Koby Bretz commit: What does it mean for Nebraska?

Nebraska landed a verbal commitment from a key in-state prospect on Tuesday in Koby Bretz.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound defensive back picked the Huskers over offers from Kansas State, Buffalo, Wyoming, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and Ohio with more teams showing interest by the week. With the decision, Bretz becomes the 15th known verbal commit for Nebraska's 2021 recruiting class.

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

1. Nebraska continues to try and lock down its borders. It hasn't always been easy for head coach Scott Frost and his staff to keep the best players in the state home, but it's definitely something they have worked hard at. Keeping Omaha Westside defensive back Koby Bretz home is another victory for the Huskers in that regard. The commitment of Bretz now gives NU three in-state commitments for the Class of 2021 along with Teddy Prochazka and Heinrich Haarberg.

2. While the Huskers just offered Bretz within the last few days, they've been recruiting him for a very long time now. Credit goes out to Barrett Ruud and Frost for really establishing that relationship and setting things up for an eventual commitment as soon as that official offer happened.

3. Bretz's recruitment was slower than most prospects that have similar size and athleticism. Most of that was due to the fact that he had some ground to make up in school before a lot of college programs were going to feel comfortable extending an offer. To Bretz's credit, he worked extremely hard in the classroom his junior year and again this summer with several summer school courses.

4. Bretz is not your typical in-state Husker commit. Before playing football for Westside, Bretz was actually a state champion diver. His junior season was his first extensive playing time where he played safety and some wide receiver for the Warriors and you could see him getting better and better each week. As far as underclassmen go, I came away most impressed with Bretz each of the three times I was able to watch Westside play in person last season. That's saying something considering the amount of DI players that are returning for them this fall.

5. The Huskers are adding a big, versatile athlete to its defense in Bretz. He stands a legit 6-foot-2 and is weighing over 200-pounds at the moment. He has a great frame and length to work with as he continues to mature and develop. It's safe to say that Bretz has the speed to play safety and the frame to possibly grow into an outside linebacker down the road. A similar path that players like Luke Gifford and Javin Wright have taken as Huskers.

6. One of the traits I like the most about Bretz is just how physical he is. You can have all the size and speed in the world, but if you're not willing to play the game with a physical style then you're only going to go so far with it, especially on the defensive side of the football. As a safety, Bretz gets downhill in a hurry to help in run support and isn't afraid to lay a big hit on a would be receiver in the passing game. Westside had one of the most physical duos in the state last season as 2020 walk-on Grant Tagge and Bretz punished people all season long.

7. Bretz isn't an overly flashy guy. He doesn't run his mouth and he doesn't need to as his play does his talking for him. Those traits are part of the reason why he didn't waste a bunch of time stringing people along with his decision after Nebraska offered. Kansas State was recruiting him as hard or harder than anyone and there were also a number of other schools that were coming into the picture. He landed his offer from Frost on Friday night and placed the call to commit to him by Sunday evening.

The Huskers now have two safety commits to go along with two cornerback commits in this class. They will likely take one more corner before being able to close out recruiting for the defensive back class unless it becomes clear that Bretz is definitely going to grow into an outside linebacker at the next level.

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

1 - Quarterback

1 - Running back

3 - Wide receiver

0 - Tight end

3 - Offensive linemen

0 - Defensive tackle

0 - Defensive end

1 - Outside linebacker

2 - Inside linebacker

2 - Safety

2 - Cornerback

0 - Athlete

0 - Special teams

3 - Georgia

3 - Nebraska

2 - Florida

2 - Iowa

1 - Connecticut

1 - Mississippi

1 - South Dakota

1 - Texas

1 - Utah