Which Nebraska Football recruits are underrated? Plus more good news

Hey Husker fans, welcome back to another episode of the Husker Big Red podcast

I'm Chris Peterson and with me as always is my co-host Danny Gillette. We're here on a Tuesday

We're a little busy on Monday, so we push things back a day, but we're here with a lot

of information. We got a lot of recruiting info going on, you know, Gibson Pyle getting his All-American

Bowl invite. I did want to mention guys before we get too far into this, if you haven't yet, check out

our one-on or exclusive not one-on-one I should say but our exclusive interview with Isaac Dickey

the preferred walk-on fullback for Nebraska we did that last Friday and that's a real treat for

Nebraska fans I think he's going to be a really exciting player for the Cornhuskers here in the

future what about you Danny? I just love to hear him say that he wanted to hit somebody you know I

love that that's exactly what we need and you know we've talked about the physical offense that

Nebraska wants to bring, I think he'll fit well. And, you know, perhaps more importantly than all

of that, he sounds like really focused and that he really wants to be here. And, you know, it's

just great to see somebody so excited about joining the program. And even when we quizzed him on some

Husker history, he was able to name some names that were around before even I was born. So it was

It was good to see him kind of know Nebraska history as well

And it was interesting to hear him talk about Coach Barthol and how hands-on the coaching staff was

It's a fullback camp. I mean, the fact that we had a fullback camp is even cool in its own right

So it was a really good interview, and he spoke very well. I actually learned a lot from his interview on Friday

Yeah, he's an interesting player too. You know, he runs almost 11 flat

I mean, he's got a very productive career running the ball. So it just that makes me, you know, interested in his future, not necessarily that he could

be, you know, starting running back, but just that he could also, you know, make some contributions

you know, with the fullback too. We've seen, you know, those guys be effective running the ball for Nebraska, you know, over

the years and, you know, getting four or five opportunities a game. I mean, you know, Andy Jankovic, I believe, you know, he was a guy that, you know, had

some big runs. So, you know, I mean, and some of the guys he talked about, Joel McAvick, you know, Corey Schlesinger, it's not like those guys, you know, were running like a Mon Green

But, you know, when they got their opportunities, they took advantage of it. And so, you know, I would love to see, you know, Isaac Dickey getting some fullback dives like in the future, you know, out of the spread or whatever anymore

But that would be awesome. And, you know, I think he sounds like a guy that just wants to play no matter what

And I love that attitude. And he'll definitely find some reps during his time at Nebraska for sure

And I'm excited to see what he can bring to the table. And he's a big kid

I was watching some of his workout videos and he posted something the other day

He is absolutely jacked. So I really hope he does well and we'll try to get him on the show again soon

I'm happy that we're going to interview a lot of these guys. And it seems like the future of the program is in good hands in more ways than one

It definitely is in good hands, yeah, with Coach Matt Rule and, you know, the staff

A lot of really, you know, good recruits and guys that are really committed, I think, to, you know, rebuilding Nebraska

And, you know, with Isaac Dickey, some of these other guys, too, I think it's another sign of, you know

Rule kind of rebuilding the walk-on program, too, which has always been a strong tradition at Nebraska

Not that, you know, there was still, you know, solid walk-on players during the Frost era

but it's good to see that, you know, kind of continuing. And Isaac Dickey, yeah, through special teams and working his way, you know, into the offense, I think, is going to have a good chance down the road to, you know, eventually earn a scholarship

And, you know, because it's not like you're going to go out and recruit a bunch of fullbacks, you know what I mean

And honestly, another thought, too, is, you know, if he is starting to get on the field, I think he could be a candidate to get some good NIL money

You know, fullbacks, Nebraska, I think there's a lot of potential there. So, yeah, I think there's a lot of potential with his career

And I think he's another guy that's signed or committed, not signed yet, excuse me, but committed as part of this 2024 class that's, you know, pretty underrated

And, you know, we got another example this week when Gibson Pyle, you know, was selected for the All-American Bowl

I mean, it's, you know, he dominated. He was one of the best offensive linemen kind of at that showcase down in Florida, and that earned him the invitation

And but yeah, it's it's crazy to see, you know, he still ranked like 753 or something in the, you know, 24 seven composite rankings

So that that just kind of got me thinking about different recruits that, you know, should be, you know, upgraded as blue chips

We saw some guys, you know, that did get upgraded via, you know, on three, I believe Kewon Lacey and Carlon Jones both got four stars

But there's still some guys that definitely are a little bit underrated. and Gibson Pyle is very near the top of my list in terms of Cornhuskers

that should be rated as four-star players across the spectrum. You talk about people that want to just mash and knock the living daylights out of people

Pyle can do that as well. I mean, he's a very physical lineman, and he seems like, again

he really wants to be a part of the program. He really wants to turn things around, and I'm really happy to see him get the recognition he deserves

I mean, honestly, some of it could be that he's from the state of Texas, and Texas is huge

