2024 Recruiting Thread

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Nebraska gained its tenth commitment in the 2024 recruiting class with hybrid defender Braylen Prude, a soon-to-be senior at Shadow Creek High in Pearland, Texas.

Prude stood out to secondary coach Evan Cooper at the satellite camp in Belton, Texas, earlier this month and received an offer from Nebraska. He came to Lincoln for an official visit over the weekend and committed on Sunday. His only other offers thus far are from Eastern Illinois and Lane College. He previously played at Fort Bend Hightower in Missouri City, Texas.

Prude plays linebacker and safety at Shadow Creek. His size (6-foot-5, 190 pounds) coupled with his speed (4.47 in the 40) provide an exciting blueprint for development. Prude also shows a nose for the ball and ability to shake blocks on the perimeter.

He’s the son of former LSU cornerback Ronnie Prude. The older Prude played a handful of seasons in the NFL after going undrafted and tallied 114 tackles and three interceptions in 52 games.

Nebraska is now up to 10 commitments in mid-June. Prude’s decision makes him the fifth member of the class from Texas behind Gibson Pyle, Ian Flynt, Roger Gradney and Mario Buford. He’s also the third commitment since June started, along with Buford and kicker/punter Kamdyn Koch.

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Nebraska is up to 11 commitments for 2024 with a pair of Father’s Day pledges.

Not long after Prude’s commitment, Jake Peters joined the fun. Peters is a 6-3, 265-pound prospect out of Cedar Falls (Iowa). He is rated 3-stars, the No. 15 Iowa recruit and No. 137 interior offensive lineman on 247Sports.

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Callen Barta has committed to Nebraska.

The 2024 defensive back from Topeka (Kan.) Seaman made it official on Sunday following his official visit with the Huskers over the weekend. Barta, a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder, is the first member of Nebraska’s 2024 class from Kansas.

Barta impressed Husker coaches at a camp last weekend, but he left without an offer. Nebraska wanted to get him back on campus this weekend for an official visit, and both parties quickly set a date.

An offer was extended the second time around, and Barta didn’t waste much time thinking about it as he committed on the spot.

Barta will bring length and speed to the Huskers' defensive backfield. At 6-2, Barta was officially clocked at 4.43 seconds at the Iowa State camp he attended earlier this month.

Barta is a two-way starter for Seaman High School as he’s also a receiver. In eight games last season, he racked up 26 tackles and two interceptions, according to MaxPreps. As a slot receiver, he caught 41 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2021, Barta recorded 42 tackles and picked off five passes in 10 games.

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Nebraska football added more in-state flavor to its 2024 recruiting class, securing a commitment from Omaha North corner Donovan Jones.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Jones earned an offer over the weekend after an impressive camp performance in Lincoln. In addition to the offer from Nebraska, Wyoming also offered the Omaha North standout.

Jones ran in the 4.5s during his Friday workout in Lincoln last week and picked up an offer from Wyoming during one-on-one drills, and impressed the Nebraska coaches, and they said they would be in contact.


Jones becomes the third in-state commitment for the Huskers in the 2024 recruiting class. He said he's eager to get to work in Lincoln.

"I’m going to bring everything — I’m going to bring all I’ve got," he said.

Last season, Jones had 46 tackles, seven passes defended, two interceptions and three tackles for loss in 10 games. Jones is a three-star athlete according to 247Sports, holding an overall rating of 86.

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On Friday, the Huskers landed two more top targets with in-state recruits Isaiah McMorris and Dae'vonn Hall out of Bellevue (Neb.) West joining the fold. They are commits 16 and 17 in a class (the eighth in the last week) that shoots up five spots to No. 17 in the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings. McMorris and Hall join their quarterback Daniel Kaelin who is one of the jewels of this group.

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There has been a noticeable push by the Nebraska staff to develop a better presence in Texas. Matt Rhule and his staff have spent a lot of time recruiting the state, and they can add another commitment to the 2024 class from Texas. Lancaster (Texas) running back Kewan Lacy committed to the Nebraska staff ahead of leaving Lincoln from his official visit.

Lacy becomes the sixth player from Texas to commit to Nebraska. The Nebraska staff was everywhere during the evaluation periods this year, which is paying off.

“I love it, I just love it! Texas kids go everywhere and now there are a bunch headed to Nebraska. We are just going to take over.”

[Cincydawg]

Why does 2024 seem like it's years away?

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Some changes are reportedly coming to the NCAA’s National Letter of Intent program. The updates have to do with players requesting releases from their NLIs, The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach reported, and would take effect starting with the 2024-25 school year.

