Nebraska football targeting five-star OL David Sanders

Five-star Charlotte (North Carolina) Providence Day offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. plans to announce his commitment at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday in a webcast livestreamed by 247Sports. Alongside Nebraska, Sanders is also considering Ohio State and Tennessee.

While the Huskers were not among the top six schools Sanders was considering in March, they emerged as contenders in the spring when the 6-foot-6, 290-pound lineman traveled to Lincoln for an official visit. Sanders also visited Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, South Carolina and Tennessee during a three-month span as he evaluated his options.

Ohio State and Georgia were included in Sanders’ final top-four list of schools, but they weren’t on his schedule for a final return visit last month. Instead, Sanders set off to Lincoln in late July, where freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola led the recruiting charge, prior to a stop in Knoxville.

Nebraska currently has three offensive line commits in its 2025 recruiting class: four-star Shawn Hammerbeck and three-stars Brian Tapu and Houston Kaahaaina-Torres.

* 2025 linebacker off the board: One of Nebraska’s top remaining 2025 targets, Gilbert (Iowa) linebacker Will Hawthorne, announced his commitment to home-state Iowa State over the Huskers last week. A three-star prospect who earned a Nebraska offer at a June camp, Hawthorne projected as an inside linebacker.

Nebraska has no such commit within its 2025 class, having missed out on four-star recruit Dawson Merritt (Alabama), while its lone commit at the position, Pierce Mooberry, projects as an off-ball linebacker. The Huskers are still pursuing a local four-star recruit, Omaha Westside’s Christian Jones, to fill its need at the position.

* In-state 2026 FBS prospects: High school football teams around the state began their first week of practice on Monday, with season-opening contests to follow later this month.

Many of the state’s 2025 stars, such as Omaha North’s Tyson Terry, Lincoln Southwest’s Jackson Carpenter and Bishop Neumann’s Conor Booth, have already landed in Nebraska’s recruiting class. Others, like Stanton’s Ren Brown (Texas Tech), Millard South’s Chase Loftin (Florida State) and Platteview’s Reiman Zebert (Stanford), plan to play their college football elsewhere.

But who are prospects to follow in the Class of 2026 which may earn an opportunity at an FBS school, Nebraska or otherwise?

Millard South’s Jett Thomalla stands out as the top quarterback in his class while Bellevue West’s Will Anderson has a big arm which may also attract recruiting attention.

The wide receiver position has many future FBS prospects, including one who already holds a Nebraska offer: Omaha Central’s DaShawn Prince. While Millard South’s Amarion Jackson already has offers from the likes of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State and Minnesota, he is still waiting on an opportunity from Nebraska. Other wide receivers of note include Bellevue West’s Kaprice Keith and Omaha Westside’s Maurice Purify II, the son of a former Husker wideout.

Millard South tight end Isaac Jensen will need to be one of Nebraska’s top 2026 targets if the Huskers hope to keep him within the state. Alongside a Husker offer, Jensen has offers from Florida State, Missouri and Texas A&M with the potential for much more national attention.

Along the offensive line, Millard South’s Landen Von Seggern and Omaha Westside’s Owen James are the key players to watch.

Elkhorn North linebacker Jase Reynolds, who earned a Nebraska offer over the summer, is one of the state’s top defensive athletes. Bellevue West’s Araf Evans Jr. is another athlete with firm FBS interest.

Other collegiate prospects may emerge after putting strong junior years on film, but the early returns show that the state of Nebraska could once again produce a steady number of FBS commitments from the Class of 2026.