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James Carnie Commit: What does it mean for Nebraska?

Nebraska landed a verbal commitment from in-state tight end James Carnie on Monday.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Carnie chose the Huskers over other finalist such as Iowa, Kansas State and Pitt. The talented tight end had a total of 20 offers to his name. With his decision, Carnie becomes the 19th known verbal commit for Nebraska's 2021 recruiting class.

Here are some quick takes on what the commitment of Carnie means for the Huskers.

2021 Firth (Neb.) Norris tight end James Carnie announced his commitment to Nebraska on Monday.
2021 Firth (Neb.) Norris tight end James Carnie announced his commitment to Nebraska on Monday. (Nate Clouse)
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1. Nebraska may not have been the first to the party, but they definitely weren't going to pass up the opportunity to be in the running for tight end James Carnie. NU first had Carnie on campus late last fall for an unofficial game day visit and again for their Junior Day in late January before the pandemic shut recruiting visits down. Credit in-state recruiter Barrett Ruud and especially tight ends coach Sean Beckton in maintaining a relationship with Carnie throughout the recruiting process.

2. At 6-foot-5, 225-pounds, Carnie is a big, athletic body and you can't have enough of those types in your program. The amount of development Carnie has shown from the end of last season until now is quite remarkable and leads me to believe that he's just now starting to truly tap into his potential.

3. Carnie really opened my eyes at the Warren Academy Showcase in late July where he was one of about five tight ends that had big offers, including Rivals100 tight end and current Nebraska commit Thomas Fidone. That day Carnie either tested out the same or better than Fidone in nearly every category and during the actual drills and one-on-one portion of the camp he displayed that athleticism. It was then that I knew for sure that Carnie was a big-time Power 5 prospect.

4. The Huskers are getting a tight end that can and will be a big asset in the passing game. He's someone that can stretch the field with his 4.6 (electronic) 40-yard dash speed. He's versatile enough to have in-line or flex out wide.

His commitment gives the Huskers three tight ends in the class which means they are definitely done recruiting the position for the 2021 class.

5. Any time you can keep a top in-state player home while also beating out a Big Ten West foe like Iowa it's a good day. Safe to say the Huskers are having a good day today.

6. If there is one area where Carnie will really need to work as he makes the transition to Nebraska it will be as a run blocker. That's not to say that he's a poor run blocker or that he's unwilling to do so right now for Norris, but that will prove to be one of the biggest areas of adjustment for him as he acclimates to Big Ten football from Class B Nebraska High School football.

7. Locking up the best players in the state of Nebraska has been a priority for Scott Frost and his staff since they took over and securing the commitment of Carnie is another step in the right direction. The Huskers now have five in-state commits which is the most since the 2019 recruiting class and there is still several months until signing day is officially here.

8. 2021 Nebraska commit breakdown

1. 9/28/2019 - Teddy Prochazka - OT - 6-foot-9, 285 - Elkhorn, NE - 4 Stars

2. 11/17/2019 - Henry Lutovsky - OG - 6-foot-6, 310 - Mt. Pleasant, IA - 3 Stars

3. 1/2/2020 - Randolph Kpai - ILB - 6-foot-3, 190 - Sioux Falls, SD - 3 Stars

4. 4/27/2020 - Branson Yager - OT - 6-foot-8, 320 - Grantsville, Utah - 3 Stars

5. 5/1/2020 - Patrick Payton - OLB - 6-foot-5, 205 - Miami, FL - 3 Stars

6. 5/9/2020 - Heinrich Haarberg - QB - 6-foot-5, 192 - Kearney, NE - 3 Stars

7. 5/29/2020 - Shawn Hardy II - WR - 6-foot-3, 190 - Kingsland, GA - 3 Stars

8. 6/6/2020 - Seth Malcom - ILB - 6-foot-3, 205 - Tabor, IA - 3 Stars

9. 6/23/20 - Gabe Ervin - RB - 6-foot-1, 205 - Buford, GA - 3 Stars

10. 7/4/20 - Latrell Neville - WR - 6-foot-4, 190 - Houston, TX - 4 Stars

11. 7/7/20 - Lardarius Webb Jr. - CB - 5-foot-10, 170 - Jackson, MS - 3 Stars

12. 7/18/20 - Marques Buford - DB - 6-foot, 190 - Oakdale, CT - 3 Stars

13. 7/21/20 - Malik Williams - DB - 5-foot-11, 180 - Buford, GA - 3 Stars

14. 8/16/20 - Kamonte Grimes - WR - 6-foot-3, 200 - Naples, FL - 3 Stars

15. 8/24/20 - Koby Bretz - DB - 6-foot-2, 195 - Omaha, NE - 3 Stars

16. 8/26/20 - Thomas Fidone - TE - 6-foot-5, 223 - Council Bluffs, IA - 4 Stars

17. 8/28/20 - A.J. Rollins - TE - 6-foot-6, 230 - Omaha, NE - 3 Stars

18. 9/4/20 - Mikai Gbayor - LB - 6-foot-2, 220 - Irvington, NJ - 3 Stars

19. 10/12/20 - James Carnie - TE - 6-foot-5, 225 - Firth, NE - 3 Stars

9. 2021 commits by position

1 - Quarterback

1 - Running back

3 - Wide receiver

3 - Tight end

3 - Offensive linemen

0 - Defensive tackle

0 - Defensive end

1 - Outside linebacker

3 - Inside linebacker

2 - Safety

2 - Cornerback

0 - Athlete

0 - Special teams

10. Where are they from?

5 - Nebraska

3 - Georgia

3 - Iowa

2 - Florida

1 - Connecticut

1 - Mississippi

1 - New Jersey

1 - South Dakota

1 - Texas

1 - Utah

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