Family, relationships fuel Mario Buford’s commitment to Nebraska

Now the Huskers have another for the future.

DeSoto (Texas) cornerback Mario Buford, the younger brother of Husker safety Marques Buford, announced his commitment to Nebraska on Thursday. A three-star 2024 prospect, Buford also had significant interest from Michigan State and Oregon — but he was ready to make his announcement after an official visit to Lincoln last weekend.

“I was just shown everything I needed to see in order to make my decision,” Buford said. “The coaching staff just showed me how they focus on all the small things, and how they develop their players. Even if they don’t go to the NFL, they’re going to be successful in life.”

Buford has long been one of Nebraska’s key 2024 targets. His recruitment to Nebraska dates back to former defensive backs coach Travis Fisher building a relationship.

But even Buford admits he doesn’t know what would’ve happened in his recruitment if Matt Rhule wasn’t Nebraska’s head coach and if Evan Cooper wasn’t the secondary coach. Buford said he and Cooper text each other almost daily, and that strong relationship with his future position coach is what sold him on Nebraska.

“As soon as they got there, they made sure I knew that I was still a priority recruit and that they still wanted me at Nebraska really bad. They showed me that day-in and day-out,” Buford said. “I definitely liked the (previous) coaches, but I don’t know if I’d be a Husker without this coaching staff. They made sure there were no doubts in my brain.”

One of the top cornerback prospects in Texas, Buford’s 5-foot-11, 165-pound frame is slightly smaller than what Nebraska typically goes after in its secondary. But, the play-making ability, coverage skills and safe hands that Buford has shown on tape stand out as his best attributes.

Those skills have been a long time in the making. Buford remembers first honing in on his technique as a 7-year-old, taking part in footwork drills alongside his older brother. Considering he now lists his fundamentals and technique as two of the strongest parts of his game, Buford knows that hard work has paid off in the end.

“When I was younger, I didn’t know how it’d impact me, but now I’m here and my feet be moving fast,” Buford said. “It’s hard to get by me — if you’re going to try me on a curl or comeback (route), you might as well not try me.”

With his commitment out of the way, Buford can now focus on a busy summer slate that includes summer football drills, individual workouts and 7-on-7 tournaments. Buford’s high school program, DeSoto, won a state title a year ago and will aim to make it two in a row in the fall.

After that, a future at Nebraska will await Buford. Marques might only overlap with him for a year or two, but that family aspect is only part of why Mario is ready to be a Husker.

Through conversations with his player host, Gabe Ervin, coaches and other players around the Nebraska team facilities, Buford arrived at a conclusion — the atmosphere at Nebraska was unlike anything else he’d seen along the recruiting trail. And now, it was time for him to join in.

“Talking to the players, you’re not going to hear different things about the same topic,” Buford said. “They showed me that no matter if you’re a walk-on, five-star or you just got on campus, you’re going to be treated the same. They definitely all feel that same love and support no matter what they do.”