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Published Feb 28, 2022
Five things we learned at the HOL Lincoln In-State Tour event
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Sean Callahan  •  InsideNebraska
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HuskerOnline held our Lincoln In-State Tour event on Sunday at First Pick Performance inside the Kinetic Sports Complex.

Here are five things we learned from the event before we roll out our full coverage on all of the teams that took part.

Malachi Coleman is just scratching the surface on what he can be 

The new No. 1 ranked prospect in the state of Nebraska for the class of 2022 is Lincoln East's Malachi Coleman.

The three-sport standout checked in at just under 6-foot-5 and 180 pounds. He's being recruited as an athlete. Some see him as a wide receiver and others see him as a hybrid defensive athlete that can rush the passer.

He had 10 receiving touchdowns and averaged 33.1 yards per reception a year ago, to go along with 7.5 sacks, 57 total tackles, four forced fumbles and a blocked punt.

Baylor, Vanderbilt, Louisville and Nebraska were four different teams Coleman mentioned high on his radar among others.

Another one to watch closely is Georgia, as he and his family are looking at taking a trip down to Athens this spring.

Coleman is a special athlete that makes things look easy. On Sunday he posted a video of him effortlessly dunking a basketball in warm-ups.

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From there, he will walk right over to the track and be one of the top athletes in the state.

His best days as an athlete are very much ahead of him, and that continues to be why he is seeing more and more college attention by the day.

Lincoln High's Beni Ngoyi keeping in touch with Nebraska 

Over the summer Lincoln High's Beni Ngoyi put his name on the map after his showing out Nebraska's Friday Night Light's Camp and a strong showing at a Wayne State Football Camp.

At the Wayne State Camp, Ngoyi broad jumped 10-10, ran a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash and put up a 39-inch vertical. Once those numbers got out, the Lincoln High product was no longer a secret.

He currently has offers from Kansas, Kansas State, Northern Illinois and Pittsburgh. Nebraska also has shown quite a bit of interest with new wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph now keeping in contact with Ngoyi.

It will be interesting to see if Ngoyi can join the group of five in-state athletes that currently have NU offers for the class of 2023.

Matt Campbell flew his plane to Scottsbluff to see Brock Knutson 

Another one of the top prospects in-state that currently doesn't have a Nebraska offer is Scottsbluff offensive tackle Brock Knutson.

He currently has offers from Kansas, Iowa State, Colorado State, Miami of Ohio, North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

He came into the event at 6-foot-7, 286 pounds, with an impressive self-reported vertical mark of 27 inches.

It's clear Knutson is a priority for the Cyclones. ISU head coach Matt Campbell flew his plane to Scottsbluff in January to see Knutson work out in the weight room. According to Knutson, Campbell is the first-ever Division I coach to come up to Scottsbluff to see a prospect in person.

Knutson was at the NU Junior Day earlier in January, along with taking a game in this fall. Linebackers coach Barrett Ruud has also been up to see him. The question now is where he falls on a Nebraska offensive line board that already has two in-state commits on it?

The Huskers still have time to make a decision on him, but not much time. Teams like ISU and Kansas will begin to push for a commit sooner than later as he's a prospect that probably will have things wrapped up by the summer. He also plans to take part in a Rivals Camp Series event in April, and something like that could give him even more recognition and get more teams involved. Missouri is another team to watch closely, as he has a scheduled visit to Columbia as well.

Pierce's Ben Brahmer added 16 pounds in the last year 

You kind of know what you were getting with Pierce tight end Ben Brahmer. He's extremely focused and disciplined.

Brahmer is a three-sport athlete and the son of Pierce head coach and principal Mark Brahmer.

In one year's time, Brahmer has gained 16 pounds from the same In-State Tour event held a year ago at the Kinetic Center in Lincoln.

Basketball season ended for Brahmer and now he's off to track. He also made it clear he plans to finish out his full senior year at Pierce because of the commitment he's made to his teammate in both basketball and track - meaning he does not plan to early enroll at NU.

Brahmer is a throwback in many ways. He also has a lot of commonalities with head coach Scott Frost, being a coach's son and growing up in small-town Nebraska.

Gottula is working hard on Maverick Noonan 

Lincoln Southeast offensive lineman and Nebraska commit Gunnar Gottula was one of five prospects in attendance at the Lincoln In-State Tour event that currently holds a Power Five offer.

Gottula, just like Brahmer has been committed to the Huskers for several months.

One of the more interesting things Gottula shared is he talks regularly with Elkhorn South's Maverick Noonan with hopes of getting him to Lincoln one day.

Gottula has also moved more into a leadership role heading into 2022, as this will be his third season starting at left tackle for the tradition-rich Knights.

Bonus take: Keep your eyes on Fremont Bergan's Kade McIntyre 

One of the top players in Nebraska without an FBS offer right now is Fremont (Neb.) Archbishop Bergan's Kade McIntyre.

I don't expect that to be the case for much longer. The 6-foot-4, 205 pound McIntyre picked up a South Dakota offer over the weekend and his older brother Koa McIntyre signed with Wyoming in 2022.

Kade McIntyre will be visiting Wyoming in early March, and do not be surprised if he is a priority offer target for Craig Bohl. What's interesting about the Cowboy's recruiting approach is they have not made one offer yet for 2023. They wait until the 2022 cycle is completely shut down before making any type of offers for the next year.

McIntrye is being recruited as an outside linebacker and a receiver. He ran 11.0 electronic in the 100-meter dash as a sophomore. Nebraska looked at him early as a receiver prospect, but his body continues to develop more and more like a linebacker type recruit.

He's built very similarly to Lincoln Southeast's Jake Appleget, who signed with the Huskers in 2022. It will be interesting to see how his recruiting story develops.

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