Nebraska football coaches busy on recruiting trail

During the NCAA’s open contact period, a five-week span that runs from April 15 to May 25, coaches can visit high school prospects at their schools or conduct in-home visits. In order to wrap up Nebraska’s spring camp, Husker coaches remained on campus through the weekend — but they’ve been out in full force since.

Before the NU coaching staff began spreading out around the country, a large contingent stopped by Lincoln Southwest on Monday to see 2025 commit Jackson Carpenter. Co-offensive coordinators Marcus Satterfield and Glenn Thomas, wide receivers coach Garret McGuire, running backs coach EJ Barthel, offensive line coach Donovan Raiola and special teams coordinator Ed Foley all attended the visit, making for a heavy Nebraska presence.

Even after players announce their decisions, visits like that are important for coaches to make sure their commitment lasts through Signing Day. Nebraska will continue these efforts with other pledges in the coming months.

While building the upcoming 2025 recruiting class remains Nebraska’s key goal at this time of the year, Husker coaches are also looking toward the future as they build relationships and evaluate prospects on the road.

Foley, who has traversed the state visiting high schools, made his way into western Nebraska and the Panhandle. Foley visited schools such as Scottsbluff, Gering and Chadron on Wednesday then headed north into South Dakota. After stopping in Pierre, South Dakota, Foley made his way to one of the state’s top programs, Jefferson High School in Sioux Falls, to watch a team workout.

Just as Foley has led the way on Nebraska’s in-state recruiting efforts, other coaches returned to the recruiting hotbeds they often focus upon. Linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek was in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday to visit multiple schools, while Barthel was in Pittsburgh on the same day.

Defensive line coach Terrance Knighton has spent the week in Florida, recruiting the Miami and Orlando areas.

Knighton was joined by McGuire and defensive backs coach Evan Cooper for a stop at Miami Palmetto High School on Wednesday, a program that current Huskers Jacory Barney Jr. and Dwight Bootle II hail from. Nebraska has previously offered two 2025 prospects from Miami Palmetto: defensive lineman Davion Dixon, a Notre Dame commit, and defensive back Colton Davis.

Cooper posted a photo of himself on Thursday at the former home of another Husker — Edgewater High School in Orlando, which Tommi Hill attended.

By then, McGuire had moved on to his usual stomping grounds in Texas. Recruiting the Dallas area on Thursday, McGuire stopped by multiple high schools and extended several new scholarship offers to high-level prospects.

Mansfield (Texas) Lake Ridge offensive lineman Felix Ojo, a four-star 2026 tackle prospect, earned a Husker offer less than a month after Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida State and USC offered the fast-rising lineman.

In contrast, Midlothian (Texas) offensive lineman Noah Best is a more under-the-radar 2026 recruit. The interior offensive line prospect is currently unranked by 247Sports, having received his first FBS opportunities from SMU, North Texas and Houston in the last two months.

McGuire also offered a 2027 prospect, Red Oak (Texas) defensive back Dhillon McGee. Arkansas, Houston and Texas Tech are among the other programs to have offered McGee early in the process.

Nebraska’s 2027 offers didn’t end there, either. While Raiola was recruiting in Michigan on Thursday, he extended a scholarship offer to Oxford (Mississippi) offensive lineman Ford Wade later that night. A 6-foot-3, 265-pound freshman, Wade is also a promising baseball recruit — and the Nebraska offer was his first at any level.

In Colorado, Satterfield returned to the same training facility that he’d visited in January. Satterfield’s winter visit led to Nebraska landing a commitment from edge rusher Jordan Ochoa — and this time around, he was looking for more future Huskers.

Satterfield invited several prospects to camp in front of Nebraska coaches this summer, then extended a scholarship offer to Littleton (Colorado) Valor Christian offensive lineman Reis Russell. The 2027 recruit has had quite the spring — Arkansas, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas A&M have recently offered Russell — and now Nebraska is in the mix as well.

With a staff-wide effort to forge relationships and extend new offers, Nebraska’s recruiting efforts on the road will continue in the coming weeks.