Nebraska got good news on Wednesday morning when Gage Stenger from Omaha (Neb.) Millard South flipped on his commitment from Kansas State to the Huskers.
Stenger had been committed to Kansas State since June but picked up an offer from Nebraska last week and after a visit to Lincoln, he was convinced on what he needed to do.
“Nebraska has always been my dream school,” Stenger said. “They offered me last week and I knew that I had to take it into consideration. I have always wanted to play there. I ended up going down to Nebraska for a visit last Thursday and loved it.”
Nebraska respected Stenger's wishes around his commitment to Kansas State until the season started. The Huskers were definitely taking note of the best player on the top high school team in the state.
“I committed to Kansas State in June and Nebraska laid off contacting me until the start of the season," he said. "Then during the season they started to text me again and it really got serious again about two weeks ago.”
Stenger did the right thing and called the Kansas State coaches to de-commit and explain what he was doing. It wasn't easy and the Wildcats were certainly disappointed that they were losing him from their class.
“Kansas State is a great program with a great coaching staff,” Stenger said. “They weren’t very happy about me decommitting. I wanted to be as respectful as possible and tell them ahead of time but they didn’t like the news.”
It's a little open-ended where Stenger might play at Nebraska. He has a preference to play defense based on the path to getting on the field as quickly as he can.
“Kind of an athlete. Once I get there we can figure out what the best fit is. It’s really for defense but possibly quarterback," Stenger said. "I am thinking really about just playing defense. That would be my preference. I want to get on the field as soon as possible.
“It comes down to numbers. There is just one quarterback and four linebackers and even a nickel. Nebraska sees me playing the JoJo Domann spot and then depending on how my body develops they could see me at inside linebacker.”
Stenger wants to help out Nebraska as soon as he can. He has missed the extra time on the field this fall playing special teams after having played on all of them last season.
“I want to do anything I can to possibly help the team,” Stenger said. “If that means scout team or getting me in for some snaps next year then I will do what I can to help. I will play special teams too. I played all of the special teams last year and I miss it this year because I am playing quarterback.”
There were some rumors swirling about a significant injury for Stenger. He said that he is going to miss a game for some precautionary time off.
“I will not be playing this week. I am going to return for the game against Burke,” Stenger said.
Millard South head coach and former Husker Andy Means said on Wednesday he couldn't be happier for Stenger.
“He’s just a great Nebraska kid and it’s just exciting that he gets to go where he wanted to go all along,” Means said.
