Huskers consider offering Arizona LB commit Joshua Brown

With Donté Williams now an assistant coach at Nebraska the Huskers' recruiting target list in the West should be expanding even more for this Class of 2017 and in future years. One of the first examples of this is Long Beach (Calif.) Poly product Joshua Brown.

The 6-foot-1, 231-pound linebacker verbally committed to Arizona over the summer, but is still listening to recent outreach by a couple other Power Five programs.

"I've never shut down other schools because you never know and you have to keep all of your options open," Brown explained. "It's just a blessing to talk to these schools regardless, so you never just want to put anybody to the side. You want to hear what they want to say to see what fits you best. As of right now, I do believe that Arizona fits me the best."

Those other programs who have been in touch with him recently are Nebraska and UCLA and they are mulling over whether or not to offer Brown.

"One school I did talk to that is speaking about an offer is Nebraska," Brown shared. "As you know, Donté Williams just switched over there from Arizona and he came to my school and told me that he wants me to come visit Nebraska. We're very close and I talk to him and he said that they're going to see what they can work out and he would be back in touch with me soon.

"If they do come in [with an offer], I would have to consider them and I would probably take a visit to see how it is and I would have to sit down and talk with my family about it, but Arizona is still the big picture for me. It's the same thing with UCLA. Arizona is still the big picture because they offered me back in spring ball before my senior season even started."

Presently, Arizona remains a heavy favorite to be Brown's college destination.

"Like I said, they were the school who believed in me first and their interest started early," Brown stated. "I've been up to their campus and they showed me where I can fit in. They talked to me about playing early and they had a great time with my parents during their home visit. So it's family first. I will take my Arizona official visit on January 13."

If the Huskers do come through with a late offer, Brown feels that, due to his connection to Coach Williams, he would travel to Lincoln to check out Nebraska's program.

"Me and Coach Donté are real close," Brown said. "He hits me up every day and we don't just talk about football, we talk about life and my future after football. He talks to me about my day at school, what I've been watching on TV, so me and him have built a real strong bond."

Brown said he is also open to hearing from USC and that would be a "huge offer" for him because it's the hometown school and former Trojan linebacker great Willie McGinest is a family friend.