I mean, football is everywhere, and there's so many players, just like Florida, to kind of go through and sift through

And I'm glad Pyle's getting a lot of recognition now as he gets set to begin his Nebraska football career, you know, in the near future

Yeah, and it's, you know, I don't know if it's because he's slated to be a guard or, you know, exactly

It could be, you know, the state of Texas thing, but you know, yeah

he put together a really solid camp and, you know, he's a guy that I, you know

I really could see probably having a decent chance to start like in a second season, you know, in Nebraska, I think he'll be a multi-year starter

you know, one of those guard spots. But yeah, it's interesting. You know

if you look at like the 24 seven composite rankings, even just the 24 seven rankings, like he won Lacey right now is ranked eight

74. Carlon Jones is ranked eight 19. And so that's definitely dragging down

So even though Kiwan Lacy has been upgraded to a four-star by some, he's still 529th in the 24-7 composite rankings

So that's kind of what I tend to look at in terms of calculating the blue chip ratio and things like that

I think the composite ranking is probably the best to calculate all of them

So who are some other guys that you could see that deserve kind of an upgrade that you think should get a ranking upgrade here in the next few months

Braylon Prude. I thought he was ranked very low for the type of talent he has

You know, Prude is ranked 632nd overall nationally. I think he should get a four-star by the time his senior season ends

And then, you know, just looking at a guy like Quinn Clark

I mean, I don't think he's even ranked nationally. I mean, with him being an 84 overall, according to the 24-7 rankings, it may be a bit of a

climb to get a four-star, but I feel like he deserves to at least be ranked

And, you know, you can kind of speak on this. Is it because, you know, he's from, like, if he wasn't from Montana, for example, do

you think he would be ranked Ashley by now? I think he well he is ranked you know 13 13 in the 1300s in the composite 24 Oh you know doesn Well they mixed up the way they putting their rankings out

For some reason, they're showing their rankings instead of the composite, like when you look up Nebraska commitments or whatever

Gotcha, yep. So I don't know if that's because of the on threes doing that

But, yeah, he is still pretty underrated. I think part of it is because he's from Montana and just the competition

There's just not been a ton of Division I players. There's three in this class already for Montana

They have a guy going to Boise State and another guy going to Kentucky. But I think that that is a big part of it

There's just not the competition to kind of, you know, verify, you know, what you're seeing on film, I guess, you know, would be the best way to say it

And I think that's why Nebraska is, you know, kind of getting a steal. I mean, he ran a really fast, you know, 40 time

And I know from I actually just interviewed Quinn Clark for, you know, my day job at 406sports.com and here in Montana

And he was actually talking to me about when they offered him, the coaching staff was kind of worried about Iowa State

and Iowa State ended up not offering Quinn. He went there after his Nebraska camp

So I don't know how well he performed. He was really tired. But they definitely knew what kind of player he was

and other schools were going to be interested. And so I think they did a good job to lock this one down

as quickly as they did. He reminds me a lot of Malachi Coleman

just in the way he has his speed and the way he can play on the outside and his ability to run after the catch

And so I feel like Clark is still a bit underrated, you know, I think

And honestly, not that he's underrated, but I don't understand why Isaiah McMorris doesn't have a four-star yet

I mean, it feels like he's ranked 89th overall numerically. And I'm just taking a look at the national rankings really quick

He's 493rd nationally and 73rd overall wide receiver in the class. But I'm wondering if he'll get a four-star because he is very close to getting one

Yeah, he's definitely on my list for a guy that I think definitely deserves an upgrade

I mean, he's not only, you know, has he got good production

I mean, he's got pretty elite production, over 1,500 yards receiving last year. He got like 12 touchdowns

Yeah, so 12, I was wrong. 12, 1,297 and 15 touchdowns, but still, I mean, give or take it. Yeah. And he runs, I mean

he runs 10, six, two in the a hundred meter dash. He can play multiple positions. So yeah

that's another weird one. I really don't understand why he's, he's a three-star. And I mean

I could say that about Daniel Kalin too. I know Daniel Kalin has gotten some upgrades lately

You know, he's been upgraded in the, you know, 24, seven, their, their specific rankings

their own rankings have him like as the 15th best quarterback um he's also now a four-star in the on

three industry rankings which are kind of like i said they're kind of like an average but 24 7

sports is the only recruiting service that has him as a four-star right now and so that to me is not

that's not right he needs to get upgraded there like on three has him as the 41st best quarterback

espn has him 24th rivals has him 30th um 24 7 has him 15th which i think is more i think he i mean

he was invited to the elite 11 for christ's sake and he won the 11 event so how do you have him

ranked 41st among quarterbacks that makes no sense to me and it's not the golden boy that all the

media writers were told to write about and who and you know all their storylines they didn't have

daniel kalin in their storylines or their you know flashy you know favorites at the elite 11 and for

