Lincoln Locker Room camp: Southeast dominated, looking to do so in fall

Lincoln (Neb.) Pius X hosted the Lincoln Locker Room camp on Tuesday morning.

Varsity and JV teams from Lincoln Northeast, Lincoln High, the Thunderbolts, and Lincoln Southeast competed in a jamboree. The Knights, one of the best teams in Class A Nebraska football, dominated with both teams.

Southeast’s 2022 LB Jake Appleget, 2023 OL Gunnar Gottula and 2023 LB Teitum Tuioti all have offers from Nebraska. With more time and development in the Knights’ program, there are several other players that could turn the heads of college recruiters.

2022 linebacker Jake Appleget received his offer to Nebraska on June 1 after being in frequent contact with the Huskers for months. The linebacker had a private workout with NU inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud before the coach offered him a spot on his team.

Appleget will take his official visit at Nebraska this weekend and will be at the Big Red BBQ.

“I knew if I just stay patient and kept working on my craft, things would work out and they finally did,” Appleget said. “I was able to go out there and show what I got to those coaches and things ended up pretty well.”

Soon after his Husker offer, Appleget went to a camp at Minnesota and received an offer from the Golden Gophers. Iowa State and Kansas State both reached out. He also has offers from South Dakota State, South Dakota, Illinois State and Northern Illinois.

During the jamboree, Appleget displayed why he is receiving such attention. At Southeast, Appleget plays both linebacker and wide receiver. At WR, he was on SportsCenter’s Top Ten list last season for ripping a pass away from a defensive back on the sideline for a touchdown.

He reached over a defender and caught a pass one-handed in the end zone. However, the play was called back because of a false start on the line. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound athlete had several other catches.

During one play on defense, Appleget found a gap and leveled a running back for a loss of yards. The middle linebacker flew around the field and made a big impact.

Appleget, whose recruitment has picked up since Nebraska’s offer, will continue to weigh his options before committing.

“I’m hoping that coaches will be patient with me, let me make my decision when I’m ready,” he said.

2023 offensive tackle Gunnar Gottula earned an offer from Nebraska, a mere three days after his teammate, after NU’s first Friday Night Lights camp. His father and Southeast head coach Ryan Gottula was there to congratulate his son with a pat on the chest after an impressive camp outing.

“He works really hard and I’m really proud of what he’s been able to accomplish and I just want to continue to see him grow as a player and grow as a leader in our program,” Ryan Gottula said.

The younger Gottula was the largest and most in charge lineman at the camp. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound offensive tackle pushed around defensive lineman after lineman. A Lincoln High lineman was visibly frustrated by Gottula’s strength and dominance.

Gottula is also trying his hand at defensive lineman, something he is still getting the hang of.

He will be at Nebraska on Friday for an unofficial visit. Gottula will be attending a camp at Iowa and then head to Northwestern for a camp and an unofficial visit on June 24. He doesn’t have a timeline on his commitment and will be taking his time.

2023 linebacker Teitum Tuioti played at defensive end during Tuesday’s jamboree. Against Pius, he slipped past a lineman and tackled the running back with a loss of yards.

After being told to only play downhill and not laterally by his coach, Tuioti adjusted and heard a “way to go Teitum” from the sideline.

Tuioti, whose the son of Husker defensive line coach Tony Tuioti, has offers from Nebraska, California, Washington, Washington State equaling seven in total.

“The recruiting process is really nice,” Tuioti said. “But right now, I’m kind of focusing on football as we get back to the season. So I’m just trying to perfect my craft right now and just try to do as much as I can for the team and help them out.”

Outside of the three players with Nebraska offers, there are several Knights that impressed on Tuesday. Southeast has a couple of linemen on JV that are tall, with wide shoulders and frames to build on.

“Our last couple freshmen classes have done really well,” coach Gottula said. “Our strength coach, Matt Bertsch, he does a tremendous job with our guys all offseason. He does a great job of developing them.

“Our kids were playing hard and so it’s fun to watch those young guys get in there and get some experience in reps in this type of situation.”

One JV linebacker laid out a running back causing the varsity team on the sideline to erupt in cheers. One of the assistant coaches rushed over to another to ask who completed the play.

There future of the Knights program is still bright.

Pius 2023 offensive lineman Barrett Walker jumped out during the jamboree. In fact, he held his own against Southeast’s Tuioti. He did not give up a play to Tuioti while he was in. Walker has a low center of gravity and did a good job of keeping Southeast’s linemen in check and protecting his quarterback.

****Lincoln High wide receiver Beni Ngoyi, who attended Nebraska’s first Friday Night Lights camp, was not present at the camp.

****An assistant Pius coach yelled, “It’s no howdy doody time with the boys in black here” as his lineman huddled before battling Southeast.

****Southeast junior WR/CB Sam Gandara batted several passes away from wide receivers and scored a touchdown on the first play against Pius.

****Senior Jackson Martin, a Southeast WR/CB, displayed his ability to turn up the sideline and activate his good speed.