Husker Hurry Up: Recruiting wins and losses, Nebraska stalwart makes return

Good morning, and welcome to Husker Hurry Up! This is your guide to news, analysis and other tidbits as we get you caught up and prepared for everything that’s going on in Nebraska football, recruiting, volleyball, basketball and more throughout the week. So grab your coffee and sit down to read up on your favorite Huskers players and teams.

Or, grab that coffee to go and listen to a rundown of today's Husker Hurry Up on the Inside Nebraska Podcast available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

As hip-hop artist Meek Mill once said, "Wins and the losses, they come with being bosses."

Nebraska was a living, breathing example of that song lyric on Monday. The Huskers' recruiting efforts have seen a successful facelift pay off over the last two weeks, and the most recent win was landing a commitment from three-star Texas defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel in the Class of 2023.

Van Poppel became the Huskers' eighth overall commitment, their second defensive commitment and first defensive lineman with his pledge yesterday. It's a big-time commitment for defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, defensive line coach Mike Dawson and running backs coach Bryan Applewhite, who had a major helping hand in the Argyle native's recruitment. They bring in size, versatility and a high motor from a player who resides in a state the Huskers are continually trying to crack.

The Huskers now have the No. 8-ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten and have an average player rating of 3.13. Their average player rating across the other four full Scott Frost classes is a 3.31. So there remains some work to do.

Nebraska would have benefitted in that ranking if the Huskers had kept Archbishop Bergan (Fremont, Neb.) star Kade McIntrye within the state borders. Nebraska's No. 9-ranked player in the Class of 2023 held an offer from the Huskers, but the three-star athlete committed to Oklahoma on Monday. The news dropped about 3.5 hours after Van Poppel's commitment. So it was a day filled with wins and losses, good news and bad news, for the Huskers on the recruiting trail.

In a move that Nebraska softball head coach Rhonda Revelle called "huge news," Huskers standout pitcher Courtney Wallace announced on Monday that she is returning for another year. She is taking advantage of a final year of eligibility granted by the NCAA following the COVID-19 interruptions.

"We have built something pretty amazing here over the past year and I could not pass up the opportunity to come back and play for my home state," Wallace said. "I am really excited to get back on the field with my teammates and coaches and enjoy every moment of my final year."

Wallace amassed a 17-8 record with a 3.12 ERA and four saves in 148 innings of work last season. She earned Third-Team All-Midwest Region and Big Ten All-Defensive Team, and the defensive stalwart (1.000 fielding percentage) also won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

Tennis team nets third transfer

Nebraska's women's tennis team has added Minnesota transfer Anfisa Danilchenko to its roster. She is the third transfer this offseason, joining Baylor transfer Ana Carmen Zamburek and Kansas transfer Raphaelle Lacasse.

Danilchenko, a native of Moscow, Russia, finished last season with Minnesota with a 20-7 singles record and a 17-8 doubles record. spent last season at Minnesota and saw action in multiple singles and doubles positions. She finished the season with a 20-7 singles record and a 17-8 doubles record.

"We are incredibly excited about Anfisa becoming the newest member of our Husker family," Huskers women's tennis coach Scott Jacobson said. "She has a well-rounded game and is a proven winner."

Kobelt joins Huskers program

There was also action on the men's side in Nebraska tennis, as the men's team added Peter Kobelt to the staff as an assistant. Kobelt spent the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Kentucky.

"I am excited to add Peter to the staff," Huskers coach Sean Maymi said. "He knows what it takes to be great, and I truly believe he can help us achieve our goals here at Nebraska. Over the last several years, Peter has established himself as a top collegiate coach while at Kentucky. The team will greatly benefit from his experience, dedication and passion."

We welcomed two new additions to the Inside Nebraska staff on Monday: Jansen Coburn (Twitter: @JansenCoburn) will be one of our part-time staff writers, and Trenton Bond (@bondedits15) will be a part-time graphics designer and a social media manager. I encourage to follow both of them and to read up more on their roles, their backgrounds and where we stand as we continue to fill out our entire staff of full-time reporters and part-time contributors at the Insider's Board.

I also encourage you to subscribe to the Inside Nebraska YouTube page as we continue to roll out digital content and provide unique and comprehensive coverage of Nebraska athletics via video formats in addition to written content. Ever subscriber makes an impact in helping us connect with a wider audience and reach that goal.

Our latest video will feature Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove as he joined the Inside Nebraska Podcast to offer his analysis on Van Poppel, the Huskers' budding momentum for Malachi Coleman and a look at how Mickey Joseph has transformed the Huskers' receiver room and their recruiting efforts.