Advertisement
football Edit

The 3-2-1: The final steps in building the 2022 roster begin

We discuss the final steps of building Nebraska's 2022 roster and more in this week's 3-2-1 column.

Advertisement

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED THIS WEEK 

1 - Portal visits begin this week for Nebraska

The final steps of building the 2022 football roster for Nebraska begin this weekend when the Huskers host a pair of Alabama players from the transfer portal.

Defensive lineman Stephon Wynn and defensive back Kaine Williams will be in Lincoln for their official visits starting Friday HuskerOnline has confirmed.

Would the Huskers be able to take both players based on their current needs and numbers situation?

Today, there still needs to be some roster maintenance that takes place in order to add any new players for 2022.

NU technically sits at 85 players on scholarship, meaning additional players would have to move on or be placed on medical scholarship in order to make any new additions.

Also, what is the number? How many transfer portal players might Nebraska add in the next month?

I think the safe bet is between three and five. The only way I see them going higher than three is if it's a no-brainer addition.

I think we are also learning there are not very many "sure things" in the portal at this point, particularly on the offensive line.

2 - Huskers wisely offered Ainsworth's Carter Nelson

The window to offer 2024 Ainsworth tight end Carter Nelson was closing quickly.

Iowa State already made Nelon's first offer in April. Kansas made the second offer on Wednesday before the Huskers came in.

This is the right move. Nelson is a specimen. Is he a tight end? A defensive edge player? I don't know.

But what I do know is there are very few 6-foot-4, 205 sophomores in high school that run 11.0, throw the discus 175-0, high jump 7-0 and pole vault 13-8.

It is probably only a matter of time before Iowa comes in with an offer as well.

3 - We saw some monster numbers put up at Class A district track 

District track wrapped up this week. On Tuesday, Class A districts took place. There were several notable marks put up by 2022, 2023 and 2024 football recruits/prosepcts. Here's a few that jumped off the page.

Class A district track standouts
Athlete  Top marks  HOL take 

Jaylen Lloyd

Omaha Central

2023 - WR/DB

100 - 10.43

200 - 21.32

Long jump - 24-6

Triple jump - 48-0

The Central standout is transferring to Omaha Westside. He picked up a Northern Iowa offer from Joe Ganz after these numbers became public.

Malachi Coleman

Lincoln East

2023 - ATH

100 - 10.46

200 - 21.31

Triple jump - 46-4 1/4

400 relay - 42.63

How many 6-5, 180-pound guys have numbers like this? Coleman is expected to take an official to Nebraska in June.

Zane Flores

Gretna

2023 - QB

Triple jump - 42-7 3/4

The Oklahoma State QB recruit shows he's much more than a non-mobile quarterback. That is elite-level explosion in the triple jump.

Vince Genatone

North Platte

2022 - LB

100 - 10.50

400 relay - 42.47

Genatone signed with Montana. He'll probably be the state athlete of the year. Will Nebraska regret this one?

AJ Jones

Creighton Prep

2023 - WR

100 - 10.56

200 - 22.21

Creighton Prep's A.J. Jones was not on my radar, but numbers like this will get you on anyone's radar.

L.J. Richardson

Bellevue West

2022 - RB

100 - 10.77

200 - 22.49

400 relay - 42.36

Craig Bohl and his staff feel really good about signing Richardson.

Collin Fritton

Lincoln SW

2023 - ATH

100 - 10.90


Fritton will be Lincoln Southwest's quarterback for the third year in a row, but he projects more as a safety at the next level.

Sam Cappos

Lincoln East

2023 - OL/DL

Shot - 60-1

Discus - 172-6

The son of Nebraska's former throwers coach probably projects as a defensive tackle. He's got great speed to at his size.

J'Dyn Bullion

Omaha Central

2023 - ATH/LB

Shot - 50-3 1/2

Discus - 169-10

Bullion is expected to leave Central for Bellevue West. As a LB prospect, he's put up great marks the last two years in the throws.

Gunnar Gottula

Lincoln SE

2023 - OL

Shot - 50-3 1/2

Discus - 135-03

The Husker commit made state in the shot put.

Beni Ngoyi

Lincoln High

2023 - WR

High jump - 6-1

I was surprised to see Ngoyi only do one event on Tuesday.

Dae'vonn Hall

Bellevue West

2024 - WR

100 - 10.98

High jump - 6-1

400 relay - 42.36

The top prospect in Nebraska for 2024 qualified for three events at state.

Christian Jones

Omaha Burke

2025 - LB

Shot put - 46-5 1/2

400 relay - 44.07

1600 relay - 3:31.33

The freshman at Burke will play for Omaha Westside in 2022. Jones ran the anchor on the 1600 meter relay team that qualified for state.

2024 QB Dylan Raiola committed to Ohio State this week.
2024 QB Dylan Raiola committed to Ohio State this week. (Sean Callahan)

TWO QUESTIONS THIS WEEK 

1 - What do you make of the new NIL rules put down this week?

The NCAA wants to clamp down on NIL and boosters getting involved in the recruiting process. So what does it mean for collectives going forward?

The big thing I think is you are no longer going to see collectives talking to recruits before they sign.

Can collectives still be involved with teams going forward? Absolutely. I think they will still have a big role once players are on campus, but my sense is the NCAA is trying to shut down prospects meeting with multiple collectives fishing out what school has the best situation for them financially.

2 - What was your take on Dylan Raiola's commitment to Ohio State?

2024 Chandler (Ariz.) quarterback Dylan Raiola committing to Ohio State is a blow for Nebraska. Not very often is arguably the nation's top HS recruit going to be a Husker legacy.

However, nobody should be surprised. I always thought the only chance NU had was if Raiola chose to wait until after the 2022 college football season. If the Huskers have a good season, that would have been their chance to be in the discussion.

With that said, nobody can fault him for having schools like Ohio State, USC and Georgia ahead of Nebraska in May of 2022.

Nebraska is expected to have a very busy June with official visitors.
Nebraska is expected to have a very busy June with official visitors. (Sean Callahan)

ONE PREDICTION: 30+ official visitors in May/June 

Call it the Vince Guinta effect. Nebraska seems much more organized with its recruiting plan for the month of June than in years past under Frost.

I've already been able to confirm several official visitors coming in this month. Today, I predict you will see over 30 official visitors between the months of May and June. The Huskers will host prospects the next seven out of eight weekends.


Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and he can be heard each day at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week he appears on NET's Big Red Wrap-Tuesday's at 7 pm.

Advertisement