‘It takes about two plays’: Huskers add pair of skill players with talent that jumps off the screen | Recruiting

Make it a National Signing Day double for Nebraska football.

The Huskers on Wednesday added a pair of four-star offensive skill position players to their 2022 recruiting class by landing running back Ajay Allen (Monroe, Louisiana) and Janiran Bonner (Ellenwood, Georgia).

Both announced their pledges to Nebraska during signing ceremonies at their respective high schools and NU formally acknowledged both additions, meaning they have signed their national letters of intent. 

NU lured both away from other schools. Allen (5-foot-11 and 190 pounds) had been verbally committed to TCU since the summer and Bonner (6-2, 200) had been committed to Georgia Tech, but neither signed an NLI in December and the Huskers made inroads over the month of January.

Allen is a Monroe, Louisiana, native who rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior at Neville High this fall. 

Allen picked the Huskers in no small part due to the relationship he has with new running backs coach Bryan Applewhite, who recruited him to TCU. Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson was fired midseason, though, and Applewhite was hired earlier this month to be Nebraska’s running backs coach. 

Allen took an official visit to Nebraska beginning Jan. 20 and then hosted Applewhite, head coach Scott Frost and wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph for an in-home visit on Jan. 25.

The day after visiting Allen, Frost and Joseph were in the Atlanta area, which gave them a perfect opportunity to stop in and see Bonner and finalize an official visit. That happened this past weekend, and it was enough to convince Bonner to sign with the Huskers instead of sticking with Tech or flipping to Memphis.

Allen is considered a four-star by 247Sports and a three-star player by Rivals. On3 Sports thinks even more highly of Allen, slotting him as the No. 108 player in the country and the No. 5 running back in the class. 

Bonner is a four-star by both 247Sports and Rivals, and a three-star according to On3. 

“A guy we kind of got on late, was kind of looking around after the early signing period,” Frost said of Bonner. “He’s one of the guys that, you put on his tape and it takes you about two plays to realize his athletic ability. Mickey did a really good job with him, (tight ends coach Sean Beckton) did a really good job with him. I went down and saw him the last week of recruiting. Really impressed by his talent but also the type of kid he is.” 

Allen rushed for more than 2,200 yards and 34 touchdowns for Neville High in Louisiana this fall.

“We were kind of shopping for one more running back, high school back,” Frost said. “I didn’t know anything about him until I started interviewing running back coaches. Coach Applewhite mentioned him to me and, kind of the same, when I put on his tape, he was one of my favorite guys that I watched all year.

“There’s a lot of backs that can do some things. I think he’s a guy that can potentially do everything that we need a running back to do. I’m really impressed with his quickness and ability to make someone miss in short space in the hole. Another great family and, again, someone that popped onto my radar late, but I’m really glad we got him.” 

According to MaxPreps, Bonner caught 50 passes for 816 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games for Cedar Grove, including a pair of touchdowns catches in the state title game. He missed most of his junior season after breaking his femur. 

Both are set to join the Huskers this summer and they will jump into wide-open position battles. Allen is the third running back of the 2022 cycle and Bonner is the fifth wide receiver the Huskers have added.

The pair makes 15 high school players overall for Nebraska in the 2022 class and 28 new additions overall so far. In addition to the smaller-than-normal high school group, the Huskers have three juco transfers and 10 Division I transfers, and they likely are not done working the transfer portal yet.

After Nebraska spent much of the recruiting cycle wallowing in the 60s in terms of overall class rankings by the recruiting services, the pair of National Signing Day additions provide a late boost for the Huskers. NU’s class was up to No. 37 in Rivals’ rankings and No. 41 per 247Sports as of late Wednesday morning, still well below where recent classes under Frost have finished but a substantial improvement considering the relatively small nature of the high school and juco class.