Cameron Lenhardt saw his recruitment to Nebraska take off in a major way toward the end of June, and the Huskers' momentum was boosted quickly after that June 24-26 trip to Lincoln.
Now, they have seen it come full circle and the wait is over: Lenhardt has committed to Nebraska.
He sat down with me for an exclusive video interview to discuss his commitment. Watch that interview in the video above or on the Inside Nebraska YouTube channel.
The four-star prospect out of Florida powerhouse IMG Academy is the Huskers' 14th overall commitment in the Class of 2023, and he joins Maverick Noonan as their second EDGE pledge in the cycle.
"You know throughout my whole process, this is a long recruiting process," Lenhardt said. "Nebraska's been very consistent with me throughout all my four years. I built the relationship with the coaches over the four years. When I went there on my official visit, I just felt that genuine feeling and my mom felt that too we went up there. That's just great to really experience. That was what really made me pick Nebraska."
This was a Big Ten battle that the Huskers have won as Lenhardt – a 6-foot-3 and 245-pounder ranked as the No. 24 weakside defensive end and No. 66 player in the state of Florida's 2023 class – picked Nebraska over Penn State and Michigan State.
Those were the other two programs in his top three and he told Inside Nebraska why his finalists had a Big Ten flavor.
"The Big Ten is like home for me," Lenhardt said. "I'm from New York City and I played high school football before IMG in New Jersey. That's big boy football up there. That's just really been like home for me and the Big Ten has been recruiting me the hardest throughout my whole process."
We liked Nebraska's chances of winning Lenhardt's commitment going into and coming out of his trip to Lincoln. That was the lone official visit that Lenhardt has taken during his recruiting process, and it was a trip that blew him away.
"What impressed me on that official visit in June was just the culture of Nebraska," Lenhardt said. "It was really impressive and things like that. Nebraska has a lot of good things coming. They got these new facilities coming and all these great things. That really impressed me."
Lenhardt's commitment is the Huskers' next step in making a run at a top-25 class and potentially a top 20 group in addition to the potential of getting into the upper half of the Big Ten recruiting class rankings.
We will have more analysis on Lenhardt's commitment momentarily at Inside Nebraska.
