866 days.
That’s how long four-star athlete/tight end Cameron Jurgens out of Beatrice had been committed to his home state school.
Wednesday, at long last, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound prospect was finally able to sign with Nebraska in front of more than a hundred friends, family members, teachers and coaches in the Beatrice high school gym.
“I’ve been a Husker for a long time and it’s crazy to think that now it’s official,” Jurgens said. “I’m on my way, but I’ve known this day’s been coming for a long time, so I’m just glad to be here.”
In a signing ceremony that included remarks from a Beatrice administrator, the head football coach and Jurgens himself, the crowd that packed into “The O-Zone” donned mostly Husker red. As Jurgens stood on his crutches surrounded by friends, the big smile would not fade from his face throughout the event.
The main event in a town of less than 13,000, football in Beatrice is a rallying cry. Even when Jurgens broke his fibula in October, the support for one of the best athletes to come out of Southeast Nebraska never wavered.
“Having everybody come out, and my friends and everything, there’s just so much support for me,” Jurgens said. “My entire family’s here and you know when you listen on the radio – on (Beatrice radio station) KWBE – it’s like the whole town is excited for me, and I’m excited to be able to be this for the town.”
Although most in Beatrice are satisfied with Jurgens picking the school right up Highway 77, the decision wasn’t always an easy one for him. The former Rivals250 prospect drew interest from a horde of Division 1 schools, including LSU and UCLA.
When Jurgens took an official visit to LSU last month, he hadn’t met with new Nebraska head coach Scott Frost in person yet. Even after Frost called him within the hour of UCF’s victory in the American Athletic Conference championship game, Beatrice football coach Kevin Meyer said Jurgens was still waffling between the Huskers and Tigers.
“(LSU) really liked him,” Meyer said. “He was really interested. I think he was kind of 50-50 after that visit, but I think after that, things happened fast and he thought things were going to be on pretty solid ground here. I think he made a great choice.”
Some of Jurgens’ coaches and teammates weren’t 100 percent sure he would pick up the Nebraska hat Wednesday, but when the crowd filed into the gym, there was only a singular red cap on the table. Because of a longstanding relationship with the old staff, Jurgens said a changing of the guard made him seriously reconsider his options.
“When Coach Riley got here, I grew a great relationship with their entire staff and I enjoyed them all, and so it was tough to see them go,” Jurgens said. “Going down (to LSU), I liked their offense, I liked their system and their coaches really wanted me.”
Jurgens’ raw athleticism made him a prime option for either offense or defense in many systems. Meyer, who was the defensive coordinator for the Orangemen before a promotion to head coach in May of 2016, likes Jurgens at linebacker and said UCLA was projecting him at the “Razor” position – a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker.
But Jurgens is confident in his football abilities within the ‘athlete’ designation, the position for which Frost recruited him. Even though his college choice came down to the final weeks, Nebraska’s first 2018 commit couldn’t have been happier to sign his letter of intent to his home state school.
“It was definitely a tough decision,” Jurgens said, “but after meeting Coach Frost and all the coaches on staff, I think the direction this football staff is headed and where we want to be, I’m just super excited to get in on the ground floor of it.
“After meeting Coach Frost and just talking to him only two times, there’s no doubt in my mind – I’m a Husker.”
