Nebraska’s day started off with a nice Big Ten road win over Purdue and got even better as it added a commitment from Ru’Quan Buckley Saturday evening.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end chose the Huskers over other finalists such as Michigan State, Florida State, Minnesota, Cincinnati, and he had 23 total offers to his name. Buckley becomes the 19th known verbal commit for Nebraska’s 2021 recruiting class.
Here are some quick takes on what the commitment of Buckley means for the Huskers.
1. A little over a month ago Nebraska was sitting with zero defensive line commits and now its last two additions to the 2021 class have come from defensive end prospects. Michigan native Ru’Quan Buckley made it official on Saturday evening as he joined Jailen Weaver as the other defensive line commit in the class. You have to give credit to a lot of people that were involved in recruiting Buckley for almost an entire year, including defensive line coach Tony Tuioti and running backs coach Ryan Held and head coach Scott Frost was very much involved as well.
2. Buckley gives Nebraska another commitment at a very big position of need in its 2021 recruiting class. His addition likely leaves just one spot open at the defensive end position going forward.
3. As I mentioned, Nebraska had put in an awful lot of time recruiting Buckley dating back to almost a year ago. Luckily for the Huskers, they were able to get Buckley on campus for an unofficial visit last winter before COVID forced the year-long recruiting dead period. Additionally, NU recruited Buckley as a defensive end the entire time while some other teams recruited him as an offensive tackle or an athlete. That made a big difference in the end with him.
4. Buckley fits the physical profile the Huskers are looking for out of their defensive end targets. He stands a legit 6-foot-5 and says he is now weighing in at 280-pounds. He has nice length and is a pretty explosive athlete given his size. Whether Buckley was playing defensive end or offense line, he dominated his competition as you’d like to see on film.
5. Buckley plays with a good motor on both sides of the football. He shows the ability to get after the quarterback in pass rush situations and has fairly active hands for a defensive lineman. He will need to continue to work on developing more pass rush moves to his arsenal, but he has all the tools to give NU what they are looking for as a pass rusher.
6. Buckley is strong at the point of attack and stout against the run on defense. He does a good job of playing with leverage and is a very solid tackler. His body type should allow Coach Tuioti to utilize him in various ways across the defensive line in different situations.
7. It’s nice to see the Huskers continue to get good players from within the Big Ten footprint. Any time you can add one at a position of need from within the region is a win-win situation. A bonus to that is the fact that they also beat out some other Big Ten foes for his commitment. The state of Michigan has not been a place NU has traditionally had a ton of success, but landing Buckley could help lead them to more prospects from the state going forward.
1. 9/28/2019 – Teddy Prochazka – OT – 6-foot-9, 285 – Elkhorn, NE – 4 Stars
2. 11/17/2019 – Henry Lutovsky – OG – 6-foot-6, 310 – Mt. Pleasant, IA – 3 Stars
3. 1/2/2020 – Randolph Kpai – ILB – 6-foot-3, 190 – Sioux Falls, SD – 3 Stars
4. 4/27/2020 – Branson Yager – OT – 6-foot-8, 320 – Grantsville, Utah – 3 Stars
5. 5/9/2020 – Heinrich Haarberg – QB – 6-foot-5, 192 – Kearney, NE – 3 Stars
6. 5/29/2020 – Shawn Hardy II – WR – 6-foot-3, 190 – Kingsland, GA – 3 Stars
7. 6/6/2020 – Seth Malcom – ILB – 6-foot-3, 205 – Tabor, IA – 3 Stars
8. 6/23/20 – Gabe Ervin – RB – 6-foot-1, 205 – Buford, GA – 3 Stars
9. 7/4/20 – Latrell Neville – WR – 6-foot-4, 190 – Houston, TX – 3 Stars
10. 7/18/20 – Marques Buford – DB – 6-foot, 190 – Oakdale, CT – 3 Stars
11. 7/21/20 – Malik Williams – DB – 5-foot-11, 180 – Buford, GA – 3 Stars
12. 8/16/20 – Kamonte Grimes – WR – 6-foot-3, 200 – Naples, FL – 3 Stars
13. 8/24/20 – Koby Bretz – DB – 6-foot-2, 195 – Omaha, NE – 3 Stars
14. 8/26/20 – Thomas Fidone – TE – 6-foot-5, 223 – Council Bluffs, IA – 4 Stars
15. 8/28/20 – A.J. Rollins – TE – 6-foot-6, 230 – Omaha, NE – 3 Stars
16. 9/4/20 – Mikai Gbayor – LB – 6-foot-2, 220 – Irvington, NJ – 3 Stars
17. 10/12/20 – James Carnie – TE – 6-foot-5, 225 – Firth, NE – 3 Stars
18. 10/31/20 – Jailen Weaver – DE – 6-foot-7, 280 – Antioch, CA – 3 Stars
19. 12/5/20 – Ru’Quan Buckley – DE – 6-foot-5, 250 – Wyoming, MI – 3 Stars
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