Breaking down significant Nebraska Football recruiting news

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Husker Big Red YouTube channel. I'm Chris Peterson. With me as always as my co-host, Danny Gillette. And we're back here for another episode. And we've got a lot to cover this week as we've got the new Big Ten scheduling format and the schedule for the 2025 seasons release. And we got a lot of recruiting news and new commitment last night as Mario Buford is N. So that's another blue chip edition for the 2024 class. But I want to start off with this new schedule, Danny. And, you know

What did you think about, you know, this new kind of format from the Big Ten

Nebraska only wound up getting one protected rival, which is Iowa, which kind of makes sense

I was surprised how that worked out. But just what were your first impressions of the new format for the Big Ten and also Nebraska's, you know, scheduled the next two years

Well, my opinion for the schedule for the next two years is that they better be ready by 2025

I mean, we have Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State, and USC. I mean, boy, that is quite the gauntlet

I mean, 2024 is not exactly easy either, as Nebraska also has Iowa, northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, and UCLA

And so, you know, I think this is going to be a challenge for Nebraska

but I think they'll be ready. And I kind of talked about this yesterday on Husker Big Red

when you look at Tony White and how he is kind of the recruiter

for the West Coast having these West Coast games is obviously going to

be a chance for Nebraska to continue to try to make inroads

in that area and also kind of give the Western part of

the country a chance to see Nebraska football because sure they see it on TV

sure these California kids some of them have even come here But, you know, to establish a presence more in California is going to be big for Nebraska football and for the rest of the Big Ten as far as recruiting goes

Yeah, I really like what the Big Ten did in terms of their, you know, whatever they called it, you know, Flex Plus or whatever

I don't even care what they called it. But it makes so much more sense than the garbage that the SEC put out

I mean, that was crap. And the fact that like in the SEC that Georgia and Texas A&M had been in the same conference

and haven't played in over a decade. They're not even in the same conference then

Why are they even in the same league? It does not make any sense. And then the idea that the SEC, you know

oh, we can protect more rivalry games by playing fewer conference games. That's just a lie

You want to play fewer games because you think it'll be easier. So just say that. But anyways, the Big Ten, the Big Ten with its nine game schedule

in the way that they did it, every team is going to play each other in these first two years

And I think that's how it's, you know, pretty much always going to be. I think you're going to see, I don't know that it's going to

to be within two years, but I don't think you're going to go two years without, you know

like more than three years without playing a team. So I do like that aspect of it, and that you're

going to get all these, you know, Nebraska is going to get to UCLA and USC basically, you know

once every four years at a bare minimum. The protected rivals thing, too, I think, was smart

because it, instead of, you know, forcing rivalries, you know, instead of trying to say, hey, like

UCLA and Nebraska, you're going to be a rival, you know, they just, they protected 11 rivalries

I think there was too many. Iowa has too many protected rivalries, in my opinion. But, you know, Nebraska maybe could have had more

But that's the thing about it. You know, I mean, yeah, Wisconsin and Minnesota both made sense to me

But those aren't, you know, you're still going to play those teams. Iowa was really the only true rival, I think, that, you know, for Nebraska, you know, at this point

So that makes sense. It does kind of stink as a Nebraska fan in some ways just because, I mean, I guess it could be a positive or negative

because Nebraska is going to get put in a lot of these marquee games, right

They've only got one protected rival. So you're going to see like in 2024, Nebraska is the only team that's playing

or 2025, excuse me, USC, UCLA, Michigan, and Ohio State in one schedule

I mean, that's a pretty brutal schedule. But that's what you're going to see happen

And Penn State, too, because Penn State has zero protected rivals. So they're really going to, you know, get matched up

But it's smart because basically, look, if you put Nebraska against almost anybody

it's going to be a good draw, whether it's. It's in-person attendance or TV

And you can say the same thing about Penn State. So that is really smart because basically, like, if you got Nebraska on the schedule

the game will get sold out because if the home fans won't go, Nebraska fans will buy them up

