What a 2024 prospect says about Nebraska ahead of key Friday Night Lights camp

It all starts this Friday when Nebraska will host its only Friday Night Lights camp of the summer. Rhule and his coaching staff have invested plenty of time and effort into other camps earlier this month, extending over a dozen new scholarship offers to camp participants.

More offers and recruiting targets will likely come out of Friday’s camp, which is expected to be the biggest of the month as prospective recruits flood into Lincoln from around the country. Some of those players will be looking to prove themselves to the NU coaching staff, while others have already progressed past a talent evaluation stage.

Eight players are expected to take their official visits to Nebraska this weekend, a list that includes several return visitors such as Salt Lake City West offensive lineman Nuku Mafi. A three-star interior offensive line prospect, Mafi visited Nebraska earlier this spring for NU’s large junior day weekend in late March.

“It was so great it felt like an official (visit) to me,” Mafi said. “The coaches were funny and I had a great time with them, we got to see a practice and I just loved it out there.”

Nebraska has plenty of connections with the Salt Lake City West program. The school’s offensive line coach, Toniu Fonoti, is a member of the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame. Nebraska has also hosted another 2024 offensive line prospect from Salt Lake City West, Semisi Tonga. Both linemen speak highly of NU offensive line coach Donovan Raiola.

Raiola stopped by Mafi’s high school earlier this spring and encouraged the recruit to take an official visit this summer. Mafi has recently visited Miami and will go to USC later this month alongside plans to take more visits in the fall before committing prior to December’s early signing period.

With goals of making it to the NFL, Mafi always evaluates coaches and program unity wherever he goes. Mafi said he believes Raiola could be the coach who helps him achieve those dreams, and that Nebraska’s team atmosphere has impressed him as well.

“Some of my visits I’ve been on, I’ve seen O-lines and D-lines that don’t get along or they don’t go out and have fun together,” Mafi said. “I’m really looking for team chemistry where everybody is one team.”

Mafi is not the only return visitor this weekend. Cheshire (Conn.) Academy defensive lineman Jacob Smith also took part in Nebraska’s late March junior day and will be back for his official visit this time around.

Smith’s twin brother, Jerod Smith, was part of the last visit but has committed to Michigan since. The top-250 national recruit visited Michigan and Kentucky earlier this month. Nebraska, Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame are the other four schools on the top-six list Smith released in April.

Many of Nebraska’s weekend visitors are recent scholarship offer recipients who participated in camps earlier this month. Other high school prospects expected on campus this weekend include:

* Creighton Prep tight end Michael Burt, whose recruitment has exploded in recent weeks. Iowa beat the home-state Huskers to extending a scholarship offer, and it also hosted Burt for an official visit last weekend. After taking part in a team camp with his Creighton Prep teammates earlier this week, Burt will return to Lincoln for his official visit. Illinois and Minnesota are also interested in the 6-foot-6, 230-pound recruit.

* Three players who earned their visit with strong camp performances. Cedar Falls (Iowa) offensive lineman Jake Peters earned his first Power Five offer from the Huskers on June 10, while Broomfield (Colo.) offensive lineman Landen Davidson has earned five FBS offers in the last week — Nebraska included. Topeka (Kansas) Seaman safety Callen Barta impressed NU coaches during his June 11 camp date and will be back for an official visit as well.

* He may not have camped in Lincoln, but Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek defensive back Braylen Prude is another beneficiary of NU’s June talent evaluation. Prude caught the eye of Nebraska coaches at a Texas satellite camp, earning his first FBS offer as a result. Nebraska liked Prude enough to invite the 6-5, 190-pound recruit back to Nebraska for the recruiting weekend.

* A track and field sprinter in Waxhaw (N.C.) athlete Evan Taylor. The 6-3, 175-pound prospect ran an 11.34-second 100-meter dash during his junior season and is a two-way player with potential on both sides of the ball. Some schools see him as a wide receiver, but with NU secondary coach Evan Cooper extending the offer to Taylor, Nebraska has a plan for him as a defensive back. Taylor has visited Rutgers and East Carolina in recent weeks.