According to the new policies, there will no longer be a penalty if a signee requests a release from their NLI following a coaching change, Auerbach reported. Additionally, there won’t be a penalty if an athlete leaves after one academic semester or quarter.

That’s a change from the current policy, which states athletes would lose a season of competition if they got a release if the school doesn’t grant a full release. Additionally, those athletes would have to wait one full academic year — also known as a year in residence — to participate at their new school if they don’t attend the school with which they signed for one full year.

There’s also a potential change involving the transfer portal. Four-year transfers would be able to sign an NLI, according to Auerbach. While they wouldn’t have to, it would essentially mean school shouldn’t be able to reach out to the player once they sign as it would create a recruiting ban.

Under current rules, athletes don’t sign NLIs after transferring. Instead, they sign financial aid guarantees, which mean they still get their financial aid through graduation.

The changes come from the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which started in 1964 and oversees the National Letter of Intent program.

CCA announces NLI changes
Later Tuesday morning, the CCA announced the changes to the NLI program.

“The substantive changes include two exceptions to the NLI penalty for the 2023-24 NLI signing year (prospective student-athletes signing 2024-25 NLIs),” the announcement said. “The NLI penalty would no longer apply if the NLI signee requests a release due to a head coaching change. Additionally, if the NLI signee departs the signing institution after attendance for one academic semester or quarter, the student-athlete will not be subject to the NLI penalty once requesting a release.

“The CCA will also expand the NLI program to provide four-year transfers the opportunity to sign an NLI. Four-year transfers can sign an NLI provided they have entered the NCAA transfer portal which ensures student-athletes do not receive or sign an NLI before transfer portal entry. The transfer NLI is targeted for implementation for the 2023-24 NLI signing year.”

More on the National Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is a two-way binding agreement between the athlete and the school. Per current rules, athletes agree to attend a school for a full academic year and the school agrees to provide financial aid for that academic year — which is two semesters or three quarters.

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The son of Nebraska I-Back Ken Clark, Quinn Clark, will follow in his dad’s footsteps to Lincoln to become a Husker. The 6-foot-5 and 195-pound Clark is the No. 1 player in Montana in 2024. Clark, from Bozeman (Mont.) Gallatin picked up an offer from Nebraska following his summer camp performance on June 12th.

“I think that family is an important factor with football,” Clark said. “The fact that coach Rhule has come in and already built such a strong family environment is important to me.”


Like many of the athletes that Nebraska is recruiting, Clark is a standout at track. He was the divisional champ in the high jump with a jump of 6’4″. He also placed third in the long jump with a leap of 21’5″.

Clark is likely being looked at to play the X wide receiver position. He joins Dae’Vonn Hall and Isaiah McMorris from Bellevue (Neb.) West, who are the other two wide receivers in the class. Keelan Smith from Liberty (Mo.) North could also end up as a wide receiver in the class.

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There is a collective sigh of relief coming from Husker Nation. Matt Rhule, his staff, and even the 2024 recruiting class pitched in to keep Ainsworth (Neb.) tight end home. Carter Nelson, the No. 1 player in Nebraska, took official visits to Georgia, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Nebraska before adding his name to the 2024 Nebraska recruiting class.

Nelson is a Husker. The No. 57 player in the nation and the No. 3 tight end in the 2024 class is staying home. The 6-foot-4 and 215-pound Nelson is considered by some to be a generational talent from Nebraska because of his overall athleticism.

If you asked Nelson, he would tell you that he likes the idea of playing a flex-style tight end and getting some reps as a wide receiver. In some situations, Nebraska could put that 7’0″ high jump explosiveness to good use in the red zone.

Besides being a talented jumper, Nelson is also very good at pole vault, and when you add the fact that Nelson is 215 pounds, it’s remarkable. In 2023, Nelson set a PR during the outdoor season of 13’0″ in the pole vault and bettered that with a 14’1″ mark in the indoor season.


Nelson joins a stacked tight end room. Arik Gilbert, who transferred from Georgia to Nebraska, was the No. 1 tight end in the nation in 2020 when he signed with LSU. From the 2021 class, Nebraska also has Thomas Fidone, who was the No. 2 tight end in the country.

As a junior, Nelson threw for 663 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also had 525 yards receiving for another 11 scores and added 761 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. On defense, he had 41 tackles and six interceptions.

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Carlon Jones from Bay City, TX committed to Nebraska on Thursday afternoon!

