Jacory Barney Jr. was down to three schools – Miami, Nebraska, Texas A&M – and appeared destined to stay home and pick the Hurricanes.
But Barney had other plans.
Barney, a four-star receiver out of Miami Palmetto, pulled off a shocker on Saturday night, announcing his commitment to Nebraska to give the Huskers their 23rd overall pledge in the Class of 2024.
He is the team's fourth four-star commitment in the class as he joins tight ends Carter Nelson and Ian Flynt and receiver Dae'vonn Hall.
Barney, the state of Florida's No. 44-ranked recruit and the No. 18-ranked athlete nationally, is the Huskers' fourth receiver commitment in the class. He will team up with Hall, Isaiah McMorris and Quinn Clark.
Analysis: Florida four-star WR Jacory Barney commits to Huskers
Barney took an official visit to Nebraska from June 2-4 for the Huskers' first weekend of OVs under head coach Matt Rhule. The Huskers made a strong impression on him during that visit, led by receivers coach Garret McGuire and assistant Phil Simpson – a defensive quality control coach who coached at Florida high schools for nine years, including one season at Miami Palmetto.
Also helping in the recruits efforts were current Huskers Dwight Bootle II and Corey Collier Jr. – both Nebraska defensive backs and former stars at Palmetto – plus Nebraska 2024 commit Willis McGahee IV, who played at Palmetto before transferring to Miami's Columbus High School for his senior year.
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In all, Nebraska did a good job in recruiting Barney in the weeks leading up to that visit and gained some substantial momentum after his trip to Lincoln.
Barney, however, followed that visit with a 7-on-7 camp on Miami's campus, an official visit to Texas A&M and, ultimately, the Hurricanes got his final official visit during the last weekend of June. He set his commitment date shortly after that visit, and all signs pointed toward Mario Cristobal's program keeping Barney home.
But a last-minute change-of-heart ensued, resulting in a big-time win for Rhule, McGuire, Simpson and the Huskers' 2024 class.
The addition of the 6-foot, 165-pound four-star prospect gives Nebraska 23 total commitments in the class and marks the team's 14th commitment in the last 14 days.
Barney is the 10th receiver commitment for Rhule and McGuire when combining the 2023 and 2024 cycles. He is the staff's fifth pledge out of Florida as he joins McGahee in 2024, plus Bootle, Syncere Safeeullah and Cameron Lenhardt in 2023.
Nebraska's hot run in June saw the 2024 class surge from being in the high 30s in the national recruiting rankings all the way up to No. 15 in the country. Barney's commitment on the first day of July is the latest boost as the Huskers (1640 points) pulled to within 51 points of No. 13 Clemson (1691) and No. 14 Tennessee (1663) and increased their lead over Minnesota (1503) for the No. 4 class in the Big Ten.
Insider's Board: Discuss the Huskers' addition of Jacory Barney Jr. and debate who will be Nebraska's next commitment
