Three & Out: Nothing tops NU home game, Raiola Q&A and atypical JR Day

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 nothing tops a Husker home game, Dominic Raiola Q&A, and more than just an unofficial visit.

There have been a number of comments about this year’s recruiting class. Yes, this class is going to finish in the bottom half of the nation. Part of that will be because of class size and part of that will be because of the average rating of the recruits in the class.

Nebraska has been challenged this season to attract better talent to Lincoln based on recruiting rankings. Why?

Well, you saw one big reason why on Saturday night. No home games last year for Nebraska hurt them significantly. Did you catch the comments by Charles Jagusah?

“The weekend definitely changed the way that I saw Nebraska. You see things from the outside and don’t get a chance to get there and take a look at things, especially with Covid.”

Nebraska did the best they could do given the circumstances last season. They got rave reviews from virtual tours. But not seeing Nebraska in person and, more importantly, experiencing a game day in Memorial Stadium can’t be replaced.

The recruits this weekend were impressed by a number of things. Those things mentioned the most by recruits that they were impressed with were:

– The fans at the game (the energy)

– Tunnel Walk or Thunderstruck

– The performance of the team

– Plans for new facilities

– Current facilities

It was a big weekend in Lincoln to plant the recruiting seeds for over 40 2023 recruits. There were recruits in from Hawaii to Connecticut and North Dakota to Texas, as well as two 2023 Rivals 250 players and arguably one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 class.

The Huskers can still get talent to Lincoln for recruiting. There has just been a little difficulty with the 2022 group. Nebraska needs to work ahead how and make sure that any recruit they might be interested in over the next few years has an invite to come to a game.

Get the recruits in earlier and often in case there is another reason for the NCAA to keep visitors and/or fans from coming to games.

– Bryan Munson

Coming “home” to Nebraska never gets old for former Cornhusker All-American center Dominic Raiola, and he was in Lincoln again this past weekend with his son, Dylan Raiola, who will be one of the most highly-recruited quarterback prospects in the Class of 2024.

HuskerOnline.com spoke with the former Rimington Award winner to get his thoughts on various topics concerning Nebraska football and his son’s recruitment.

How did the weekend visit to Nebraska go from your perspective?

“It was awesome to see those guys get after it. It’s been a long time coming. I know it’s a special position being on the Pipeline and to play for Nebraska, and if they can get back to that it’s a credit to the hard work of the coaches and just staying after it.

“Because it’s not an easy deal to hear from the press there. I don’t think we had any bad press, except maybe when we went 9-4, but it’s tough now to deal with that adversity. But, you know what? What doesn’t kill you, will make you stronger. Those guys have handled it well and I’m looking forward to what they are going to put out there the rest of the season now.”

You got the chance to watch Nebraska play at Oklahoma as well with Dylan, so could you see this coming from how they played down in Norman and also at East Lansing?

“Yeah, sometimes you’ve got to go through some tough times to get good. The defense has been playing their butts off, so I guess it’s a matter of finding the right lineup for the offense, especially the offensive line. But, like I said, those guys never quit. They stayed on their grind.

“Those two guys who started at left guard and left tackle brought it this week, so hopefully, they can bring it every week. I think they can. It’s just a matter of proving it every week, week in and week out, and I think they’re going to have a lot of success there.”

What is it like for you as a former player coming back to Lincoln to experience a game day weekend?

“It never gets old, for one. You never lose that feeling of excitement when the Tunnel Walk goes on and, you know, walking on the field. You never lose that. Then, to see them have the success and everybody celebrating, it kind of felt like old times. It was a great feeling just being an alumnus of that great program.

“I’m just happy for Coach (Scott) Frost because I know those guys have been grinding long hours, long days, and long weeks. They hear it from everybody and, unfortunately, I read it but I don’t believe it. Like I said, it’s one week and we will see what they can piece together the rest of the year.”

Were you able to connect with any of your past teammates when you were there last weekend?

“Yeah, I saw Matt Davison, and I saw Jay Foreman and Jason Peter. We had five o-linemen in my recruiting class and four of them were there. So, it was pretty cool to see all of them. Jon Rutherford, Kyle Kollmorgen and Dave Volk we’re all in my Class of ’97. I got to see Eric Crouch and that’s always fun, especially with me raising a quarterback. Dylan being able spend some time with Eric was special. We were there early to take everything in and to see where this goes with Dylan.”

How much did you overlap with Coach Frost at Nebraska?

“It was just a year, but as many of us know, once you’re a Husker, you’re a Husker. It’s a pretty special place in that there’s no feeling that anybody’s better than anybody because of what they did. We all want the same success for the whole program and I guess that’s what makes that place unique.”

How have you handled shepherding Dylan through his recruiting process?

“I think, as a parent, you want to make sure that he’s taking care of his business on and off the field. That’s the main thing right now we’re focused on. If you take care of business and you’re a good person on the field, off the field, in the locker room, at home to your family, everything else will take care of itself. Because then you’ll know what you’re looking for when you’re going through this thing.

“We don’t want to rush anything right now because he is still a sophomore. Right? Like I said, it’s a fun deal to watch him go through this because he plays a totally different position and it’s a totally different day and age. I’m learning just as much as he’s learning. You’ve got to smell out the BS from the real ones.

“We’ve had a really good experience so far. He’s just focused on being a good teammate, a good person, a good brother and a good son. All those things are really important to us and my wife has done a really good job with him. We’re just enjoying the process.”

Any chance you will get up to Lincoln for another game this season?

“I am not sure. We had a bye last week, so it kind of worked out for us to come up. I know there are a couple other places he wants to see again and Lincoln is one of them. We will see if we can make it work. I will never turn down coming to see a game in Lincoln, Nebraska and Memorial Stadium because it’s one of a kind.

“Say what you want, but I’ve been in a lot of places and seen football games in a lot of places, and you just don’t get an atmosphere and see fans like that. It’s a pretty cool environment, and if we can do it again we’re going to take advantage of it.”

– Mike Matya

There were 55 visitors scheduled to attend the Nebraska game this past weekend. The actual total was a little less than that, based on some cancellations, but still it was a critical weekend.

If people don’t understand how unofficial visits typically work at Nebraska, there is a gate that you are told to be at during a range of time to pick up your tickets. Most times it’s just for the game itself. There is not a chance to go into the facilities, look around or meet anyone.

And this is understandable. The goal of that day is to not only impress some recruits, but to also win the game. The coaches have meetings and are typically too busy to get away to make small talk with recruits.

This wasn’t the case this past weekend. The recruits were asked to be there hours before the kickoff, get measured, then see a presentation and take a tour. The weekend was much more like a junior day than a regular home game day.

To piggyback on the other part of this Three & Out that I wrote, this is a little bit about closing out 2022, and a lot about getting things going with 2023 and 2024 prospects and allowing them to really get to see and hear about Nebraska.

We have no indication if this weekend will be the same. I doubt that it would be a group as large as the list of recruits that were supposed to be in for Northwestern. I know that Reese Mooney will be there around 2:00 or so at the stadium, so I think his recruiting experience will be more personalized for him while he’s in Lincoln.

Also, if you are going to game and you want to gain an understanding of who the top prospects are that are in town for that game — watch to see which recruits are literally brought out to midfield by the Nebraska recruiting staff. It will be a small group and it’s a bit of a special touch to get that opportunity.

Last weekend was a great opportunity to host such an event as Nebraska looks down the road past the few open spots they have remaining in this 2022 class and begin to focus on the 2023 and 2024 classes.

– Bryan Munson