I mean, whether that's in Rutgers, whether that's in UCLA, I mean, wherever it is

And Nebraska fans are going to watch too. So we're going to get some marquee games

And as Treve Alberts has said, he's like, hey, sign me up for those night games. So it's going to be, I think, a fun time

But, yeah, 2025 is going to be a very difficult sketch. schedule, but hopefully we're up and rolling by then

But they're not running away from competition. They're not scheduling, you know, the animal hospital welfare university type of school

They're playing conference opponents. They're not afraid to play competition. And I think that's exactly the type of thing that will help this program grow

even if there may be some, you know, lopsided defeats along the way

I mean, I think it'll only serve to help the players get better and help the coaching staff realize, you know, what they need to do to get this program to continue to grow and get to the next level

And honestly, by year three, I think Nebraska will be quote unquote back by then

I really believe that. Like, I'm not saying we're going to be, you know, in the national, but I think Nebraska is going to be like a top 25 program by then

I really think that Matt Rule is going to, I'll just, I've said this before

I'll say it again. I don't think that the rebuilding job here is as steep as everybody's made it out to be

I really don't. I don't think it's going to take that much for Nebraska to be a top six program in the Big Ten

Now, is there some work to get into the top three where like Penn State, Ohio State

you know, Michigan, USC are? Yes. Yes, there's a lot of work to get there. But to get where Minnesota has been, it just takes a competent head coach

And it's going to happen this season. And I think by 2024 and by 2025, you know, like when in the Big Ten coaches

we're just talking about how Nebraska is asleep. sleeping giant, well, Matt Ruhle is the man to wake this program up

And so by 2025, I think people are going to be not that excited to play Nebraska either

in my opinion. And I think people were so used to in competency in terms of head coaching and Scott Frost

and things like that that they thought it would take a while to rebuild the program because

they hadn't seen a coach like Matt Ruhle or a coach, not even Matt Ruhle, just a coach with

drive and, you know, purpose and a vision. now that we have a coach like that in Matt Rule

I mean, things don't seem as far off. I mean, I think we kind of forgot along the way what it's like to have a coach

that has an energy that can revitalize a program along with a coaching staff that is cohesive

and, you know, is on the same age. That's the big thing too, because we had, you know, so many different assistance last year

with so many different agendas. And that was, you could see it on the field. So I think we just, you know, kind of

miss that aspect of cohesiveness and now that it's here, you know, things don't seem so far-fetched

Yeah, and it's, yeah, the Big Ten schedule is going to be interesting, but in another thing, too

is, you know, after this season, it's going to be, you know, the 12-team playoff

It's going to be interesting to see how that, you know, kind of plays into it. I'm hoping that, you know, the committee or whatever, you know, is finally going to hold the SEC

accountable because they're playing the weakest schedule out there. I mean, there's no real debate about that

It's, you know, they're, you never see Georgia and Alabama play each other

I mean, it's like the SEC is purposely, you know, they're screwing fans for one thing

by not playing marquee games. And they're also making it easier for their teams to get to bowl games in the

playoff and whatever. So, I mean, I like that the Big Ten is doing it the way that they're doing it

I will say the one thing I think is stupid and I hate it and they need to get rid of it

It's the Big Ten championship game has got to go. I mean, because you're going to, what's going to happen is you're going to have Michigan, Ohio

state play the last week of the regular season and then they're going to play again in the championship game and that is going to utterly ruin that game that's what happened last or did that happen last year

no it hasn't happened last year because they had the divisions so they were the same division but but yeah if

basically if you had the way the rules worked those two teams basically would have met the last

two years two weeks in a row and what's the point of that so you have to beat a team two weeks in a row

to win the i mean that makes to me that makes no sense like last year michigan went to ohio state

and beat them by 23 points, and then you have to beat them again the next week at a neutral field to win the conference championship

That makes no sense to me at all. And then if say turn around Ohio State beats Michigan well now both teams have won a game against each other but Ohio State the conference champion even though they got it doesn make any sense to me

