Jordon Riley commitment: What does it mean for Nebraska?

Nebraska took a big step in strengthening its defensive line class with its latest commitment coming from Jordon Riley.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive tackle out of Garden City (Kan.) C.C. announced his commitment over social media on Tuesday. The North Carolina bounceback committed to the Big Red over East Carolina and becomes the 21st known commitment in the 2020 class.

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

1. Ryan Held strikes again. The Huskers assistant coach's latest commit comes from Jordon Riley out of Garden City C.C. Not only does Held recruit the state of Kansas, but he is essentially in charge of all JUCO recruiting for the Huskers. Riley's commitment now gives NU five JUCO players in its 2020 class with four of the five coming in to play defense for the Big Red.

2. Nebraska has some promising young defensive linemen on its roster. However, the Huskers lose five seniors due to graduation, three of which were starters from this past season. With that being the case, it was imperative for Nebraska to add an older, more mature player into the mix and Riley fits the bill.

3. Not only will Riley bring size and a more physically developed body at 6-foot-5, 300-pounds to the mix, but he will also bring some D-I experience as well. The North Carolina native signed with the North Carolina Tarheels out of high school in 2017 where he was ranked as the No. 25 defensive tackle in the country and had offers from UNC, Mississippi State, Tennessee, N.C. State and several others. He played in a handful of games at UNC as a true freshman before transferring to Garden City.

4. Riley is big and strong enough to anchor down the nose guard position in Nebraska's 3-man front. He does a good job of eating up space and taking on double teams. Defensive line coach Tony Tuioti wants his interior linemen to require "four hands" from the offensive linemen to block them and Riley should command that.

5. The big defensive lineman also has enough athleticism and versatility to play some defensive end in certain situations which should give Tuioti some flexibility in his defensive line rotation. Riley comes to Nebraska with two seasons of eligibility remaining. That gives NU's defensive line a core group of juniors comprised of Riley, Jahkeem Green, Deontre Thomas, Damion Daniels and Chris Walker for next season.

6. Riley's commitment gives the Huskers three interior defensive linemen in the class to go along with high school signees Nash Hutmacher and Marquis Black. Not only does his addition lock up the needs at the position for 2020, but it also takes some pressure off of the high school newcomers to be needed to play right away.

7. Riley is a powerful presence inside with nice length. He will have to keep working on his pad level, but when he's the low man he can be very disruptive. He recorded 26 tackles, 3.5 TFL and had two sacks for Garden City this past season where his play earned him second-team All-Jayhawk League honors.

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

20. 12/16/2019 - Isaac Gifford - ATH - 6-foot-1, 195 - Lincoln, NE - 3 Stars

21. 12/17/2019 - Jordon Riley - DL - 6-foot-5, 300 - Garden City, KS (Durham, NC) - 3 Stars

1 - Quarterback

2 - Running back

3 - Wide receiver

0 - Tight end

2 - Offensive linemen

3 - Defensive tackle

0 - Defensive end

4 - Outside linebacker

2 - Inside linebacker

3- Defensive back

1 - Athlete

0 - Special teams

Florida - 5

Alabama - 2

Kansas - 2

Nebraska - 2

Texas - 2

American Samoa - 1

France - 1

Georgia - 1

Iowa - 1

North Carolina - 1

Oklahoma - 1

South Dakota - 1

Tennessee - 1