Things had been trending towards an early offer being extended to Husker legacy Caleb Benning.

Caleb, the son of former Nebraska running back and two-time national champion Damon Benning, is a standout defensive back and wide receiver for Omaha (Neb.) Westside. Benning announced on Thanksgiving that he received the offer from Nebraska.

"To be honest I felt like Nebraska could be close to offering a little bit," Benning said. "I talk to coach (Kenny) Wilhite a good amount and he's expressed that he likes me."

The phone call that got Caleb on the phone with Nebraska seemed pretty innocent all the way to the end where the Nebraska head coach told Benning they were offering.

"Coach (Scott) Frost was on the phone with my dad and he asked to talk to me. He was just asking me some questions about the game and Thanksgiving.

"Then he acted like he was going to hang up and goes 'I almost forgot, we'd like to offer you a scholarship'. My jaw dropped. I hugged my dad and my body just felt a rush. I couldn't believe it."

This offer is huge to Benning. It was his first offer and because Nebraska took the time to offer him on Thanksgiving it allowed Caleb to share the news with his family immediately.

"To get this opportunity from Nebraska means everything," Benning said. "Everyone in my family came out to the car to listen and hugged me. It was just crazy."

Caleb's father was part of a crazy stable of running backs at Nebraska in the '90s during one of the best runs in college football history which led to two national championships.

"The possibility to follow my dad could be amazing," Benning said. "He has also made sure to tell me that this is my decision and he won't push me one way or another; only encourage and help."

"I wouldn't exactly call it a dream offer however it is a very important offer to me," Benning said. "It's my hometown team and my dad's history there definitely means a little more."

It's like father, like son on the offer and being from Omaha. However, Caleb is a defensive back and the Nebraska staff see him playing safety in their defense which he loves to hear.

"Nebraska sees me playing safety and I am a big fan of their defense. I watch Marquel Dismuke and Deontai Williams ball hawk and come downhill and light people up. I could definitely see myself playing there."

Benning has been to a game earlier this fall in Lincoln. He was invited this weekend but needed some time off after his season ended. He has had other opportunities to visit another Big Ten school this season.

"I was invited to the game this week at Nebraska but after the loss on Tuesday night I just wanted some downtime," Benning said. "I haven't visited any other schools this fall.

"Iowa was trying to get me up but my coach and I talked and decided it wasn't the best to travel during the playoffs."

Nebraska is the only school that has been talking with Caleb personally. Two schools have been reaching out to his coach at Westside and he's looking forward to checking out some other schools in the future.

"I haven't talked to any other schools personally. Iowa has reached out a lot to coach Froendt and so has Missouri. I am looking forward to talking to more schools now that the season is over."