And I think that, honestly, if it wasn't for, the only reason to have a conference championship game is money at this point

There's no other reason for it. You don't, I mean, once you get to a 12-team playoff, you don't need it for playoff berths

I mean, it's like a, it just makes no sense. And so I really hope it probably will never happen

but, you know, I hope that they get rid of the championship. conference championships. I think that they're just

I don't think that they serve a point at all in the 12-teen playoff air, to be honest

Well, and you talk about, you know, the conference championship, you know, having, for example

Ohio State and Michigan played, you know, twice and back-to-back weeks also takes away from

you know, some, a little bit of the excitement of the robbery games after Thanksgiving, too

you know, and, you know, that's always a fun game after Thanksgiving

I mean, it doesn't think away all the excitement, but, you know, it did, it, it, it

just it probably makes everybody realize, okay, we can celebrate, but we have one more game to

get through next week. So I agree. I don't think the Big 10 championship games should be playing

anymore. And I'll be interested to see, you know, how this works with the 12-team playoff

because quite frankly, I think it's going to be, you know, heavily SEC favorite. I mean

they, I saw a post the other day, and this is obviously true, that

George's first home game is going to be under the lights against U.T. Martin at 8 p.m

It's like, what are we doing here? Like, that's the first home game? Like, come on now

Like, this is ridiculous. You're basically with opponents like, and I'm sorry, but opponents like U.T. Martin and, you know

schools like that, Shatanooga, whatever the heck, you're basically guaranteeing these SEC schools another shot at, you know, the college football playoff

And it's the same, same shit different day. And it's just boring

It's boring. You know, it's kind of the antithesis of what the college football playoff was originally intended for

Well, and I thought the point of, you know, I thought the point of the big, bad SECs, you guys are such a, you know, if you're such a great conference and your football is so much better, why are you afraid to play nine games in a con

Why are you playing these FCST? You should, you should be scheduling 10 power five opponents

Check that. You should be scheduling 12 power five opponents every single year

If the SEC is so bad, why are you guys not even playing, you know, nine power five games

It's pathetic. And it's just, it's weak. I mean, to sit there and have, I mean, to not schedule Georgia and Alabama every single year

because you don't want to ruin your chances of both of them making it. That's why they do it

Don't tell me it's some random, oh, we got to protect these rivalry games, blah, blah, blah, no

You're scheduling to make it so your teams can make the playoff, and that's what the SEC does

It's crap. And it's also hurting the fans. I mean, they want to see good games, too

And I would definitely tune into a Georgia-Alabama game and, you know, things like that

Can you imagine, you know, the Alabama fans if the game was in Tuscaloosa or the Georgia fans if the game was in Athens

That place would be rocking. Both those places would be rocking. So it's just a disservice to the fans as well

And I understand, you know, money and ratings and all that. But it's really kind of not helping anybody

Well, like, you know, Georgia isn't even playing like LSU this. year. So they're not playing, they didn't play LSU last year outside of the title game

They didn't play Alabama last year. So it's like you basically just make it so that Georgia

never has to play anybody decent from the West because they have their rivalry game with Auburn

It's like, so you guys just, it's a joke. And what, what's the point of Texas being in the SEC

like if you're not going to see them on the schedule? That's why I like what the Big Ten did

I mean, I think that the Big Ten actually has a clue, but, you know, the SEC works for its own self-interest

It has worked out for him, but I guess... You know who is not in the SEC, though

Oh, I was going to say Mario Buford, but we can do Carter Nelson first if you want

Well, we can go back to, I was going to say more... Let's start with the good news

Let's start with the good news. Because the Carter Nelson crystal ball, I don't know about that one

That doesn't have me exactly feeling warm and fuzzy, but Mario Buford had me excited last night

Texas native, four-star corner, according to the 24-7 sports composite. And, you know, I kind of wrote about this on Husker, big red.com last night

