Relationships key for Lindsey picking Huskers
Rivals100 wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey out of Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman surprised a lot of people earlier in the week when he decommitted from Ohio State. He may have surprised just as many people Saturday as he announced he was committing to Nebraska.
The Huskers may have come in just behind the Buckeyes for Lindsey in August, but it appears they will be the ones signing him on February 1. The recruiting process and the decisions that came with it weren’t easy according to Lindsey and he says at the end of the day it came down to relationships.
“The main thing was just the relationship with the coaches and, of course, the way they showed me love,” Lindsey said. “When I called them up and told them I was committing every single coach on the staff talked to me, ‘Congratulations, we can’t wait for you to get up here. We’re glad you decided to come here.’ It was just all around love and I’m just thankful to be a Nebraska Cornhusker now.”
Lindsey felt the ‘love’ from all the coaches on Nebraska’s staff, even newly hired cornerbacks coach Donte Williams who conducted an in-home visit with Lindsey on Friday. However, the tightest relationship was with his lead recruiter and future position coach, Keith Williams.
Not only did Keith Williams consistently recruit him hard for nearly two straight years, but he also has the track record of developing talented athletes into skilled receivers which was a big draw according to Lindsey.
“Me and (Keith Williams), we go way back since my junior year when he had reached out to me and offered me,” Lindsey said. “So ever since then he has been in contact with me, even when I was committed to Ohio State. He has never lost confidence in me and never lost confidence in himself in getting me there. My relationship with Coach Dub has just been amazing and we haven’t ever stopped talking ever since (he offered me). Me being able to be recruited by a guy like that shows me that he’s going to take care of me when I get up there.
“Of course, I did my research on him as a coach and I’ve seen all of the multiple people that come back and train with Coach Dub. Multiple people have influenced me with getting with him, talking with him and I’ve just always been hearing great things about him.
“Like I said, I feel like I made the right decision with picking the right school and I’m just ready to go to work with Coach Dub.”
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Lindsey says another factor was that there will be some familiar faces in Lincoln with him as former 7-on-7 teammates Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and Tristan Gebbia are already on campus as early enrollees.
“That definitely played a role,” Lindsey said about Johnson Jr. and Gebbia being at Nebraska. “I’ve been talking to Tristan about it for a while, ever since I’ve been thinking about it, it’s been on my mind and he was like, ‘No matter what Tyjon, I’ll always love you and you will always be a brother to me. You just have to realize what we had when we were on the same 7-on-7 team. I would get you the ball and we would just do damage together.’
“I just kept reminiscing about those moments when I was on the field with him and I only reminisced about great things. So now I know there’s great things ahead of us at Nebraska.”
Now that Lindsey has finalized his recruitment, he says he will put his recruiting hat on for the Huskers and expects some other talented players will be taking the same path as he.
“I definitely see this as an opportunity now for me to be a leader in helping other players out there follow their dreams and hearts to Nebraska,” Lindsey said. “Of course, I’m going to try and get other great players to follow me. I can’t release the news yet, but I’ve got a couple guys coming with me.”
Lindsey says he will be taking his official visit to Nebraska on the weekend of January 27 and will sign with the Huskers on February 1 at Bishop Gorman.
