Three & Out: latest legacy QB star, commit watch list, B1G June commits

This is HuskerOnline.com’s feature in which recruiting analysts Mike Matya and Bryan Munson give their weekly takes on topical issues concerning Nebraska football, baseball and recruiting.

Today in our next installment of “Three and Out” we hit on the latest Husker legacy potential quarterback star, next commit watch list, and B1G June commitments.

Signing day for the Class of 2024 is a long way off, but it’s already crystal clear that Nebraska cannot afford to miss out on yet another potential star quarterback who happens to be a Husker legacy like Dylan Raiola.

Having an elite quarterback talent running your offense can elevate your program to the top level of football, and NU has already missed out on a couple of these types of signal-callers with Nebraska connections over the past several years.

There’s no need to rehash yet again the reasons why, but the Huskers had a couple chances to get Joe Burrow to Lincoln but did not get it done. Joe’s father, Jimmy Burrow, played at Nebraska for two seasons in the 1970s, and he was also a graduate assistant coach for the Huskers for a couple of years. Joe’s brothers Jamie and Dan played for NU, too.

As everyone knows, Joe went on to lead LSU to the national championship, won the Heisman Trophy, and was the overall top pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

It probably worked out the best for him personally and professionally that he did not become a Cornhusker, but there’s no doubt he still would have been worth at least several more wins for the program and a more positive trajectory than we have seen for the past few seasons.

Jake Garcia’s father, Randy Garcia, played quarterback at NU in the ’70s under Tom Osborne. When I initially spoke with him in early 2020, he seemed genuinely interested in Nebraska’s program and he was planning to visit Lincoln for the first time since he was nine years old for last year’s spring game. Unfortunately, COVID got in the way and the Red-White game was canceled.

Another complication that developed was California canceled their high school football season last fall, and consequently, Jake Garcia and his family moved to Georgia to play his senior season of high school football. Originally a verbal pledge to USC, Garcia ended up signing with Miami. Once COVID hit, I never got the sense Nebraska was seriously in play with him anymore.

Dylan Raiola cannot be “strike three” for Nebraska with potential difference-maker Husker legacy quarterbacks. No matter what else they do, Scott Frost and the Cornhusker coaching and recruiting staff need to make Raiola a high-priority recruiting target for the next two years until he comes to his college decision.

And that’s regardless of what happens with the rest of the quarterbacks on the roster, and whoever they sign or add to the team at the position in the interim. Thankfully, I think that dad Dominic will be in NU’s corner.

– Mike Matya

Nebraska has added five commitments to the 2022 class in the last two weeks and, if you include Jake Maikkula, they have hosted 19 official visitors since the start of the month. So who are the next names for commit watch for Nebraska?

A lot of players have gone quiet. It’s understandable. They are nearing a decision and the phone is likely ringing off of the hook for them. I spoke with one official visitor who said since he’s visited Nebraska the Husker staff has ramped up their communication with him.

This is not necessarily a list of who I think will commit to Nebraska. This is more of a summary of recruiting, if you will. My list is going to take you into July to help you focus on the names that have said they plan to commit before their senior year or sooner.

June 4th weekend:

Jalen Marshall – Marshall has told me recently that he will commit before his senior year. His decision will come from three schools — Nebraska, Indiana and Oklahoma State. He also said that Nebraska is still one of his favorite visits.

Nico Davillier – Davillier is down to Arkansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. He says the Huskers are still in it and he will announce on June 27th.

Valen Erickson – Valen has gone radio silent. Keep an eye on if he takes an official visit to Tennessee this weekend. He says he will commit before his senior season.

Ashton Craig – Just like Valen, Craig has been hard to reach. He received his most recent offer from home state Notre Dame last night which tells you two things. The Irish are likely the favorite to land him now, and the Nebraska staff is evaluating and targeting the right type of prospects for this class. At least at offensive line. Craig wants to commit before his senior season.

June 11th weekend:

Tyler Martin – Martin could join this NU class at any time. I know he enjoyed Arizona, however I think the Huskers had him in the boat even before he left for Tucson.

Markeith Williams – So the Huskers only have to duck the Buckeyes, Hurricanes and Gators with Williams, but I still like their chances. Williams says he could decide by August.

Avery Powell – There may have not been a better interview to read than Powell’s following his visit to Nebraska. His timeline could be at any moment out to August.

June 18th weekend:

James Monds III – This legacy recruit has one more official visit to go at Wisconsin and then he will decide between the Badgers, Hoosiers and Huskers in early July.

June 21 mid-week:

Jake Maikkula – Although Maikkula is still on campus, he shared with me going into his Nebraska visit that he plans to announce his decision in early July.

No official visit:

John Pastore – Pastore has been to Lincoln twice and basically said he could commit to Nebraska ahead of taking an official visit. I think this is another Kansas State/Nebraska recruiting battle that could be fun to watch. He wants to decide before his senior season.

So what does it all mean? There is definitely competition for a few spots where I see Nebraska possibly only adding one player, like at safety and cornerback. If I had to guess, I would put Nebraska as the leaders for Marshall, Erickson, Martin, Powell, Pastore and Monds as of right now.

Just wanted all of you to have this as your compass or map for the recruiting board.

– Bryan Munson

Several Big Ten 2022 classes got off to a slow start this cycle, with many programs waiting for the NCAA dead period to come to a close in order to really ramp up their recruiting efforts.

That was especially true for the West Division teams as most of them waited until June to start accumulating the bulk of their current verbal commits after getting the chance to closed several summer camps and to work out prospects in person.

The chart below shows which B1G football programs have garnered the most commitments this month, and most of them will likely add even more before we hit July.

Six of the seven Big Ten football programs that added the most new commitments in June were in the West Division. Nebraska was tied at No. 2 with Michigan State at five new verbal pledges, only behind Minnesota who had eight.

Four of the top five conference teams with utmost total commits hail from the East Division. And also, the East has the current five highest-rated recruiting classes in the B1G, according to Rivals. Ohio State has the No. 1 class in the country right now, with Penn State and Rutgers also having top 10 classes.

When looking at the official visits utilized to date, 11 Big Ten schools have used at least 14 of them. Ohio State has used the most so far with 33, followed by Northwestern at 29. Curiously, Iowa has yet to have a single official visitor on campus, but they will be having a huge recruiting event coming up this weekend.

– Mike Matya