Keona Wilhite laughed over the phone. He’s still in high school and he’d just had a month that would have wrung out a college graduate.
“I’m very relieved,” Nebraska football’s newest signee said Monday night, two days before he officially announced on 247Sports that he’d picked, at long last, NU as his school. It was his third destination in four weeks. Washington. UCLA. Now, finally, the Huskers.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound pass rusher — who had 18½ tackles for loss last season at Tucson (Arizona) Salpointe Catholic High School — had watched with excitement on Jan. 8 as his original choice, the Huskies, played Michigan for the College Football Playoff national title.
Dominoes started tipping two days later when Nick Saban retired from Alabama. Two days after that, UW’s head coach, Kalen DeBoer, succeeded Saban in Tuscaloosa. Wilhite, a four-star prospect according to Rivals, asked for — and was granted — a release from his Washington letter of intent.
Wilhite narrowed his list to Nebraska, Michigan State and UCLA. And he picked the Bruins in late January, informing his other finalists of the decision. Wilhite’s family intends to follow him to college, and they’re originally from Los Angeles. He planned an announcement last week.
Until media reports attached Kelly to open offensive coordinator jobs in the pros. The NFL Network reported Kelly interviewed twice with the Raiders. Kelly didn’t get the job — and he wouldn’t land Wilhite, either.
“It did, it did,” Wilhite said when asked if his decision changed after Kelly’s NFL flirtation. “I saw that and I thought, ‘Aw, this is going to be another Washington situation.’”
And so, it’s Nebraska. Wilhite liked both the adaptive nature of NU’s 3-3-5 defense and coordinator Tony White’s vision for Wilhite, who, like current Husker Princewill Umanmielen, could play both defensive end and Jack linebacker.
NU sold Wilhite on an academic program, too — UNL’s well-regarded College of Architecture.
“It intrigues me, especially seeing how they’re updating it to allow more space for students,” Wilhite said of a two-phase expansion of the school. Wilhite said he wants to design exterior surfaces to make buildings more energy efficient.
His family will follow him to NU; during his January visit, they had never seen so much snow, but they liked the campus and the city.
Yes, Lincoln isn’t Seattle or LA. But it has a staff Wilhite respects and a head coach who hasn’t left for a different job — or is actively trying to leave.
“It’s been a crazy roller ride,” Wilhite said. “But to finally sign and get it done, it’s a real stress relief.”
A 2024 recruiting class already jam-packed with defensive backs now includes another three-star prospect.
Prescott joins ’24 class, too
Philadelphia Neumann-Goretti safety Kahmir Prescott signed with Nebraska, the team announced on Wednesday. A former Wisconsin commit, Prescott has been on NU’s radar since December 2022 and visited Lincoln last April.
Rather than signing with the Badgers during the December early signing period, Prescott instead reopened his recruitment and will now join Nebraska as a preferred walk-on.
Nebraska signed eight defensive backs in December, and Prescott’s potential still stands out among the group. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound prospect covers ground quickly in the secondary and could be a future fit for Nebraska’s rover position group.
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Fast, fluid runner who plays receiver and Wildcat quarterback for his team, Jacory Barney ranks among the best athletes in Nebraska’s 2024 recruiting class. Get more in our Signee Spotlight.
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A FCS defensive back from a tiny school in Pennsylvania has joined Nebraska’s football program as a transfer.
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Bellevue West’s Isaiah McMorris should fit Nebraska’s offense quite well as a slot receiver who gets a combination of short and deep routes to run. Get more in our Signee Spotlight.
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