people saying who gives a shit well it does matter they need to evaluate kids properly not just

speaking from a Nebraska perspective but overall and I understand there's a lot of kids in each

state but I mean I feel like some of these kids just get missed out on like like Lacey and you

know like those like these type of guys they need to be evaluated properly and you know because

they're a lot better than what these stupid star rankings show oh yeah I definitely agree um yeah

you know it's just it's just weird how they have it um you know graded and um yeah at the end of

the day sure maybe it's not going to affect you know player performance and whatnot but it definitely

does matter um you know in terms of their recruiting and um yeah it's just it's good to

see guys get ranked fairly like you said and right now nebraska just i mean you know they don't have

a ton of four-star prospects overall um i think let's see the on the industry rankings for on three

happen with uh five so that's kind of the you know it's like five or six across the board but

then they've got a then they've got like five or six others that are in that you know four five

500, 600 range. Key1 Lacey should be a four-star. I don't know

Like I said, it's the 24-7 ranking. It's easily in the 800, which is ridiculous

That's the same thing with Carlon Jones. He's ranked in the 800s by 24-7 too

It's like, have you guys not seen him play? Have you not updated your rankings? If they weren't in Texas, I bet you they'd be four-stars

Yeah, probably. I think there is. It just maybe gets harder to see

the same thing happen in Florida. Some of these really, really good kids get underrated just because there's

so many kids to evaluate and things like that. But if Carlin and Kiwan weren't

in Texas, I bet you they'd be four stars. Yeah, and maybe Braylon Prude

too, but he's definitely a guy that I'm excited about and he's another

guy that I think is really a steal for Nebraska. To get him

to evaluate him in a camp and get him in, I mean, that's just that's good work by this coaching staff and um it does show like with the gibson pile was the

second commitment in this class and you know he's showing that he's a lot better than people thought

too so i think we need to give and we have been i feel like you and i have definitely been but

this may be just reinforcing our point that this coaching staff knows how to evaluate talent

and we need to get gibson on another one of these shows soon i i loved talking with him last time

And I'd love to hear about his experience at the, at the camps and getting upgraded and stuff

And I think I saw something. Did he run a 4.17 shuttle

He did a four seven. I mean, yeah, so that's still crazy

Yeah. That's moving for offensive line. And yeah, I mean, I, you know

and like, wow, I'm really excited about Gunnar Gatula and like the way he's played at tackle

you know, in spring practice. And then you're adding Gibson. but I just think they're adding a lot of, you know

quality offensive line pieces, which will be kind of a good segue to some recruiting stuff

Preston Tauma or Tauma. I have, I'm hoping I'm pronouncing that in the name

Tamua. I don't know. Yeah. Please. If we mispronounce that, you know, get comments, you know

put in the comment section and we'll try to. We won't mind at all. We need to know these pronunciations

But anyways, 6'4", 315 pounds, the number one player out of the state of Hawaii

and uh you know it seemed like oregon was the favorite and then like last week all of a sudden

um blair and julio from 24 7 put in a prediction and um yesterday justin hopkins from he does a

scoop duck from it's an oregon site from on three he's really trustworthy reporter in terms of

recruiting he had his on three prediction on oregon he was the first one and he flipped that

to nebraska last night so to me this is a done deal like nebraska getting this guy uh that my opinion what are your thoughts on Preston Tauma I love him I mean again he a very physical lineman

He bowls people over. You know, he's very sturdy in his movements

He sets his feet real well. He's aggressive. You know, I think, you know, he is a fantastic lineman

And although he's a four-star, I feel like he's not getting a ton of attention either

I mean, I feel like he could be a guy that could come in and, you know, play right away and, you know, really get an opportunity to shine

And with this offensive line-centric coaching staff, I feel like that will only help him get even better

So I'm really excited. You know, I hope he commits. And, you know, even though all these things are trending that way, you know, I never believe it until I actually see the kids on the field

So, I mean, I'm just really excited that, you know, he, that Nebraska is in the mix

And for all the flack I've given Donovan Rayola about his lack of recruiting, he's done, you know, fairly well this cycle and getting linemen

And, you know, because, and you can attest to this too, and I actually talked about it on a show I was on last night

The thing with linemen is that you can have a really good three-star lineman, and he doesn't have to be a sexy four or five-star, and he can get the job done

I mean, my friend was drafted 14th overall by the Atlanta Falcons, and he was a three-star at Boston College

So I feel like linemen have – the star rankings for them don't necessarily matter a ton, if you know what I mean

So, I mean, I feel like just overall the cycle, Rayola's done a good job of getting some really, really good linemen

that fit the aggressive play style that he's looking for. He has done a really good job on the cycle

I do agree with you. One thing with linemen, just because the thing about it, okay

is how are you going to, you know, they go to all these seven-on-seven camps. I mean, even with Gibson Pyle, it's not like these guys are in pads

