Three & Out: right kind of OL, coming best in-state, where did they commit

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 targeting right kind of OL, coming best in-state, and where did they end up committing?

Since they only planned to sign a couple of offensive line recruits for this cycle, the Nebraska coaches quickly focused on a handful of targets for the spring and summer.

They ended up bringing four of them in on visits: three for the Red-White spring game, and then two of them returned on official visits in June, and they were joined by an additional official visitor.

Nebraska has garnered the verbal commitment of one of their top four targets in Valen Erickson, but missed out on three others.

It’s a good sign the Husker staff is targeting the right players for the trenches when you observe that two of them ended up choosing Stanford and another Notre Dame. Those two programs are traditionally known for having superior offensive line talent.

There is still ample time to add another offensive line commit to this class before the early signing period.

– Mike Matya

There may not be a lot to talk about on the recruiting front for the 2022 class, but there is plenty to look forward to with the 2023 class and in particular the group of in-state players. What Nebraska fans are hoping never happens again is to have four of the top players in the state leave to go play football at another school. The 2023 group is already very different in that regard.

Consider that four of the top five have Nebraska offers and that the Huskers have already received commitments from two of those four. Also consider that Nebraska has hosted the other two, uncommitted prospects a number of times each and both have ties back to the school. Those are very good signs for Nebraska.

1. Ben Brahmer

Brahmer was recently awarded a four-star and R250 (No. 237) rating. The 6-foot-6 and 200-pound future tight end for the Huskers definitely has some things to be optimistic about, such as Brahmer’s frame and athleticism. The Huskers were actually the second school to offer Brahmer. Iowa State actually offered Brahmer before the Huskers and Georgia Tech ended up offering, too. Brahmer reminds some of Thomas Fidone who was part of the 2021 class for Nebraska and, of course, he hails from Pierce which is the hometown to another Husker TE great, Matt Herian.

2. Gunnar Gottula

There are actually two four-star recruits in the state of Nebraska in 2023, but Gottula didn’t make the initial cut for the R250. Gottula has those same things to like about him as Brahmer does. He has a nice, long frame and he’s a great athlete for his size. The best days for both are ahead of them when it comes to the football field. Gottula picked up offers from Iowa, Iowa State and Kansas State before choosing Nebraska late in June. There is a bit of a resurgence of D1 players from Lincoln SE and Gottula will no doubt play a role in trying to urge the recruit that comes in at No. 4 on this list to join him.

3. Maverick Noonan

There is a pending update for Noonan after I got a chance to talk to him about where the Huskers see him playing. The Nebraska staff has told Noonan now they like him as an OLB, which is the perfect position for Maverick. I just didn’t see him as an ideal guy to play the four-technique in the 3-4, but he could be a pass-situational 4-3 DE. Those tags mean you’re not an every down player, though, and it’s usually something players work hard to try and lose. Noonan holds offers from Arizona State, Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan State, Missouri and Nebraska. Maverick is the son of former Husker, Danny Noonan, who was a first round NFL pick in 1987.

4. Teitum Tuioti

There is another pending update that I have coming from Tuioti. I wanted to catch up with the two remaining in-state players who aren’t committed to Nebraska before the start of their junior years. Tuioti likes playing defensive line, but is more than likely another outside linebacker recruit. Tuioti blew up after picking up his first offer from Utah State, and the next to offer was Ole Miss just days later. Now, Tuioti is holding Nebraska, Boise State, Cal, Washington and Washington State tenders to go along with those first two offers. Teitum is the son of Nebraska assistant coach Tony Tuioti.

5. Sam Sledge

Sledge is an interesting recruit to keep an eye on. The 6-foot-4 and 264-pound Sledge can really move. He is seen lining up across the offensive line at various spots, gets time at tight end, and even plays some defense. I am going to be completely honest; Rivals has Sledge as an offensive lineman but it’s possible to see Sledge as a guy that could play the four-technique in a 3-4 defense. He has the size and he has some nice athleticism. He shows some very nice 1-on-1 pass rushing skills and is also good against the run. Sledge is holding an offer from Miami (Ohio), and is picking up interest from Iowa State, Kansas State and North Dakota State.

It’s tough to omit Beni Ngoyi since there are only six players in the state who have an offer so far and this list is only covering five of them. If there is a player that could shoot up this list, it might be Ngoyi. He just needs to add some weight to his 6-foot-4 frame, put together some good junior film, continue to test like he has been, and there will be D1 offers. He is definitely a player to keep an eye on.

There are two players in the 2024 class that already have offers from Nebraska, too. If you get a chance to get out to a Bellevue West game, you might see many passes from Daniel Kaelin to Dae’vonn Hall. Despite not having a lot of varsity film, Kaelin already has offers from Nebraska, Arizona State, Florida State and Kansas. The Huskers offered Hall when he was just 15 years old and he is also holding offers from Iowa and Kansas State.

– Bryan Munson

Summer recruiting is over. With the total scholarship numbers crunch concerning this Nebraska football recruiting Class of 2022, the Cornhusker coaches decided to hit the pause button after securing nine verbal commitments, mostly in the months of June and July.

Every year in our signing day evaluation articles we talk about “schools that hurt Nebraska the most” in that particular cycle. The below is not that list, per se, it’s simply a look at where some of Nebraska’s early recruit targets ended up committing.

There are three college football programs, in particular, that ended up as landing spots for several of the Huskers early recruiting targets. One of the schools is a Big Ten, one is in the SEC, and one is in the Big 12.

During the spring and summer, every single one of these five Spartan verbal pledges told me they were seriously considering Nebraska and they wanted to visit Lincoln, but only athlete Jaden Mangham took an official visit to NU. Miller is from Colorado, Carter is from Minnesota, and Spencer is from Buford, Georgia where current Husker players Gabe Ervin Jr. and Malik Williams hail from.

Mizzou has done a good job of landing some top regional linemen Nebraska was highly interested in. That list starts with Omaha Central product Deshawn Woods, who was one of the top in-state recruits for this class, and who never seriously considered the Huskers. Then they added Rivals250 defensive lineman Gracial, as well as Jalen Marshall who visited Lincoln for both the spring game and an official visit.

The Mountaineers pursued and received commitments from a couple offensive playmakers Nebraska was heavily recruiting, including Rivals250 running back Justin Williams and four-star receiver Kevin Thomas. Mumu Bin-Wahad was one of several Georgia defensive backs Nebraska targeted this cycle.

With their roster limitations for this cycle, there was no way Nebraska was going to be able to take all of the above early targets, but a couple of them would at least likely have been commitments for the Husker staff in a normal recruiting cycle.

For a couple others, the Cornhusker coaches placed a higher priority on another recruit to fill that particular position. And a couple others were never going to end up in Lincoln no matter what.

– Mike Matya