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Published May 19, 2024
Husker football recruits and targets compete at state track meet
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Steve Marik  •  InsideNebraska
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The Nebraska state track and field meet was this weekend at Omaha Burke, and a handful of Husker football recruits and targets competed.

Two in-state scholarship members of the 2024 class — Omaha North defensive back Donovan Jones and Ainsworth hybrid tight end-receiver Carter Nelson — had great endings to their prep careers.

Jones placed fourth in the Class A 100-meter dash with a time of 10.72 seconds. He also took fifth in the 200 with 22.27. Jones' personal-best 200 time this season was a 21.9. Jones was also part of the Vikings’ 4x100 relay team that set a school record with a 41.93 and placed fourth.

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Those are solid times for the 6-foot-1,190-pound Jones, who starred for Omaha North the past few years and will be one to keep tabs on in coach Evan Cooper's room. Jones will arrive to Lincoln in June.

The three-star Jones is just beginning to scratch the surface of what he can be athletically.

“Like I’ve told a lot of people: his upside is huge,” Omaha North head coach Larry Martin told Inside Nebraska of Jones in December.

Nelson, at 6-5 and 225 pounds, won the Class C long jump with a mark of 23-02.50 and took third in the 200 with a time of 22.17. In his 200 prelims, Nelson qualified for the finals with a time of 21.9.

By now Husker fans know Nelson is an athletic freak who very well could push for playing time as a true freshman in 2024. Unlike others in Nebraska's 2024 class, Nelson chose to not early enroll and instead compete with his life-long friends and teammates one last time in basketball and track.

Nelson helped lead the Bulldogs reach the Class D-1 state championship on the basketball court and had a state-title-winning performance at the state track meet. Now Carter's focus will completely shift to Husker football.

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Other notables from Husker football walk-ons and targets:

>> Rowdy Bauer, a 5-11, 185-pound Husker walk-on athlete from Norfolk, won the Class A long jump with a mark of 23-07.25.

Bauer did it all for the Panthers last fall and had nearly 1,100 all-purpose yards, which included 719 rushing yards and 252 receiving yards. He scored 11 total touchdowns and also had 27 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups on defense.

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>> Preston Okafor, a 6-1, 175-pound Husker walk-on defensive back from Omaha Westside, placed second in the Class A 100 with blazing time of 10.59.

Okafor recorded 18 tackles and recovered four fumbles with three pass breakups for the state-championship-winning Warriors last fall.

>> Trent Uhlir, a 6-2, 230-pound Husker walk-on RB/FB commit from Battle Creek, placed second in the Class C shot put with a mark of 59-03.50 and second in the discus with 166-09.

In his career at Battle Creek, Uhlir rushed for nearly 3,000 yards and scored 44 rushing touchdowns.

>> Connor Schutt, a 6-6, 195-pound Husker walk-on athlete from Wahoo Bishop Neumann and teammate of 2025 three-star Nebraska RB/ATH commit Conor Booth, placed second in the Class C triple jump with a mark of 44-05.75.

Schutt also placed sixth in the long jump with a 21-09 and cleared 6-2 in the high jump to place ninth.

As a senior last fall at quarterback, the dual-threat Schutt passed for 687 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 345 yards and four touchdowns. On defense he had 15 tackles and a fumble recovery.

>> Derek Wacker, a 6-1, 220-pound Husker walk-on LB/RB commit, won the Class C discus with a throw of 167-04.

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>> Christian Jones of Omaha Westside, a four-star linebacker in the 2025 class the Huskers are after, placed seventh in the Class A shot put with a throw of 51-00.25.

Other notables:

>> Ike Ackerman, a 6-4, 230-pound DE/TE/ATH in the 2025 class out of Omaha Central, won the Class A shot put with a mark of 63-04 and took second in the discus with a 173-09. Ackerman earned his first FBS offer from Air Force and will try to impress Nebraska coaches at a camp in June.

>> Dash Bauman, a Wyoming linebacker commit in the 2024 class from Lincoln East, took second in the Class A 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.41.

>> Sam Thomas of Elkhorn North, a 6-4, 275-pound Northern Iowa offensive line commit, won both the Class B shot put (64-05.50) and discus (181-09).

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