I mean, full pads. That doesn't really happen at these camps. So I just I have a hard time evaluating offensive linemen if you're not playing full

You know, that's just it's not real. It's not real. Putting big guys in shorts and, you know, movement, you know, I mean, yeah, guys like I think, yeah, guys like Brandon Baker

I'm not saying he's not going to be great, but they look amazing at those types of events. Right. But that's those guys get rated higher than they should at times because they just they look like they look the part and they don't always play like the part

And so that's with offensive line. I think so much of it has to do with coaching and, you know, development and all that type of stuff

And so if you get good coaches, you can really turn out good offensive linemen

And we'll see with real of the recruiting definitely is getting better. They've landed. This would be a good one, you know, with the top kid out of Hawaii

I know Grant Bricks is still there, you know, on the board. He hasn't really talked that much about a decision

But, you know, Nebraska is still right in the mix with those two guys. And the one thing with Tauma is, to me, I mean, he's like 6'4", close to 6'5"

but he looks like he has the movement skills to play tackle. I'm just interested in this class going for ��

Nebraska had all those huge offensive linemen, and this rule staff, they're very into the 6'4", 6'5", height range so far

at least for their – a lot of these guys are going to play guard. But it's just interesting. They're not recruiting those 6'8"-type tackles anymore

Well, you kind of need guys to be able to move quickly now with how passing-based the game is

And, you know, I'm just looking, you know, at some of Raylo's recruiting gets

I mean, his highest one so far has been Gunnar Gatula. And Gatula was an 87 overall numerically

He committed in 2021. And then Gibson, you know, was the second highest

followed by Brock Knudsen, Sam Sledge, and Landon Davidson. so you know

Tamu has a chance to absolutely blow these guys out of the water in terms of ranking

and I think Pyle and Davidson in particular are two really good gets for

Rayola and I think also having a coaching staff that actually wants

to run the football, be physical and get good linemen in here also helps

Rayola a ton too because you can even tell last year, we won't

go down this rabbit hole too much but The offensive style did not mesh or help out offensive linemen in any way

And now that we have a coaching staff that understands linemen, I feel like that's helping Rayola recruit a little better as well

He can sell a lot more to potential recruits in terms of

hey, you're going to be able to fit because X, Y, and Z, and it's not just a shot in the dark

Yeah, and maybe our offensive coordinator won't run empty protection and spread off him like playground style

everybody go deep fine you know he did that all the time i mean it worked for trey palmer like to

his credit but i mean it didn't work for everybody else it worked if yeah it worked if casey could

run away for a second before he got killed but poor anthony grant too i feel like grant got a lot of

uh lost opportunities last season but i think that's gonna change this year

yeah it just was frustrating in some of those games you know like the minnesota game is one

And I remember where they started off really well. Grant started off really well

And then they kind of went away from running the ball. I feel like they did the same thing against Wisconsin

Yeah, Illinois. Basically everybody. Every time they ran the ball well. And Anthony Grant, just like he never got the carries that he probably should have got

So hopefully Marcus Satterfield will be a little more into running the football

I definitely think it's going to be more of a focus. And, you know, I am excited to see what Jeff Sims and all these all these weapons can do

But, yeah, it's you know, it is interesting if they can get, you know, another four star commitment

That would be really big. You know, another topic I want to discuss on recruiting

You know, you still got, you know, Amari Sanders out there, you know, Caleb Bennings. I saw that Mike Schaefer had kind of a little report that he's expected to take a visit at the end of this month

So, like, if that visit happens, do you think Nebraska is going to take one of those guys, like, you know, Benning or Sanders

Or do you think there's a chance they take both or neither? What are your thoughts? Well, is Benning still on the December timeline for his decision

As of right, yeah, for now. He's stuck with that for now. But I'm wondering if that could change after, you know, he gets on campus again

That's what I'm kind of curious about. Well, I feel like Sanders, like, he's been crystal ball to Nebraska, and it seems like all the momentum is trending

I feel like Nebraska could take Sanders for sure. And then I kind of wonder about Grant Bricks as well

I'm not sure when he's, I believe Bricks was set to make his decision before his

his senior season coming up. So maybe soon, but I'm not exactly sure the exact date

So say we land Sanders and Bricks that would put us at 25 or no

Yeah. Yeah. 25. Yep. Okay. So I mean, betting i don't see where betting fits because we already have donovan jones i'm not saying that

betting is worse or whatever to donovan jones but i'm just like i don't see a fit there now that we

have jones i mean we can always use another safety but i don't know we'll see i always thought that

we landed donovan jones and we pursued jones because we kind of knew we weren going to get Benning but maybe that changed Yeah I don know if I not sure if there a connection I definitely think there is a connection between like Sanders and Benning

And I, I just don't see them taking two more defensive backs, but I also think

I don't think Braylon Prude's going to play defensive back. He's going to be a linebacker, I think

Yeah. And there's another guy, Rex Guthrie, I think has a good chance of maybe being a line or like that Rover position