Jones is 6’2” - 270 pounds, a three star commit, and had offers from a few other schools in Texas including Texas Tech. Oklahoma State apparently offered as well. He is considered a good athlete for his size and he competes in both basketball and track at his high school.

Nebraska has been on a tear as they have added 16 commitments within the past month. Most are a result of the camps they have been running as they get to evaluate these players in person.

Depending on where you look the Nebraska recruiting class is anywhere from 13th in the country to 18th.

He’s the 77th ranked DL in the country and the 128th ranked player in the state of Texas according to 24/7 sports.
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EDIT:::

class of 2024 commitment has received his fourth recruitment star. Carlon Jones is a defensive lineman out of Bay City High School in Bay City, Texas.

Jones made his commitment on June 29. He made his official visit to Lincoln on June 2. Jones also made official visits to Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU, California, and UTSA.

He was the 2022 Texas District 12-4A D-1 Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Last season he recorded 102 tackles and 13 sacks.

Jones also participates in basketball and track and field. The Texan recently posted a shot put throw of 45-5 in March of 2023. The fourth star comes national recruiting service On3.

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The Division I Council on Friday approved a proposal from the Football Oversight Committee to increase the number of allowed official visitors from 56 to 70. The increase comes on a trial basis, for now, for a 1-year period beginning April 1, 2023.

The change comes hand-in-hand with the Council removing the limit on official visits that recruits can take. Players are still limited to one visit per school, unless that school undergoes a head coaching change.

Additionally, the Council extended the waiver removing the initial counter limit for Division I football programs, which now lasts through the 2024-25 athletic year, according to Sports Illustrated. Programs are permitted to sign as many players as they want, provided they remain at or under the 85-man scholarship limit (or 63 for FCS schools). The change was initially made last May for a 2-year period. This extension continues the experiment for another season.


The 25-man initial counter limit came about in the early part of the previous decade in an attempt to curb the practice of oversigning. Ole Miss infamously signed 37 recruits in 2009, but Houston Nutt's Rebels weren't the only school to sign more players than they had room for.

A decade-plus later, though, other rule changes rendered the 25-man rule obsolete. The 1-time waiver exception and the creation of the transfer portal left many schools with more scholarship openings than they could legally fill. What began as a player-fairness measure evolved into a player-safety issue.

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In a recruitment that kept many guessing until the end, Jacory Barney announced his commitment on Saturday night to the Huskers.

The three-star wide receiver out of Miami Palmetto High School was down to a final three, with Nebraska, Miami and Texas A&M in the running. The hometown Hurricanes, which had the last official visit before the decision, were considered a favorite by some prognosticators heading into the weekend, but Nebraska was always seen by a strong option by Barney.

‌Husker wide receivers coach Garret McGuire certainly put in some good work on NU's behalf, with Barney also speaking highly after his early June visit to Lincoln of the face time he had with Matt Rhule, Philip Simpson, Evan Cooper and others on staff.

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“It was nothing that I expected. Overall, I love it here. I was thinking, you know, it was just gonna be cornfields, but it’s nothing like that," Barney said then. "All weekend when I’ve been going around town, you see all of this football stuff, all of these fans, and they keep coming up to me, they’ve been showing a lot of love."

Nebraska has strong ties to the Miami area, both with staff and players. Simpson and Evan Cooper are especially linked there, and recent Husker additions like Corey Collier, Dwight Bootle II and commit Willis McGahee IV offer familiar faces to Barney.


And, yeah, NU QB commit Daniel Kaelin was also around on Barney's visit to make a pitch verbally and literally, throwing passes to him.

“I like his character, I like that guy. I didn’t know about him that much, but he reached out to me after he had committed and he told me he’d love to play with me, throw touchdowns to me one day and I could definitely see that happening,” Barney said.

He had also made a June official visit to Texas A&M before making the trip to Miami.

Andrew Ivins, director of scouting for 247Sports who knows that region's prospects as well as any, wrote of Barney, "Understands how to create separation while getting vertical with his speed and has a surprisingly high success rate in contested catch situations for someone with his build. Slippery in the open field and more than capable of making defenders miss in close quarters. Should be viewed as a potential difference maker at the Power Five level. Likely to add plenty of value on special teams with his skillset and has most of the tools that defensive back coaches covet."

Barney's commitment gives Nebraska 23 pledges for the 2024 recruiting class ranked in the top 15 nationally by the 247Sports composite as July begins.

[MrNubbz]

As much as you are hogging this thread the Bugeaters better be good or Bud Light for you