Has Nebraska Football Taken The Lead In 4-Star LB Dawson Merritt’s Recruitment?

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have started to trend for a long-term flip target. This recruit was on campus for the Colorado contest that took place towards the beginning of the season.

That recruit is Dawson Merritt who is currently committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Merritt is a four-star linebacker. He currently attends Blue Valley High School in Stilwell, Kansas.

Reports have been circulating that the talented linebacker has been deeply considering the Cornhuskers. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule would visit with the talented Alabama commit during the bye week. Merritt was one of the many primary targets during the summer and the Cornhuskers haven’t backed off of him despite his commitment to the SEC powerhouse.

Nebraska looks to be the favorite to land Merritt in the long run, with reports coming in saying that Merritt has more of a chance to end up in Nebraska than Alabama. Merritt will be a target for the Cornhuskers until he signs his papers with his school of choice, likely in December.

Merritt stressed in a past article with HuskerMax that he is close with current 2026 quarterback commit Dayton Raiola and five-star 2025 target Michael Terry III.

This leads me to believe that if Merritt was to back off his decision and pledge to attend Alabama and take that next step with Nebraska it would up the chances with Terry.

Merritt also had this interaction with Husker great Prince Amukamara, who told the talented recruit that “red look better on you than crimson!”

Nebraska is hopeful for Merritt to return to campus with the opportunity to make another huge impact on the already committed linebacker. This seems to be a race to the finish line with Nebraska taking the lead for the first time in a long time.

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