So, I mean, but at any rate, I don't know. It's just, I, I watch Caleb Benning and, you know

when I watch his highlights and I know that, you know, he, I think he was hurt some of last year

but I just know when I watch him play that I want him to be a Nebraska

Cornhusker. I just think that, you know, he's an underrated guy. I know he's not a huge, he doesn't have huge size

but I just feel like he's a playmaker, whether it's, you know, offense or defense. I just feel like they could find a role for him

And I just feel like that's one of those recruitments. I mean, I'm not saying that you have to recruit him because his dad played there but I just feel like he's

going to be a good player in college and it just seems like it's such a such a no-brainer like if

I was Matt Rule I would as long as he's really you know I would I would check the temperature of

this visit see how things are you know what I mean but I just feel like he's going to have a big

senior season and I just I feel like personally if Nebraska doesn't take him then they're going

to regret it well if he waits till December then I mean I don't know it's tough because by then you

kind of want to have your class wrapped up and if there's a better guy out there you don't want

to hold a spot just for benning to see if he decides so i don't know i mean i would like to

have him i think he's a he's a very good player but the timeline just doesn't i'm not a huge fan

of the timeline yeah i get i get that um and we'll see maybe he would announce earlier yeah i don't

know maybe he would make some type of you know silent pledge i'm not really sure you know i'm

obviously I don't know how that's going. And really it's not like he's taking a bunch of other visits or anything

So, I mean, I don't think that he took a single visit anywhere. I could be wrong

I think his last visit was to Nebraska. I know he took an unofficial at some point

He got a crystal ball at some point. And Amari Sanders has also, like you said, he's got the crystal balls too

But there hasn't been a huge flood of them. There's been like two

One was Brian Christopherson from Huskers 24-7, who I do trust. But I do think it's an issue right now where it's like Nebraska's trying to decide whether or not to take him

That's my read on the situation more. And so I don't know if Benning's factoring into that or not

Because they still need edge. I mean, they need another edge in this

They really don't have a pure edge in this class right now. So they need to get an edge

And, you know, they're trying to get some more offensive linemen. So, I mean, it wouldn't shock me if they got up, you know, 28 to 30

but we'll see. I mean, you know, are they going to have Caleb Benning be the 30th scholarship

I don't know. You know, it's not if Omari Sanders is in the class too

I mean, then you're almost pushing like 10 defensive backs, which is kind of wild. And Omari Sanders' crystal balls have been relatively recent

And I know from reading that he talks to Coach Cooper every day

secondaries coach Evan Cooper. So I feel like Sanders is honestly more of a viable option at this point than Benning is

Benning took a visit to Lincoln on June 9th, and he's also, you know, taking a visit, you know, during that big visit weekend in March

He took a visit then, too. So, I mean, if Benning wants to be here and he wants to come, like, that's awesome

I just if you have a guy like Amari Sanders, I wouldn't make Sanders wait until Benning decides

So it's kind of a tough situation. but at the very least we have traction with both with both of them so if one doesn't work out then

maybe the other well but I feel like Sanders is almost the more viable option at this point

um yeah we'll say that I just think it depends what happens with this visit

weekend and that's my other thing with Sanders too is like you know if he's trending

you know he hasn't he hasn't set a commitment date um you know and it's I I think there's

like two crystal balls on 24 seven so like i get it but you know why hasn't he committed yet like

if that if we're at the point where they're kind of trending with those crystal balls like is there

a reason he hasn't committed is it because the staff is still debating that i'm not sure maybe

just is waiting you know it's just kind of speculation maybe they're waiting for each other

sanders and benning i mean they're waiting to see what one of them does yeah maybe you know um but i

think we'll we'll know either way if you know benning because there's a there's an opening at

the end of July where the dead period ends for a bit so you can take you know unofficial visits

and I know Nebraska obviously has you know camp starting but if he can get it on an unofficial

visit you know at the end of July I think that would be you know a good sign for the Huskers

if not then yeah he probably is going to play somewhere else but I do feel like he's going to

have a big senior season and I feel like by the time you know this fall rolls around like there's

Jim Brass is just going to want him in the class so that I don't know we'll see how it plays out but

I'm still going to stay with what I said if he doesn't wind up in this class I think

you know a year or two down the road Nebraska might regret it so that's well we'll also have

to see what happens this fall because um yeah if we start winning games then that might open up

other opportunities for better players who knows I mean you never know yeah that is a good you know

point to you know Brandon Baker put out another tweet with the pictures you know do you actually

buy any of that Brandon Baker type stuff or do you think he's just doing it for traction

Well, let me first say this. If he wants to come to Nebraska, I absolutely want him. I mean

he would be a huge get, but I think he knows the fan bases are really loud on Twitter. So I could

see him doing it for interaction. I mean, groups know how to play the game now. They know that

Nebraska is one of the louder fan bases on Twitter. And, you know, he knows that we all get excited and talk about him on our shows on Tuesday morning