You know, I really like his play style. He's 5-11, which is a bit small, but he has a ton of speed on the outside

He can cover really well. And even if he gets beat on a play, he doesn't really give up on a play

He's got great instincts, you know, and I think he is the perfect fit for that 3-35 defense

because you want to have, you know, the kind of base of the 335 defense is good corner play

and having a good secondary. And I think Buford will definitely bring that to the table

I mean, I don't think that, you know, this was a, oh, let's get a four-star kid to get a four-star kid

You know, I think this was definitely a scheme fit. I could see where he fits in this defense because of his instincts and that speed

And I think he has a chance to be a really, really good player. and I'm so happy that Nebraska was able to land him

and other Texas kids. So, you know, I'm really happy with that on Thursday night

I can't wait to see how he fits in this defense. Yeah, just, you know, another, you know, solid athlete

You know, he has run the 200. He long jumps, so he fits the Matt Rule profile there

His brother, obviously, is on the team. You know, and he's the number of, he's the top-ranked recruit in Nebraska's class right now

and they've only got, you know, two blue chips, two, you know, two out of eight right now are ranked as four stars

So obviously that number, you want to see that number improve. The best teams in college football are above 50 percent

Nebraska's at 25. So, I mean, they've got definitely, you know, a lot of work to do there over the next few years

I mean, I would not expect that number to be anywhere probably above 20 percent this cycle

But Mario Buford is a really good get out of Desoto, Texas. I mean, that's like the fourth recruit out of Texas now, I believe, in this class

I'm sure that we'll see more, you know, coming from Texas. But yeah, it was a good pickup

And, you know, that was a, they hit it out of the park with the official visits last weekend, you know

and Mario Buford was supposed to take visits to Michigan State and Penn State

and he didn't and committed. So, you know, a nice job from that rule and company

And I do think that we're going to see hopefully some more commitments, you know, coming out of that first visit weekend

There's not really anybody coming to campus this weekend, except for, you know, just to touch on it quickly, you said that, you know, you reported this on Hustrybigred.com

McMorris is going to be, Isaiah McMorris will be visiting this weekend with Daniel Kalin, which is going to be important

These are unofficial visits. McMorris official is on June 23rd, which is the same as Daniel Kalin and Carter Nelson, along with some other, you know, pretty important targets

But it's good to get him back on campus. I know he was, you know, in his interview, he talked about, you know, USC in Oklahoma and Daveon Hall talked about Tennessee

I don't know. It seems to me I'm worried with Hall and McMorris if Oklahoma or USC decides to push or if Tennessee decides to actually extend an offer

But, you know, save those things happening, I think Nebraska's in a pretty good situation

I think if we land Hall, we don't land McMorris and vice versa, I say I think we have a better shot with McMorris right now, honestly

You know, I think Saturday it's going to be about seeing how Garrett-McGuire coaches is kind of what I got from why he's coming to

Saturday. You know, Daniel Kalen's been a very, you know, strong peer recruiter, always on

Twitter trying to get, you know, his classmates to come to Nebraska. So I'm not going to say

anything that happened Saturday because I don't think it well, but it's always good to get McMorris back on campus. And, you know, I think it speaks a lot to, you know, the job

that Garrett McGuire has done and just constantly, you know, trying to get McMorris to come to

campus, keeping in contact with him, you know, kind of going through the recruiting process

So, you know, this can only be, you know, mean good things, in my opinion for Nebraska

And I'm excited to see what happens on the 23rd. Yeah, and I agree with you

I do think Nebraska has a better shot with McMorris. You know, they offered a new wide receiver this week

So I don't know what that says about Dave on Hall. And I guess we should say, I honestly, I have to admit, I didn't realize this with Gaitland Bear

going to be joining anybody until 2026 because he's taking a two-year Mormon mission. Yeah

