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Gaylord gives Nebraska commit No. 4 for 2015

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Reading between the lines of our post NU Junior Day interview with Scott Gaylord, the father of Baldwin City, Kansas offensive tackle Christian Gaylord, it was clear that his son's eventual commitment to Nebraska was a mere formality.
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Today, Christian made it a fait accompli by announcing his decision to become a Nebraska Cornhusker in college.
"Yes, Christian did make his commitment [to Nebraska]," Scott Gaylord confirmed to HOL.com. "Actually, we made the commitment Saturday at the junior day. It was just a case where we felt we needed to contact the other colleges before making it public."
And verbally pledging to Nebraska, Christian achieved a lifelong dream.
"You know, Christian has grown up a Nebraska fan ever since he was a young boy," Mr. Gaylord explained. "With myself and my wife being Nebraska fans he was around it his entire life. He even attended the Gator Bowl game back in 2008 vs. Clemson.
"And so, ever since he was a young boy playing youth football, it was a dream of his of being a Husker some day. I guess it's just an unbelievable opportunity for him that has come true."
Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord both have roots as Husker fans due to growing up in the area.
"Well, I grew up on the Iowa-Missouri-Nebraska border, just about 30 miles outside of Omaha," Mr. Gaylord stated. "That means I read the Omaha World Herald and I grew up with Tom Osborne as the coach. He was just an incredible coach, as well as a role model, and that was back in the Big 8 days and we've followed Nebraska in the Big 12 and now the Big Ten.
"It was just natural for Christian when the Nebraska game was on to sit down and watch the game. We were also fortunate enough to go to a few games in Lincoln. So I think from that aspect, just seeing the tradition and the support that the fans give the team, it was an easy choice for Christian when it came down to making that decision."
Everything just seemed to come together at Nebraska's Junior Day this past weekend and it was time to get his college decision of the way, according to Scott Gaylord.
"He had a chance to hang around some of the guys, and a lot of the players we were around were the offensive line guys," Mr. Gaylord recounted. "He has developed a little bit of a relationship with John Raridon. The other guys he didn't really get to see too much because they were taking the different groups to different places.
"One of the things we discussed in the locker room was that we narrowed it down to three things: one was the football tradition; the second was the academic excellence; and the third was the community outreach and how the Nebraska athletes in general have the opportunity to touch a lot of folks in the community. I think Christian wants to really be a part of that.
"And also just the leadership we have seen through Coach John Garrison and Coach Ron Brown. I think when you put those factors together, that was the culminating decision that really made it final for Christian."
The Gaylords' future plans include attending a spring practice and the Red-White spring game, but whether or not Christian attends any regional and national combines is up in the air.
"We're going to take a look at that," Scott Gaylord said about Christian's possible spring and summer schedule. "You know, Christian is working on a shoulder rehab because he had a labrum issue back in December. Our surgeon was the KU team surgeon and it was a quick fix.
"That is probably going to take him into June before they release him for contact. That might limit his availability for those camps so that would have to be something we talked about with Coach Garrison or Coach (Bo) Pelini to see if that's something we would even need to do based upon their discretion and their advice."
Nebraska's Class of 2015 is off to a great start with four early verbal commitments, all of whom attended this past weekend's junior day.
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