Jimari Butler commitment: What does it mean for Nebraska?

Nebraska has stayed hot on the defensive side of the ball Jimari Butler committed on Monday.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound outside linebacker out of Mobile (Ala.) Murphy announced his commitment over social media just over a week removed from taking his official visit to Lincoln. Butler committed to NU over offers from TCU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Indiana, Maryland, Kansas and several others. Butler becomes the 19th known verbal commit for Nebraska's 2020 recruiting class.

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

1. Talk about making an overhaul at the outside linebacker position. The addition of Butler now gives NU four outside linebackers in the 2020 class with room reserved for one more in Kaden Johnson.

2. Not only have the Huskers addressed some major needs at the outside linebacker position by taking at least four players between the two spots thus far, I've liked how they have gone about doing it. Of the four current commits, two are JUCO prospects that will have at least three years of eligibility remaining in Junior Aho and Niko Cooper while the other two (Butler and Blaise Gunnerson) are coming into the program from high school. Aho and Gunnerson are more stout already weighing in at 250-pounds or more while Cooper and Butler are both longer, lean-bodied players are 6-foot-4 225 and 210-pounds respectively. This approach helps to break up the scholarship distribution and also allows the high school prospects some extra time to develop should they need it once they get to Lincoln.

3. Tip your hat to the job Nebraska did of getting in on Butler at the right time. Erik Chinander has done a great job of recruiting Alabama since coming to Nebraska with Scott Frost and he got on Butler just as he was starting to blow up his senior year. Even though Butler made a commitment to Tennessee, Chinander was able to get him on campus for an official visit which eventually led to securing the commitment.

4. Butler has a great frame at 6-foot-4, 210-pounds. Zach Duval and the staff in the weight room are going to love working with Butler as he's essentially a blank canvas. The latest Husker commit had been focused on basketball until deciding to go out for football his senior year. I have a feeling Butler will look like a totally different person a year from now.

5. Even though Butler had been a basketball guy prior to his senior year he didn't play like one on the field. Butler is a great pass rusher and is only scratching the surface of his potential. He has a a great first step off the line and is an overall explosive athlete. He's as twitchy as any pass rusher the Huskers have landed for 2020 and maybe even the last few classes as well.

6. While speed is the name of Butler's game right now, that's not the only thing he has going for him. He obviously has nice length, but he also knows how to use it to his advantage. He uses his hands surprisingly well for someone that hasn't played a lot of football, too. On top of that, he plays with a very nice motor showing the willingness and ability to take things down from the backside of the play as well as down the field. There's always room for high effort, high upside players in your program.

7. The state of Alabama has suddenly become a pretty fertile ground for the Huskers under Frost. NU has now landed five players from the state over the last three classes including Butler and quarterback commit Logan Smothers so far in this class. Look for that trend to continue to grow in the future and guys like Butler, Smothers and Cam Taylor-Britt will only help to land more down the road.

1. 7/26/2018 - Logan Smothers - QB - 6-foot-1, 180 - Athens, Ala. - 4 Stars

2. 4/3/2019 - Zavier Betts - WR - 6-foot-3, 190 - Bellevue, Neb. - 4 Stars

3. 4/13/2019 - Turner Corcoran - OT - 6-foot-6, 270 - Lawrence, Kan. - 4 Stars

4. 6/23/2019 - Tamon Lynum - CB - 6-foot-2, 177 - Orlando, Fla. - 3 Stars

5. 6/24/2019 - Alex Conn - OL - 6-foot-6, 275 - Derby, Kan. - 3 Stars

6. 6/29/2019 - Nash Hutmacher - DL - 6-foot-5, 305 - Chamberlain, S.D. - 3 Stars

7. 7/2/2019 - Blaise Gunnerson - OLB - 6-foot-5, 250 - Carroll, IA - 3 Stars

8. 7/8/2019 - Will Nixon - WR - 5-foot-11, 185 - Waco, TX - 3 Stars

9. 8/21/2019 - Sevion Morrison - RB - 6-foot, 190 - Tulsa, OK - 4 Stars

10. 8/24/2019 - Marvin Scott III - RB - 5-foot-9, 195 - Port Orange, FL - 3 Stars

11. 9/19/2019 - Henry Gray - CB - 6-foot-1, 185 - Miami, FL - 4 Stars

12. 10/8/2019 - Ronald Delancy - CB - 5-foot-11, 165 - Miami, FL - 3 Stars

13. 10/12/2019 - Marquis Black - DL - 6-foot-4, 280 - McDonough, GA - 3 Stars

14. 11/26/2019 - Junior Aho - OLB - 6-foot-3, 245 - Roswell, NM (France) - 2 Stars

15. 12/11/2019 - Eteva Mauga - ILB - 6-foot-2, 220 - Pleasant Hill, CA (Am. Samoa) - 4 Stars

16. 12/13/2019 - Omar Manning - WR - 6-foot-3, 215 - Kilgore (Texas) J.C. - 4 Stars

17. 12/15/2019 - Keyshawn Greene - ILB - 6-foot-2, 210 - Crawfordville, FL - 4 Stars

18. 12/15/2019 - Niko Cooper - OLB - 6-foot-4, 225 - Hutchinson, KS (Memphis, TN) - 3 Stars

19. 12/16/2019 - Jimari Butler - OLB - 6-foot-4, 210 - Mobile, AL - 3 Stars

1 - Quarterback

2 - Running back

3 - Wide receiver

0 - Tight end

2 - Offensive linemen

2 - Defensive tackle

0 - Defensive end

4 - Outside linebacker

2 - Inside linebacker

3- Defensive back

0 - Athlete

0 - Special teams

Florida - 5

Alabama - 2

Kansas - 2

Texas - 2

American Samoa - 1

France - 1

Georgia - 1

Iowa - 1

Nebraska - 1

Oklahoma - 1

South Dakota - 1

Tennessee - 1