So that kind of, you know, it's like, cool, you get him now

To me that just that dramatically changes you know I see you still want to recruit him but I mean two years I have forgotten about that honestly until you just said that but I remember reading that I mean and now I can see why you know he not like I not I freaking out less about the fact that he hasn visited or isn going to visit for a while because two years is a long way away in the recruiting world

Our whole board should look different by then. Even if he commits. I mean, even if he commits, he could, because Michigan just had a guy that

um, Andrew Gentry. I think he signed with Stanford or BYU or somebody at a ice or maybe didn't

I don't remember, but he was like two classes behind and then he went on his mission and came back

And so the thing about it is like, um, I think Gatlin Bear is an incredible athlete

but he's not going to come in in 2026 after a two year Mormon mission of not playing football and

make an impact. So 2027 is the, you know, basically. So this guy's not going to play for three years

So I mean, it's I am, I still love his recruitment. And, you know, maybe he would change his mind

I don't know. But that just, that drastically changes, you know, like what the board looks like

or even landing him because it's like, yeah, is he still going to want to come

You know, if he signs this year, he's still going to want to come to Nebraska or wherever in two years

So, you know, but at any rate, I do think that the receiver board is interesting

And I do think there's a chance to get McMorris on board. But, you know, that Oklahoma is the team that's kind of looming large for me

because I know that they were in the mix at one point. So, and I know that they've, some things have kind of gone awry on their receiver board

So I'm wondering if they might circle back to like McMorris or Hall. At any rate, another thing I did want to mention you brought it up

but Carter Nelson, the crystal ball this week. And I don't know, it's like it's the Kip

I can't remember what his name, Kip Adams, I believe is the Georgia insider for 24-7

And so just, I mean, it's not like, you know, Carter Nelson was trending with a bunch of picks

This guy put in like six predictions for Georgia recruits that visited that weekend all at the same time, like five stars and stuff and all with the same confidence level

So, I mean, it's not like, I'm not saying it's not legitimate or there's not reason for it, but it's not like he's, it's not a Steve Wilton

Locked in. Yeah, it's not like a Brian Christofferson or, you know, Sean Callahan

Those would give me, I mean, this guy has got a 79% hit rate in his career

year. So, I mean, he's missed, I mean, most the better ones are up in the high. So what that tells me is he's a bit of a homer, kind of like Tom Lloyd of the Notre Dame site

You know, it's like when Tom Loy puts in a prediction for Notre Dame, you take notice

but you're also like, yeah, Tom Lloyd's a huge homer. So you kind of take that into account

So I am taking that into account here with, you know, this Kip Adams guy. I'm not taking a shot at him in any way

There just hasn't been any other reporting. Now, looking at what Carter Nelson has said, I do understand it a little bit

Georgia wants to take him with the two tight end thing. And, you know, he's not worried about it at all, probably because he thinks he's going to be a first round pick someday

So, and I could definitely see that. I think he has that kind of ability, at least a day two draft pick

And so it would be hard. Like I said, in some of my posts, Georgia had 14 recruits ranked in the top 25 on campus last weekend

You know how many Nebraska had? Zero. You know how many Nebraska is going to have this entire month

One. Carter Nelson, that's it. So, I mean, you look at it

from that perspective, you've got five of the top nine players in the country on campus

last weekend in Georgia, and most of them are going there. So it's like, I can see

getting wrapped up in that and seeing how it's just a totally different thing than what Nebraska

has going right now. And if he has a chance to be part of that and he wants to be part

of that, it's kind of hard to blame him, honestly. Yeah, who could blame him at all? I mean, at the end of

the day, you want to get to the NFL, you want to win national championships at the collegiate level

And Georgia's the place to do that over Nebraska right now. And quite honestly, they probably will be for the next couple of decades

I'll probably be on the ground before Georgia, you know, falls short of Nebraska. But anyway

I can't blame him at all. You know, he would be a great gift for Nebraska. I'm not, I'm not

necessarily expecting him to come to Nebraska. I'm already kind of preparing not to. And, you know

the other thing about, you know, these good tight ends is that they probably won't be around all four

years. You know, they'll probably go to the NFL. So, I mean, he could have a shot of playing

sooner rather than later. I mean, you know, it's just hard to say no to a program like Georgia