So he knows what he's doing. But that's not to say that I wouldn't love to have him because I absolutely would

I mean, if we have a shot, that would be great. But I don't really see how he fits with all the other linemen we've taken and potentially, you know, bricks as well

so you know i'd love to have him but i don't see it i think he's just doing it for for uh clicks and

retweets yeah um i i do think yeah maybe it is part of that but i mean he did take two visits

to nebraska like unofficial visits um in the spring so he definitely did have some interest

there it just seemed like he kind of got you know it's hard when texas ohio state you know georgia

all the big names michigan everybody's after you but you know florida but so his picture he put

it was nebraska florida state georgia and oregon and oregon has felt like the favorite for a while

um in this recruitment and so it's kind of it's just kind of interesting that even some of the

schools he visited he didn't post so it's really hard to say even like brandon baker's top five i

mean i know oregon's definitely in the mix georgia seems to be right there but i mean nebraska for

all we know could be in the top five but i don't know if it's you know they could even be in the

top four, he might really like Riola and Matt Rule, but he still hasn't taken an official visit

And I don't see him committing if he does, you know, unless he gets back to campus

So, I mean, if he if he shows up, I mean, there was talk of him in September guys can take an unlimited amount of visits so like if he shows up for a game

for an official visit in September then yeah I'll put him you know I'll take that seriously but

right now I don't even know how much Nebraska's even recruiting him seriously because

you're they're trying to get Brett Grant Bricks done I'm trying to get you know this kid out of

Hawaii so I really don't know how much I haven't heard that Nebraska's even contacted him or no I'm

wondering if he's even on the board anymore uh my guess and this is just purely a guess with the

way they're recruiting other offensive linemen I don't think he's on their board anymore I mean

if if we land Tamu and then Bricks then that's two more linemen and then where does he fit

because we already have Landon Davidson you know we got Pyle coming in we have um you know

Sam Sledge coming in for 2023 I mean there's a ton of names I'm just looking um really quick here

and it doesn't look like a lot of room for Baker and he's a really good player

but we have a lot of linemen already. So my guess is that Nebraska kind of knows

Jake Peters too we have. So I'm thinking Nebraska probably knows that he's not coming here

and that's why they're recruiting other linemen and Baker's just using it for engagement

But we'll see. I mean, it just doesn't seem like there would be a lot of room for him here now

Yeah. I mean, I think they'd make room. I mean, you make room for, yeah. Oh yeah. Big. I mean like

you know, if you have to take eight offensive linemen, cause you get him in your class

like you just do it because he's that, you know, he's that rare of a talent. But at the same time, yeah

I don't, you know, I, I posted about it yesterday at has your big red.com

And that was my, you know, my answer was, you know, until he takes a visit

I'm not taking it seriously. So I think that, in terms of recruiting, I think that's all the hits we got. But I did want to segue, you know

Donovan Rayola did, you know, an interview on Monday talking about the offensive line

you know, so there was a lot of kind of tidbits in there. So, you know, Matt Rules talked about

it. He's talked about it. Everybody's kind of talking to this offensive line, you know

with some of the additions, you know, Ben Scott, some of the guys coming back from injury and suspension. But is the is the offensive line actually going to be better

next season for Nebraska football. I wanted to debate that, and I'll throw it to you, Danny

What are your thoughts? Yes. I think, again, like we mentioned earlier

having a coaching staff that takes pride in building a good offensive line, that's going to help

I think some of the players returning, like Noelle, for example, I mean, Turner Corcoran, hopefully

guys that didn't really get a chance to make a huge impact last year

And then, you know, you have other other linemen as well coming into the fold from the 2023 class

I mean, you look at some of the names in the class and, you know, they really have an opportunity to shine

I mean, to me, the offensive line is wide open in terms of just talent and, you know, trying to get bodies on the line itself

You have Gatula and then you have a guy like Brock Knudsen

So I think it will be better. I think having Riella more involved in recruiting and getting the guys he wants will help

And, you know, truth be told, they didn't perform terribly towards the end of last season

They got a little bit better, but by then it was too late. I think, you know, the line has a chance to pick up where it left off and have a much stronger season this year

And I feel like I might eat those words once the season starts and you all point back to this clip right here But that how I feel about it So you know with Teddy being back on the left side that going to be huge and uh you know I just hope he stays healthy yeah Donovan

said he's good to go I mean he said he's good to go you know last year I think they tried to play

him when he was hurt those first few you know it just didn't they should have never played him yeah

so I think he's it's been good to get he had the full all of last season so I mean he's had almost

like a full year to you know get himself right um so I feel like he's going to be you know a

cornerstone at that tackle position, which Nebraska needs, you know, left tackle. And then, you know, Corcoran, you know

you mentioned Noeli coming back. I think that's, you know, he's a guy that I think can play in the NFL. And so to get a guy like that

you know, I think Ben Scott is the same to get him from Arizona state

you know, a guy that's actually started like 20 some games in his career, you know, a tackle and at center

