Nebraska lands DE Gregory

About a week ago Yuma (Ariz.) Arizona Western defensive end and former Purdue commit Randy Gregory talked about taking advantage of having a second chance to go through the recruiting process.

For the 6-foot-6, 235-pound pass rusher, part of that second chance included taking an official visit to Nebraska last weekend. It turns out that he and his father saw all they needed to in order to take the next step in his recruitment tonight after decommitting from Purdue earlier this week..

"I just talked to coach JP (defensive coordinator John Papuchis) and coach Rick Kaczenski and I told them that I wanted to be a Cornhusker," Gregory said about committing to Nebraska. "They were all fired up when I talked to them. They said I just made their day."

His latest conversation with the Nebraska coaching staff came less than a week after meeting with them in person while on his visit. Gregory said those meetings went a long way towards him ultimately pledging his commit for the Huskers today.

"My dad and I had a chance to sit down a really talk with coach Kaczenski and coach Bo Pelini," Gregory said about his meeting with the Husker coaches while on his visit. "We just talked about how they want to use me and they told me about their defensive system. Coach Pelini gave me a lot of motivation and the same with coach Kaczenski. I know that my dad really enjoyed his conversation with coach Bo also."

For Gregory, it was a combination of his experience in Lincoln and Purdue's recent struggles that ultimately led him to making the decision to become a Husker.

"It went perfect, it was more than I expected honestly," Gregory said about his visit to Nebraska. "The stadium atmosphere really stood out to me. That's the biggest crowd I've ever been in front of. The support is huge, from football to the academics. Everyone involved works with you and supports you. It's a football friendly town so just to see all of that with the atmosphere and the fan base was the best thing.

"I've been feeling a certain way about Purdue for a while now and I really hadn't made that move (to decommit) because I wanted to see if they'd make some improvement and some progress and it just doesn't look like it's happening. After seeing that beat down against Minnesota was real disappointing for me.

Gregory, who is sitting this season out due to breaking his fibula, had a chance to discuss the injury and his rehabilitation with the Nebraska medical staff during his visit.

"I got a chance to meet with their medical staff and they showed us their facility and everything," Gregory said. "They showed me what I would use if I was there and they talked to me about my injury. They gave me some tips and told me about some exercises that I can do to continue to get stronger from my injury."

Gregory's commitment to Nebraska is an important one for the Huskers as they recently parted ways with long time defensive end commit Christian LaCouture last week. Gregory is on track to graduate from Arizona Western in May and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

"I'm so happy to have made my decision," Gregory said. "I'm all in and ready to go. I'm going to be there in May and I can't wait to be a Cornhusker."

[rl]