It really is. And when we're up against Georgia or Alabama or any of those programs

it's an uphill climb. I mean, it really is. And it's an uphill climb for anybody against Georgia

Yeah, and I just want to say, I don't think that's any fault of Matt rules or the coaching staff or whatever

I just really think it's an uphill climb when it comes to Georgia

I mean, it's going to be that way for a while. If you're Alabama and you're recruiting against Georgia, it's an uphill climb at this point

I mean, their recruiting class is insane. So, yeah, so I mean

It's just what it is. We'll just have to see what happens when he comes on in 23rd and, you know, just continue to push and see if we can chip away

But again, I can't fault, I can't fault him for wanting to go to Georgia at all

And, you know, I definitely recognize that this is an uphill battle for the coaching stuff

I don't think it's over yet, though. I don't think it's over yet. You know, he did take that

I'm just kind of mentally preparing to be disappointed. Yeah. I mean, we'll see how these next two visits go

And, yeah, I think that that's where I kind of, you know, a lot of people in like Iowa

wanted to make a lot about the Michael Bird offer, like the Iowa guy being like, oh, you know

after tight end you offers the guy. But I honestly think that that might have more to do with Carter Nelson or with Eric Ingram

how do you pronounce his name, Ingerson. you know because bird is a pretty similar you know if you look at him and carter nelson they're

pretty similar type of players and that they're not just like a you know inline tight end you know

somebody that you put on the end of the line of scrimmage and you can split them out move them around um michael bert's going to be visiting um official visit to nebraska on

june 16th so i think that's a really good development um so we'll see how that goes but yeah

i'm not willing to throw in the towel yet on carter nelson um i remember when malachi

coleman got crystal ball to colorado and everybody was freaking out and then Matt Rule turned it around. So I still think Matt Rule and the Huskers have a chance. And like I wrote

the other day, I mean, this coaching staff with Carter Nelson, you can't fault them for anything that

they've done. I mean, they went to his basketball games, track meets. They went to Ainsworth numerous

times. That was one of their first stops when Matt Ruhle got hired and went out to do, you know

recruiting visits. They've got him on campus numerous times. I mean, the spring game before

you know, he was on campus a couple weeks ago with Kalen. They're getting him for an official visit. So as far as

like Nebraska doing its part, they did their part. You know what I mean

100%. Maybe the kid just doesn't want to come here. And maybe it's like he wants to leave Nebraska

That might, like you mentioned that before and that could totally be a valid thing. So I feel good about the recruitment that the coaching staff, you know, ran through

And if they don't get him, they don't get him. There's nothing else that they could have done

Yeah. No, I totally agree. And, you know, I think that, you know, with the way

that, you know, this tight-end room looks right now, there's a chance for growth

And, you know, you have a guy like Keelan Smith, for example, who could play either

wide receiver or tight-end. I mean, he's no Carter-Nelson, and that's not a knock on him

Carter-Nelson's really good. But there are options for Nebraska at the tight-end position

Would I love to land Nelson? Absolutely. But it's not like we are barren at the position like we have been in years past

I feel a little bit better about the position now than I did even, you know, at this time last year

And, yeah, Ian Flint is committed and I like him. That's right. I forgot about you

And then, yeah, you had Smith. And then you get, if you get Bert or Nelson, I think those are probably the two most likely options right now

And Bert's not going to be an easy recruitment to win either because just about every team in the Big Ten offered him in like a span of three days

