Relationships were the deciding factor for Henrich
When Scott Frost and Barrett Ruud got to Nebraska in December, they immediately made Omaha Burke linebacker Nick Henrich a recruiting priority.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Henrich held more scholarship offers (21) than any recruit from the state of Nebraska in the modern Rivals.com recruiting era.
Frost and company did not want another Noah Fant, Drew Ott, Bryson Williams or Harrison Phillips type situation. They had to win this recruiting battle to send an early message what it’s going to be like for outside schools recruiting the state of Nebraska, and that work paid off. Henrich made his commitment official to the Huskers Saturday night on Twitter.
“Honestly, I think it’s the relationships with the coaches,” Omaha Burke head coach Paul Limongi said on why the Huskers won out. “I think (Henrich) really enjoyed visiting with coach (Barrett) Ruud. I think he feels he’s going to be able to learn a lot from them. They just clicked from the very get-go. I know Nick really loves the strength staff down there about keeping the athletes healthy, stronger and ready to go. I think it was the relationship with the coaches and he thinks it’s a great fit down there.”
Henrich held offers from the likes of LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, Penn State, Notre Dame and Oregon, but it was arguably Iowa and Wisconsin that presented the biggest challenge to the Big Red.
The Badgers had Lincoln Southeast’s Bryson Williams working in their corner, while Henrich’s father played tennis at the University of Iowa, and the Hawkeyes were the team he grew up watching.
“I know he really enjoyed his visits to Wisconsin,” Limongi said. “I know Iowa was right up there as well.”
In the end, it was Ruud, Frost and strength coach Zach Duval that were the difference makers for the Big Red.
NU was relentless with their approach in recruiting Henrich, and when his final unofficial visit to Lincoln in June went well into the evening, you knew it was a good sign for the Huskers. He also opted not to visit Iowa for the final June recruiting weekend after his visit to Lincoln that week.
“I think they worked very hard to get him,” Limongi said of the Nebraska staff’s recruitment of Henrich. “They decided at the very beginning that he’s one of the big recruits in the state that they must get to get their program rolling. I think their hard work and dedication to get him paid off because we as a coaching staff and a Burke football family believe Nebraska is very lucky to have him.
“Nebraska did their job and made Nick feel very comfortable about the next phase in his life. I know it was a tough decision, but I also know Nick is fully committed to Nebraska, and he’s going to make a tremendous Husker.”
As for overall character, Limongi said you're not going to find many better than Henrich, who also boasts a 4.4 GPA in the classroom.
He’s now the fourth in-state prospect to commit to NU this year, and the 13th overall commitment in the class of 2019. He’s Nebraska’s eighth verbal commitment they’ve landed for the class of 2019 since June 1.
“He’s just something else,” Limongi said of Henrich. “There are so many characteristics that are positive about him that it’s truly unbelievable. He’s just a very respectful, courteous kid to begin with. He’s such a nice kid that’s liked by everybody. He’s got a great personality, and he’s a tremendous leader, but he also has a side to him where he’s very competitive, and he works extremely hard and wants to be the very best he can be.
“Whether that be in the classroom or on the football field, he does a great job of being elite at both. He just has the ‘it’ factor. When it comes to football he’s fast, he’s aggressive, he has a great nose for the football, he’s savvy, and he’s tough heck. He just has it all. He just has to keep getting better and continue to work on his game. I know he’s very proud of his leadership ability as well. He makes others better just being around him.”