Nebraska came into this recruiting cycle wanting to address the defensive secondary, obviously, but particularly the cornerback position.
Mario Buford had been one of Nebraska’s top 2024 targets – regardless of position – dating back to when he was wrapping up his freshman season at powerhouse DeSoto (Texas) High School. He was offered by Scott Frost and the previous staff on Jan. 23, 2021, less than a week after his older brother, Marques, had enrolled early as part of the 2021 class.
His brother’s status as a Husker and the timing of a coaching staff overhaul led to a unique recruitment for Mario. He’d visited Lincoln several times over the years and had built a strong relationship with former defensive backs coach Travis Fisher.
Mario is very much a “relationships person” according to his mother, Dr. Roslind Blasingame-Buford, so when the previous staff was fired it threw a bit of a monkey wrench into his relationship with Nebraska. At least initially. You have to give credit to Buford for staying patient while the new coach got in place.
When Matt Rhule and his staff arrived, they picked up seamlessly from where Buford’s recruitment had been with the previous coaches. In fact, they dialed it up a notch. They made sure he knew he was the top defensive back on their board.
Go here for more from Jeremy Pernell’s series.
Several members of the new staff stopped by DeSoto multiple times during the 2023 contact period in January. Defensive bavcks coach Evan Cooper steadily built a relationship with Buford and made sure to convey he would be pursuing him with the same vigor regardless of his brother’s status as a Husker, and that resonated with him.
Even so, as one of the most coveted cornerbacks in the region, Buford was a hot commodity and a priority target for several Power Five programs. He took spring visits to Oregon, Michigan State, Michigan and Illinois and planned an aggressive official visit schedule for June.
He returned to Lincoln for the March 24-26 tentpole recruiting weekend Rhule and his staff put together as a way of introducing themselves and the program to their top targets. Buford was one of the first players the staff invited and got a confirmation from.
The visit helped the Huskers regain some ground they had lost during the coaching transition. Having been on campus four times under the previous staff, Buford was able to discern both the subtle and overt differences inside the program under the new staff. The accountability, the attention to details, the personalized developmental plan for each player.
Buford was able to talk with Matt Rhule about his coaching philosophy both on and off the field. Buford came out of that weekend extremely impressed by the new coaches. There was an infectious energy and confidence around the program and Buford could feel things were improving inside the building with the new staff.
He appreciated how they made him a priority and never took him for granted because his brother was on the team. Had Marques not been a Husker, Mario still would have been a top-of-the-board target for the staff.
Several schools were pushing Buford hard for his services and the Huskers had plenty of competition as the spring moved forward. Dozens of coaches stopped by DeSoto during the May evaluation period, with Evan Cooper and wide receivers coach Garret McGuire being fixtures for the Huskers.
Even though the new staff was gaining momentum, Buford had lengthy relationships with several other staffs. Schools like Oregon, Michigan State and Penn State were doing a great job recruiting him as well. Truth be told, for the majority of his recruitment, Buford thought he would be playing somewhere other than Nebraska.
A trip to Oregon in late April pushed the Ducks to the top of his list. He was in town to watch their spring game and then he took home MVP honors at the ALL-22 Regional in Eugene the following day. It was just the latest in a long line of acknowledgments for being one of the top performers at a camp or 7-v-7 event during his prep career.
As May was coming to a close, Buford was planning to take official visits to Michigan State, Oregon, Arkansas, Washington and Penn State, with a summer decision planned.
Buford had a visit to Michigan State tentatively set up for the first weekend in June, but the trip was never finalized before Nebraska swooped in to schedule one of their own. Buford pulled an audible and came to Lincoln with his parents June 2-4.
Matt Rhule and Evan Cooper pulled a rabbit out of their hat. That visit weekend was the culmination of a relationship between them and the Buford family that had been building for months. Nebraska recruited Buford and his parents harder than any other school. All of the defensive coaches and most of the offensive staff were involved.
Evan Cooper’s budding relationship with both Buford brothers proved invaluable. But it wasn’t just Cooper. Mario cited McGuire and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton as other assistants he’d grown close with during his recruitment. It was in stark contrast to the previous staff, where he only really had a relationship with Travis Fisher.
Marques was able to vouch for the new staff too, and while he never pressured his brother to commit to the Huskers, he was a sounding board who kept it real with his little brother. The two had countless conversations about life at Nebraska under the new regime. Marques remarked about small things like the pace at practice and the coaches’ expectations of the players. He also told Mario the staff’s family approach with the players was genuine.
Having been around both staffs, Marques and his parents could see the improvements being made under the new coaches. Even though Mario never expected to commit coming into the weekend, before he left he was sold. His time around the program gave him a glimpse of how Rhule was building things and he loved what he saw and heard.
Buford had additional visits planned to Michigan State (June 9-11) and Penn State (June 23-25), but he left Lincoln with no intentions of taking them. On Sunday evening when he got home from his visit to Lincoln, Buford announced a final seven of Nebraska, Oregon, Michigan State, Penn State, Washington, Arkansa, and Illinois on his Instagram account, with a decision date set for June 8.
He publicly committed to Nebraska and never looked back.
Buford finished the 2024 cycle rated a four-star prospect by ESPN and On3, which also ranks him the No. 183 player in the class. He enrolled early after playing for one of the best high school programs in the country.
As a junior, Buford was already one of the best players on a DeSoto team that finished 14-2 and captured the 6A D-II state title – the highest level of Texas high school football, finishing No. 17 in USA Today’s national rankings. This past season, he helped the Eagles go undefeated (15-0) and win back-to-back championships for the first time in school history, finishing No. 4 in USA Today’s national rankings.
Buford also competed in track and field at DeSoto. He ran a 23.85-second 200 meters and jumped 20′ 4.5″ in the long jump as a freshman. He also jumped over 30 inches and broad jumped over 10 feet during the camp circuit, and the athleticism shows on tape.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Buford has a 75.5″ wingspan that helps him play taller than he already is. He comes into the program with a slighter build and will benefit from the extra time around strength and conditioning coach Corey Campbell.
Like his older brother Marques, Mario could play anywhere in the secondary. He was mainly recruited as a corner, but some schools talked to him about playing nickel or safety. I think he’s a prototype boundary corner and I’d be surprised if the coaches play him anywhere else.
Mario is physical and isn’t afraid to come up and get involved in run support. He has really good quickness and changeof-direction, easily transitioning from a backpedal to an angled run. Buford has tremendous ball skills and his ability to track the ball and play it in the air is already college-level. DeSoto asked its corners to play a lot of off coverage, but Buford showed the ability to play press-man in camp settings.
The secondary seems pretty set next season with Tommi Hill and Malcolm Hartzog at the corners, Marques Buford and DeShon Singleton at safety and Isaac Gifford back at rover.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mario Buford came in and won the No. 3 cornerback job as a true freshman, however.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login