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Published Oct 20, 2024
BREAKING: Nebraska flips Kansas 4-star OT commit
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Tim Verghese  •  InsideNebraska
Recruiting Analyst
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@TimVerghese

Nebraska football added its 20th commitment in the 2025 class as Olathe (Kan.) South four-star offensive tackle Julian "JuJu" Marks pledged to the Huskers today.

The Huskers flipped the Rivals250 prospect away from Kansas, where he had been committed since June.

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Nebraska was one of the first programs to offer the 6-foot-6, 275 pound offensive lineman back in 2022, when Mickey Joseph was the interim head coach, and he was re-offered shortly after Matt Rhule took over as head coach later that year.

The Huskers struggled to gain momentum for much of his recruitment, he made a very early pledge to Missouri, landed offers from the likes of Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama and Georgia, among others. Nebraska wasn't even a top school when he announced his top eight back in April.

Matt Rhule's program was hardly on his radar when he committed to Kansas in June, but when senior football assistant Jamar Mozee joined Nebraska's staff in July, the Huskers recaptured the attention of the gargantuan tackle.

Mozee had been recruiting Marks at his previous program, UCF, and maintained his relationship when he moved to Lincoln. From there, the combination of Mozee, Director of Player Personnel Keith Williams, offensive line coach Donovan Raiola and Rhule all did their part to flip the four-star away from the Jayhawks.

Marks will play offensive line at Nebraska but has the versatility to potentially play defensive line as well. He actually primarily played defensive line early in his high school career but made the transition to offensive line primarily as a junior, when his recruitment exploded to the national level. Besides football the four-star also played basketball on the circuit with KC Run GMC.

Nebraska securing Marks is an especially impressive land considering he hasn't visited Lincoln since committing to the Jayhawks over the summer. Flipping the four-star is another win, arguable the biggest yet, for Nebraska's staff over Kansas this cycle. The Huskers beat out the Jayhawks for three-star wide receiver commit Bryson Hayes and three-star athlete commit Jackson Carpenter as well.

Marks is the 20th commit for Nebraska in the 2025 cycle and the fourth offensive line commit, joining three-star center Houston Kaahaaina-Torres, three-star offensive tackle Shawn Hammerbeck and three-star offensive tackle Brian Tapu. The four-star is the third highest-ranked commit behind in-state four-star linebacker Christian Jones and four-star wide reciever Isaiah Mozee.

Commitment thoughts from Midwest Regional Analyst Greg Smith

"Marks is one of the most versatile players in Kansas this cycle. He’s got great size (6-8, 275) but he’s not just a big body. Marks has impressive athleticism which can be attributed to his basketball background. His recruitment started with him being recruited as a defensive end. So, even if he didn’t crack the two-deep soon at tackle, he has the ability to flip over to the defensive line and give that a shot. Big men are gold in today’s college football and the Huskers landed one with a lot of versatility and upside."

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