Recruiting notes: A weekend portal DL visitor; Malachi Coleman’s latest big day; an approaching deadline | Recruiting

Nebraska has a couple of key defensive recruits on campus this weekend, including a transfer portal defensive lineman who will be taking a visit.

The defensive front is a position of critical need for the Huskers as they head into the summer, particularly after junior Casey Rogers entered the transfer portal earlier this week.

NU is set to host Texas Tech transfer Devin Drew, the Journal Star confirmed, over the weekend.

A Kansas City, Missouri, native, Drew attended Raytown High and then Iowa Western Community College before eventually ending up in Lubbock for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

There, he turned himself into a rotation regular for the Red Raiders, finishing 2021 with 34 tackles. Over the past two seasons, he has appeared in all 23 of Texas Tech’s games and has 55 tackles and a half a tackle for loss.

At 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, he would be a welcome addition to the Nebraska defensive front, but likely isn’t the only player on the Huskers’ radar screen. NU, of course, is also pushing hard for TCU transfer defensive end Ochaun Mathis, who is reportedly visiting Texas this weekend and said via social media recently that he plans to make his decision at the end of April. He was in Lincoln for an official visit during the spring game two weeks ago.

Another defensive recruit who is slated to visit Lincoln this weekend: four-star edge Tausili Akana. The Skyridge (Utah) High standout is considered the No. 31 player in the country in the 2023 class by 247Sports and the No. 65 player nationally by Rivals.

Akana (6-4, 225) has offers from just about every major program in the country and NU likely suffered at least a bit of a setback in its efforts when Tony Tuioti left for Oregon, but Akana’s sister, Keonilei, is on the NU volleyball team and that program’s spring game is Saturday in Grand Island.

It’s worth noting, too, that the Huskers have been able to get both Akana and Teitum Tuioti back to campus for unofficial visits even after the elder Tuioti left the coaching staff.

Another big day: Lincoln East four-star athlete Malachi Coleman just keeps stacking up impressive accomplishments.

Take Thursday, for example. Coleman (6-5, 190) won the 100 meters at the Harold Scott meet here in Lincoln in 10.88 seconds and also picked up football scholarship offers from Michigan and Oklahoma. Ho-hum.

Coleman’s been as fast as :10.68 in the 100 this spring as he focuses on track, but his football recruitment might be gaining speed even faster. This month alone, he’s picked up those two offers plus Mississippi and Oregon to add to a collection that includes Nebraska, Georgia, Iowa, Washington and many others.

Coleman, who could end up playing on either side of the ball in college, followed up the jam-packed Thursday with a Florida State offer on Friday. 

NU makes DB’s top group: On Thursday, NU cracked the top eight for Long Beach, California, 2023 defensive back Daylen Austin.

The 6-1, 180-pounder is a consensus four-star prospect and is considered the No. 135 player nationally by Rivals and No. 210 by 247Sports.

The other schools in Austin’s top group: Alabama, LSU, Georgia, USC, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan State.

Rogers’ first visit: In a message to Nebraska fans posted on social media Thursday, Rogers said he wanted to explore “ALL of my options” and entered the portal to do that.

The first major step for Rogers: an official visit to USC this weekend. The Trojans offered on Thursday and Rogers confirmed to the Journal Star on Friday afternoon that he’s headed to Los Angeles this weekend to get an up-close look at Lincoln Riley’s program.

He added that his visit plans after this weekend remained a work in progress because he’s hearing from a number of schools and again declined to expand on his reasoning for leaving NU beyond what he said in his statement. 

An upcoming deadline: A new wrinkle in the transfer portal era arrives next week and it could spur action around the country. 

In order for a first-time football transfer to be immediately eligible for the 2022 season without a waiver, he must have his request to enter the portal submitted by May 1.

It won’t be impossible for a player to gain immediate eligibility if he transfers over the summer, but he will need a waiver, whether that’s as a graduate transfer or for some other circumstance. 

The rate of players entering the portal has already ticked up in the last week as more schools begin to finish spring ball, but there figures to be a rush on the portal over the next eight days. Buckle up.