At least all the, at least like every team in the Big Ten West that still exists

but you know he's still grows quickly yeah and you know he's a good player he is a good player um so i i agree

with you the tight end room is going to be just fine and uh we'll see it's not over yet with

carter nelson but uh something to keep an eye on Nebraska's got a they still have their chance

and they got to knock it out of the park on june 23rd but to end our last kind of thing i did

want to bring up something because it uh Tyson terry who is uh one of the top players in the state

in the 2025 class has been turning to Nebraska. We've got a bunch of predictions on Wednesday afternoon

or Thursday afternoon, excuse me, after you know Terrence Knighton and Omar you know some of those guys were tweeting out you know kind of the teasing that something good had happened Ryan Christopherson and Steve Wilfong had joined with Crystal Ball So it definitely seems like Tyson Terry maybe is silently committed or is coming up with a commitment

I don't know. There's not been like a date or anything set. But that would be a huge development for Nebraska

Yeah, it would give them a chance to develop a defensive line player in the program and not have to go through the transfer portal

And I think that's definitely something to be said for that as well. and Terry can move

He's fast. He's got a good inside, you know, spin move and he can get to the quarterback

He's constantly pursues a play. You know, he's never out of it

He can get to the backfield quickly. I mean, that's what you want out of a defensive lineman in a 335 defense

And so, you know, landing Terry would be absolutely big for the defensive line

And I'm hoping that, you know, they can, you know, reel them in because I remember he

was being recruited back when Scott Frost was still here. I remember us talking back in October

on one of these that, you know, I think he was visiting last October or something. And it's good

to see the staff continue to follow up with that recruitment and have some momentum, you know

shift in their direction. Yeah. And he's, you know, the thing about Tyson Terry, too, I mean, he's listed

at 6-2-279 right now. And I'll tell you right now, I absolutely love defensive linemen that

wrestle. He's a state champion wrestler because you think about there's a lot of, you know

if you're going to be a good wrestler, especially a heavyweight like him, you've got to be

really strong with your hands. You've got to know, you know, how to get low and use your body

the right way. So a lot of that hand fighting that is so important on the defensive line

wrestlers are great at that type of thing. They're great with leverage. So I really think this

guy's going to be a standout player. I mean, he's already got offers from, you know

Colorado, Iowa, Kansas State, Minnesota. I mean, I'm sure more offers are going to come in over

time, you know, even after he commits. And he's ranked 402 in the 24-7 sports composite rankings

which I think is fairly new. I didn't see that when I just looked at his ranking. 39th best defensive lineman, I'm the number three player in the state of Nebraska. So

I mean, to get him on board now is just would be huge. And I want to say I wanted to bring

this up earlier, or I was thinking about this earlier, but Terrence Knightman, he is doing

a hell of the job recruiting defensive linemen. You look at Cameron Leonard at the last class

Prince Well, you Mammalian. You look at Tyson Terry this class. They're in a good spot for Joseph Anderson and Carlin Jones

So, I mean, Terrence Knight and so far, at least in terms of the recruiting aspect of it

looks like a pretty good hire by Matt Rule. Yeah, and, you know, I'm sure you remember him as a player as well

He was a pretty good football player. Yeah, pot roast, right? Yep, pot roast

He played for the Panthers, I believe. And, you know, it's good to see a good player who also knows how to evaluate

because, I mean, you even look on TV now, and you see all these ysts, big names

but they don't know how to talk football or baseball or whatever. They just played it

Not only can pot roast, you know, not only did he play, but he can also evaluate talent

And, you know, just looking at the 2025 class, they already have a commitment from Caden, Vermont

And, you know, he projects it as a safety. So if they could get another player like Terry

on the defensive side of the football, then that would be. really, really good in a really, you know, solid pair of recruits to start off the 2025 class

Because, you know, it seems like once a commitment train gets going and once the staff really starts

working on a class, you know, action seems to follow. And I think, you know, you're right about the evaluation is such an important

For Nebraska, you just can't miss on evaluations. You know, you need to get the right three star players and the kind of three star players that

can develop into an NFL draft pick because there's a lot of those guys out there

You just need to find them. And I think Nebraska's, you know, doing a good job of that right now

We don't, we're not really going to know until we see these guys. It's a little bit like the NFL draft

