-2 defensive tackles were needed and we came away with none. Smith was a Junior College player who was all set to come, but off field problems forced him to go elsewhere. Nebraska has better depth at defensive end. The team signed two at this spot, but both will redshirt and both will likely end up adding depth but little or no shot at starting. In all honesty, a bad performance for this unit. 

Linebackers--- Mike Keenan, Lance Brandenburgh (C)

• Other top prospects not signed--- Brian Toal, Vernon Smith, Matt Stoltz, Rory Johnson, Rodney Gallon, Dannell Elllerbe, Maurice McClellan.

This may have been the most disappointing area other than the defensive line for this class. Keenan appears to be a very good athlete with some speed and quickness, but he played a lot at running back and may even get a shot early on there at Nebraska. Despite his physical talent he appears to not be real comfortable on the defensive side. He most likely will need a redshirt to settle in on defense, but could become a contributor by his second season. Brandenburgh looks to have a bit less physical skills than Keenan but his film shows he does have a nose for the ball and is pretty solid fundamentally. I look for him to redshirt also and begin getting some playing time his second year. We really needed to get a skilled outside linebacker (most likely through the Junior College ranks) that could step in next season and contribute, but we failed in that. We probably didn't even get a multi-year starter from this group.

Defensive Backs--- Cortney Grixby, Santino Panico (C)

• Other top prospects not signed--- Theodore Ginn, Marcus Walker, Quincy Butler, Joe Manning, Stephen Green, Quran Barge, 

Grixby is somewhat on the small side and will battle that his entire career, but he certainly has all the athleticism one could want. He could actually play some receiver in the Huskers new offense next season, but is desperately needed at corner to start building depth. CG is very elusive and quick, and should factor in on the special teams as a returner. Grixby will likely play some next season. Panico is a decent athlete, but does not standout. He could add some depth at safety, but does not look like an answer at receiver in our new offense. I would be surprised if SP was anywhere on the depth chart in 2-3 years. A safety would have been nice although we can wait until next season. A big shutdown cornerback was also important. 

Kicker/Punter---None (NA)

Probably not needed this class but will be a priority next season. No grade.

In summary....I give this class an overall grade of (C)

This class to a large degree was a stop gap class. Very few of the offensive skill players are tailor made for the new offense. The defensive prospects in large part are journeyman potential at best. We failed in large part to satisfy defensive targets on the line and at linebacker. On paper at least, we appear to have gone along way to replenish the offensive line, and would could have a surprise with Adams at quarterback. The one caveat here. If the offensive line recruits pan out as it appears AND Adams can come in and learn the new offense enough to start or sub, then this grade in hindsight would be closer to a B. If the line doesn't develop AND Adams never materializes as a West Coast quarterback, this class will drop to a D. If this second scenario is the case this class could go down as being as weak as the 2000 and 2001 classes. Either way a lot of pressure will be put on the new coaching staff to obtain a strong and deep class in 2005.