So I feel like basically you're getting three really quality starters right

there. And then you've got, you know, the other two spots, which I think we've all kind of penciled in, you know, Ben Hart at right tackle and Corcoran

there at guard, but there's some other, you know, listening to Rayola or just reading through the

comments. There are some other depth pieces, you know, Ethan Piper is a guy that, you know

started games at guard, you know, he could play last year too. Yeah, he was, yeah, he was solid

So, I mean, that's another guy that you're, I thought that Henry Leptoski actually played pretty well last year at guard and he's someone that's kind of, you know, I even forgot about him

a little bit, just kind of lost in the shuffle, but he's another guy. I mentioned Gatula. I

I really feel like if Nebraska needs a tackle this year, I feel like there's a chance he could get that spot

You know, I mean, probably right away, their first move would probably be to bump out Corcoran, you know

and bump in Ethan Piper to take his spot. I mean, that makes sense. But I don't, I think that Gunnar Gatula

like I don't think the game is too big for him. I think he could play tackle this year if needed. And then, you know, Jacob Hood, you've got some of those other guys

But I feel like there's some depth this year. and I just feel really good about that starting five especially you know if Bryce Benhart can

you know build on the solid spring that he had because he looked pretty solid to me he looked

like he actually like a legitimate NFL caliber prospect in the spring so we'll see hopefully he

can uh he can do that but you know I mean Matt Rule said it from day one you know and I don't

think Matt Rule says things just to say you know I don't think he would say that he thinks the

offensive line is going to be better you know well you know what I mean like I just I don't think he I think he really believes it and I think that's because he's seen a lot of the evidence

on the field to believe it well he said that Bryce Benhart could be an NFL player people got a

chuckle out of that uh in the beginning but I mean like you said Benhart performed well in the

spring game so maybe maybe he Benhart just needed a reset as did many others you know I think maybe

he just needed a change of scenery and a chance to kind of have a clean slate and start over so

to speak. So I'd love to see him, you know, really kind of break out the season. I've been incredibly

harsh on him and, you know, I've kind of written him off, but I would love for him to prove me

wrong and make me eat my words. Yeah. I think there's going to be a lot of guys that just

you know, getting, getting a spark with this coaching staff or just getting better coaching

you know, it's not going to be, this won't be the first instance of guys, you know, like

underachieving and now, you know, kind of overachieving with a new coaching staff in place

So that's really what I'm banking on this year with a lot of these veteran type guys

And even some of the other guys that have played well in the past, like Quentin Newsome

who's to say that those guys can't take another step under the direction of Evan Cooper and

Tony White. You know what I mean? So I just feel like Nebraska's had players, like talent has not been the issue here over

the last five years, even the last decade. Talent has not been Nebraska's problem

It's been a lot of coaching. And I mean, just just look at the close games. I mean, you know, like coaches, players win games, coaches lose games

And our coach lost us a lot of games over the last five years And I don think that going to happen anymore No And you look at you know you you mentioned having the talent You look at a guy like Malcolm Hartzog I excited to see how he you know comes back and plays this year He was a bright spot last year so I mean just looking at that 2021 season I mean

I believe we lost to Ohio State by nine. We lost to Michigan by a touchdown, if my memory serves

me right or was it three or three it was by three yeah because we uh nebraska it was tied it was

tied actually i think in martinez we had nebraska had the ball and then uh fumbled it and then movie

they got the field goal remember that's what happened and then drove down to like the 45

yard line two pet like two passes to the 50 and then like three incompletions and then game over

best 3-9 team in history so yeah i saw that tweet yeah it's like please just stop

tweeting about that season i don't want to see it anymore i don't want to think about the michigan

state game ever again that was the game well the michigan state game is when i first was like

yeah this probably isn't going to work out with scott frost and then the michigan game like i just

remember his face like there was a there's like a famous picture of his face and he's like like

he's got his hat off and he's like rubbing his forehead and like, he's like

he's like, like, you know, it was like, like you can see his

like, uh, you know, the saying like a picture is worth a thousand words, that picture right there after the Michigan loss in 2021 at Lincoln

Memorial stadium, that picture right there sums up the entire career of Scott Frost at Nebraska

Yeah. Well, just like, either or lots of promise. And then just couldn't get it done

I mean, I just think there were a lot of things that happened. I mean, there's a, I don't want to get into all this stuff, but you know

Michigan state game. I remember, Oh, go ahead. Well, I was just going to say like, if you, if you have, you know

if not everything is right in your personal life, you know, you're not going to be focused on your job a hundred percent. So, you know