You know, I mean, we say we know, but we don't really know. But I trust what these coaches are seeing

And, you know, just the way that they kind of approach this process, I think is really

refreshing and all of them. I think, you know, I think that Matt Ruhle, not only has he hired a team, I think, of

guys that know football, but he's hired a, he's hired a coaching staff of recruiters. I mean

Garrett McGuire, you know, Evan Cooper, you know, Terrence Knighton, yeah, Ed Foley. I mean

Matt Ruhle himself. You know, Marcus Satterfield, I think, has done a nice job in the

recruiting trail. You know, I'd like to see Tony White get a little bit more involved, but, you know

he obviously has a lot to worry about with the defensive, you know, coordinator job, but I think

we will see more of him, you know, later this year and kind of probably, it's just, it's hard for

him to get much established in the 2024 cycle, you know what I mean

So I feel like he'll probably have a bigger role going forward in recruiting. But

I feel really good about this coaching staff and what they can do on the field. And more

importantly, what I think is more important in the type of players that they can bring in on the recruiting

trail. And Tony White was a secondary recruiter for Mario Buford actually

So, I mean, at least he had a hand in Thursday night's commitment. But

you know, I'd love to see Donna Venaena. And maybe he's just not

as vocal about it, you know. Yeah, I mean, he seems like you see him do interviews

He seems like a quiet guy, but it's not like a quiet guy, and he doesn't know what he's doing

He leads, I think, with action and an example, and that's always a good thing

I'd love to see Donovan Rayola continue to kind of recruit a little bit more

I mean, you know, he's landed a couple of commitments over the past couple months

but it's always good to have an offensive line coach who recruits offensive linemen

So I'd love to see him a little bit more involved. But overall, I really can't complain too much

And when I can't find something to complain about, you know, things are going pretty well. Yeah, it's been a good little stretch

We'll see how things are going with Carter Nelson and everybody else. But we'll be making sure to keep you guys updated on Monday with our next podcast

We'll have lots of content on hoskerbigred.com. So make sure you're checking out our website and make sure that you guys hit the subscribe button, hit the like button, get into the comment section

Let us know what you think about Mario Buford or this new schedule, Carter Nelson, you know, whatever

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So anyways. And I thought you wanted to say something, Dan. Oh, no, I was just going to say, how many more days till the opener

I think we're 80-something. 80 something we're getting pretty close to less than 80 so getting very close to it fall camp will be here like in less than two months so i know it's crazy isn't it

i i'm excited for the first i i guess you know the fall camp and that rule is going to do the uh the old school the dorms getting people in the dorms i love it too i i honestly love it too because it just continues and this is something that was missed wholeheartedly with less with you know the scoff frost staff i mean

continues to kind of bring, you know, bonding and togetherness. And call that cliche BS all you want, but it matters on the field

I mean, and, you know, just like his energy matters to the players

Like, players can sense when you're feeding them BS. And I know you said that before and, you know, things like that

But, you know, just having all the players together, you know, a single focus

having a coaching staff that is really driven and really focused. and just, you know, acting like a football team matters

And this, and, you know, putting everybody, you know, in the same dorm for a couple weeks

I think is a really strong strategy. I think it is a really good idea

And you're right. Culture and that stuff, it does sound cliche and it does sound corny

But I can tell you one thing as I've been doing high school sports reporting for 14 years now

And every single team that I've ever seen that won a state championship, they had that culture

I have never seen a team that was a group of individuals that wasn't a good team

win anything. And I've seen teams that had multiple like Division I players in Montana and not win

anything because they just, because they didn't care about. They weren't together. They only cared about their own scoring averages or whatever

So I mean, it does matter. And you're right, they never had that under

it never felt like a true team under Scott Frost. And I don't think that that's going to happen under Matt rule

And I do think just all those little things, that leadership and all that stuff

It does matter. So anyways, we'll have more great Nebraska content, you guys

I'm glad we got to touch on that. So let us know what you think. And as always, go big red

Go big red