IN MY OPINION

Column by Sam McKewon / World-Herald staff writer

LINCOLN — For two solid weeks, Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini and his crew of assistants pounded pavement, sat on sofas and tried to secure commitments for a crucial 2012 recruiting class.

Their efforts didn't earn an immediate return. The Huskers lost one linebacker commit — Deion Jones to LSU — and gained one (Thomas Brown) who had decommitted from Arizona State. Jones was more of a freakish athlete with room to grow. Brown's a bigger hitter, a more classic tough guy in the box.

Otherwise, the chase continues.

For now, Nebraska's eight-man class ranks last in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports, the World-Herald's partner in recruiting coverage. But sort the league by quality of recruits, and NU jumps to No. 2 behind Michigan. Rivals.com has the Huskers tied with the Wolverines for the top spot in terms of average star ranking.

Bo and Co. are in the right homes. They've been in the right homes since John Papuchis took over as recruiting coordinator. The regular updates found on 247Sports and HuskersIllustrated.com suggest they're saying the right things.

Now it's about closing.

And Pelini is pulling out the stops for Eastern Arizona College cornerback Mohammed Seisay, who decides on Dec. 20 between Nebraska and Arkansas. Pelini visited Seisay and his family in their Virginia home last week — after hitting up Eastern Arizona in October.

"My family loved him," Seisay told Huskers Illustrated. "They said that he answered all the questions they had for him and he answered them perfectly. Coach Bo is a real cool guy. He's a player's coach, and I respect the man. He's got a lot of things going on over there at Nebraska."

Seisay — who'd have two years to play — could slot at the top of NU's corner rotation should he sign. Two more corners — LaDarrell McNeil and Amos Leggett — visit Dec. 16.

At linebacker, Pelini paid a home visit to Sicklerville, N.J., talent Quanzell Lambert (four stars) and Salt Lake City-area prospect Jared Afalava (three stars). According to Rivals, NU will get a visit from Euless (Texas) Trinity star Brian Nance.

From that trio — plus McKeesport, Pa., talent T.J. Neal — Nebraska wants at least one linebacker commit. Perhaps two. And maybe three, if Husker commit Zaire Anderson's official visit to Texas Tech amounts to anything.

On offense, the Huskers are in the top five of two top offensive tackles: Las Vegas Gorman's Ronnie Stanley and Tempe, Ariz., five-star Andrus Peat. They've made the final cut with two quarterback prospects — Devin Fuller and Anthony Alford — whose athleticism fits offensive coordinator Tim Beck's scheme.

The star rankings look good and the odds for a number of guys do, too. But this class is still a cliffhanger — probably all the way to Signing Day.

Buckeyes building

It took new Ohio State coach Urban Meyer all of one week to turn the Big Ten recruiting race on its head.

Already he has lined up official visits from two five-star prospects — Florida State quarterback commit Jameis Winston and defensive end Noah Spence — and he has commits to Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State rethinking their pledges. OSU is at 16 commits now; 247Sports expects a final tally north of 20, and perhaps close to 23.

Meyer appears to have a staffing advantage, too: The NCAA approved Ohio State's waiver to, in effect, allow two coaching staffs through the Jan. 2 Gator Bowl. Luke Fickell and his existing staff will prepare the Buckeyes for the game. Meyer will recruit and hire his staff. Sweet deal there.

"I've never heard of it," Michigan head coach Brady Hoke told the Associated Press. "Is that an advantage? Yeah, I think so."

Hoke's Wolverines are in the best shape to suffer the iniquity, I assure you. Michigan's class is 23 strong and filled to the brim with studs on the offensive and defensive line. Throw in four linebackers, two tight ends and a fullback, and you can see the blueprint of Hoke's first class: muscle.

Around the Big Ten

• I suspect Purdue head coach Danny Hope knows he has a small window to produce an eight- or nine-win team, and his 2012 class is shaping up to reflect that with several junior college players and prep-school types who can contribute early. The Boilers have 21 commits overall and their quarterback of the future in 6-foot-5 Austin Appleby.

• Iowa broke its commit drought with four-star defensive end Faith Ekakitie — perhaps the Hawkeyes' best end recruit since Adrian Clayborn — to pair with current defensive tackle commit Jaleel Johnson.

After a two-year recruiting lull in 2008 and 2009 — maybe Kirk Ferentz started thinking he could transform any old recruit into a top-shelf defender — Iowa has turned a corner. You wonder if Ferentz will update the defensive strategy a little bit to reflect it.

• The fallout over the Sandusky scandal hasn't hit Penn State's 2012 class too hard yet (still 13 commits), but the Nittany Lions still don't have a coach, and the media continues to treat Happy Valley as if it's Chernobyl.

PSU could be left with a shell of a program when it's all said and done, and a meager class this year. Mass defections are still likely — especially if the NCAA hints more strongly that it intends to punish Penn State for its institutional role in covering up Sandusky's alleged sexual assaults.

Contact the writer:

402-202-9766, sam.mckewon@owh.com

twitter.com/swmckewonOWH

« Sports - Big Red Today

Share