Scott Frost, I mean, there's definitely some truth to some of the things out there with the

infidelities and all that. And that definitely played a huge factor. I mean

if you're, if you're sitting there going through like a, a personal issue with your wife or whatever

how are you going to focus on, on the, you know, with all the pressure and everything else

how are you going to focus on doing your best? So, you know, I just think there was a whole bunch of a litany of issues and reasons why

you know, he didn't succeed. Yeah. And I actually remember the Michigan state game was tough too

because if my memory serves me right, we held Kenneth Walker to

Oh yeah. Under a hundred yards rushing. I'm looking it up right now real quick

But that game was won, basically. Nebraska was the best team all game

and then they couldn't put anybody away because Adrian Martinez just was not an efficient quarterback

The defense played amazing. That defense, like the fact that that defense didn't get to play in a bowl game

is just a travesty because that was a really good defense. Yeah, we held Kenneth Walker to 10 carries for 61 yards

and I think some of that he got in overtime too he did and I and then it was the punt return that

tied the game I thought it was a punt return that won it but it ended up being no part return by

Jaden Reed and I remember the entire right side being open yeah because the punter punted it to

the wrong side of the field and then that's why we lost the game because our punter could not

effing punt the ball to the right side of the goddamn field he couldn't even punt the ball

there were some days where he couldn't punt the ball but anyway that was the easy jaden reed

basically had nobody to yeah he just walked in yep and yeah i remember yeah it was like a seven

point game and nebraska kept stuffing them and stuffing them yeah and then um this michigan's

that was like michigan state last chance i think they just burned their final time out like nebraska had to stop them one more time and then they give up a punt return for a touchdown and it was game over and that that game and then you know like losing those two games to michigan and michigan state when they should have won like that just yeah you know that could have

changed the trajectory of the season honestly because you win those two you feel pretty good

about yourself and uh speaking of not feeling good about yourself pat fitzgerald's last win

came against Nebraska in Ireland. Yeah, that's crazy. Glad we were able to send him off

probably the final season of his coaching career in general by giving him a victory

Literally handing him a victory. Yeah, good job Scott Frost on the onside kick

Oh, Jesus. And we're in the Hall of Fame with Georgia Southern. Georgia Southern stuff is in the Hall of Fame

because they beat Nebraska. And we paid them like millions of dollars

They quite literally had nothing to lose that game, and they didn't

They played like they wanted it. But hey, Georgia Southern at least

they got rid of Scott Frost for us. They did, so thank you, Georgia Southern

Should send Clay Hilton a bottle of champagne. Thanks, buddy. Oh, man

Hopefully all that misery can be forgotten about this season with a good season

And I feel I've I truly do feel optimistic. I remember feeling optimistic in 2021 and, you know, I kind of felt shaky in 2022, but

I'm back to my optimism for better or for worse than 2023. But I don't think some of the things we just mentioned, I don't think we'll see that under

Matt Rule. No, I don't think so either. I'm not saying that Matt Rule is going to be perfect, but I don't think that you're going

to see Nebraska losing games because of a fake, you know, a surprise onside kick

You know what I mean? Just or coverage on the entire right side of the field

I mean, come on. You don't even see that. Like, I haven't seen that happen

I've covered high school football for almost 15 years. Almost 15 years

Six-man, eight-man, 11-man. I've never seen anything like that. Not once. No, I haven't either

And, you know, I've been a part of several teams and stuff. But Nebraska against Michigan State, yeah

You got a top 25 win hanging in the balance. And, yeah. That was the game I threw in the towel for that season, honestly

because I felt like the things were slowly starting to trend downward after that game

But anyways, well, folks, we've been up and down on this episode here

talk some recruiting, get our shots in on Scott Frost. You can tell how much we're drinking the Kool-Aid for this season

but we're going to have a lot more episodes coming up. We're literally, I think, camp starts July 31st, if I'm not mistaken

so we're like 20 days away from Nebraska. That's crazy. This offseason went by fast, relatively speaking

I love, too, that they're going to the old-school camp, like that they're doing the camp thing

The dorms. Yeah. Matt Rule is just, I love him. I love him. I don't care

But he's pushing all the right buttons, and I love the old-school approach

It's what these guys need. He wants to be here. He wants to be here, too. He's not just collecting a check

You can tell he really wants to be here, and that matters a lot, too, because we've seen what happens when a coach doesn't want to be here

or wants to just collect a check. and these guys needed to kick in the ass you know a little bit and I think they got it with their

winter conditioning I mean Matt Rule it's the that's the funny thing is he comes off as the

nicest guy but he works these guys hard don't make don't make any mistakes like he knows how

to coach them up and so you know like the guys on the field like they're gonna have proven that

they want to be on the field same thing with Ed Foley I feel like he comes off as a teddy bear but

he is a he is a very strict coach and EJ Barthol I mean you've seen videos of him barking at players

so I love it I love it yep that's how you got to do it so make sure you guys hit the subscribe

button um you know hit the like button comment um you know make sure that you share so that more

Husker fans can catch up with our content and we'll have some more stuff later this week and

as always go Big Red go Big Red