The Class of 2008 Comes Together
5 comments so far
February 7, 2008 by
The Huskers recruiting class of 2008 might be remembered as much for whom it didn’t include as for who it did. Among the decommits were five-star quarterback Blaine Gabbert, four-star running back Jonas Gray, four-star offensive linemen Trevor Robinson, Bryce Givens, and Dan Hoch, four-star linebacker Shaun Mohler, and five-star defensive end Simi Kuli.
But if you put aside what the class wasn’t, you see that it is a class that’s on par with the class of 2006 – a class that Bill Callahan had more than two seasons to prepare for. The class of 2006 was ranked 20th by Rivals.com and 29th by Scout.com. The class of 2008 appears likely to be ranked 21st by Scout.com and 30th by Rivals.com, an average of one notch below the 2006 group.
The class of 2006 had its share of high-profile decommits including quarterback Josh Freeman, defensive end Rulon Davis, and safety Ashlee Palmer. Much of the star power came in 2006 from the junior college ranks, including Carl Nicks, Maurice Purify, Andre Jones, Steve Allen, and Kenny Wilson. This year, the big names (i.e. players with four or more stars) are all freshman. They are offensive lineman Baker Steinkuhler, linebacker Will Compton, cornerback David Whitmore, and defensive end Josh Williams.
The Huskers were neediest at linebacker this year and grabbed four players at that spot including Compton, Alonzo Whaley, Sean Fisher, and Micah Kreikemeier. There are an additional five to seven walk-ons at linebacker that have also been announced.
Nebraska also lost four receivers to graduation and replaced them with Antonio Bell, Khiry Cooper, Tim Marlowe, and Steven Osborne. The Huskers also lost several defensive backs and reloaded with Alfonzo Dennard, John Levorson, Justin Rogers, P.J. Smith, and Whitmore. Additionally, Courtney Osborne is listed as an “athlete” and could presumably end up at wide receiver or defensive back. It also appears that Mason Wald will also join as a defensive back, but he was not announced with the rest of the 2008 class.
Nebraska added some muscle at the line of scrimmage (though it always seems like they could use more). In addition to Steinkuhler, they added Ricky Henry (a junior college player originally recruited out of Omaha Burke in 2006), David Grant, and Brandon Thompson on the offensive line. All four already have the bulk you look for in a lineman. Quentin Toailoa is the big defensive lineman, while defensive ends Josh Williams and Cameron Meredith will surely need a redshirt year to bulk up. The same can be said for tight end Ben Cotton. Halfback Kyler Reed is a little closer to game weight but would ideally gain 20 to 25 lbs. before taking on linebackers.
Tyson Hetzer is the big junior college tight end who’s already on campus and could contribute early if he can crack the depth chart. Quarterback Kody Spano is also already on campus but will have his hands full competing with the other scholarship quarterbacks. The running backs round out the class and include Lester Ward and Collins Okafor. They also sit behind a number of players at their position but recent history tells us that the Huskers could burn through that depth pretty quickly.
No the Huskers didn’t land the top class in the conference or even their own division. But they got a number of quality high school athletes at positions of need. It may lack sizzle, but it’s got plenty of raw material for Pelini and company to mold. And it spared the Huskers a lost recruiting season like they had in 2004 when they grabbed only 20 kids, a number of whom were clearly longshots (like Jordan Adams, Beau Davis, Marque McCray, Shamus McCoy, and Santino Panico). The Huskers didn’t lose a year, which is good because most Husker fans would agree that there’s no time to lose in building the Huskers back into a contender. And now Pelini has plenty of bricks.
» Enjoy this article?
Send it to your friend or subscribe to our free newsletter!
Related Stories: Recruiting
Post a comment
Bill in Iowa Feb 07 08
I like the looks of this class. We have some big bodies at reciever and tight end. A QB that can run and pass and is already on campus. I would have like to see some more DT's and OL's, but this staff did a first rate job to put this recuiting class together. None of these guys except Stienkhuler come with much noteriety, but these blue collar types of players also know they are going to have to work hard to earn their playing time. And along the way, the walk-ons will be breathing down their necks. This is the formula that TO has proven, recruit high character athletes with lots of potential and put them in an atmosphere of intense competition. The cream will rise to the top.
As Ron Brown said, we will know how good this class really is about two years down the road.
HuskerWooWoo Feb 07 08
I am happy with the way this recruiting season went. Obviously nobody knows what is going to come of it for a year or two or more, but it is promising. Not only promising with the kids who we did get but also promising in the way Pelini and the rest of the staff attacked the recruiting and the advances they did make. It's hard to win if you don't have the talent and the talent comes from recruiting. This staff has already shown they are committed to giving recruiting the importance it deserves.
NE2WA Feb 07 08
We'll find out about this class in 2-3 years. While it lacks a lot of the star power that the top rated classes have at Georgia, Alabama, Miami, etc. the raw talent only goes so far. The burden now shifts to the coaches to take the talent they have recruited and build those players into something even better. Bo has a history of doing just that. The top players on his LSU defense last year did not come in as 5-star players. While no one would be unhappy to land a whole bunch of those guys, what you do with them after they get to campus matters a whole lot more than what they did in high school.
DT Feb 07 08
NE2WA: While I agree with everyone here that I'm very pleased with the way the recruiting season finished and how much Pelini & staff were able to accomplish in January...I think drawing any comparison of this class to anything LSU's done in recruiting to the defensive side of the ball in recent years is quite a stretch.
As rated by Rivals:
LSU 2003 (Pittman-4*, Zenon-3*, Ali Highsmith signed w/Miami-3*)
LSU 2004 (Dorsey-4*, Favorite-4*, Sanders-4*, Steltz-4*, Chevis Jackson-3*, Tyson Jackson-3*, Tremaine Johnson-3*, Taylor-3*)
LSU 2005 (Jean-Francois-4*, Beckwith-4*, Hawkins-4*)
LSU 2006 (Woods-5*, Eugene-4*, McCray 3*, Cutrera-3*, Riley-3*, Sheppard-3*)
LSU 2007 (Chad Jones-5*)
Looking at the major contributors to Pelini's LSU defense in 2007, you can see that the number of 3* (including Highsmith) were closely comparable to the number of 4* & 5* combined (although that's when including a number of 3* reserves that sort of border on the fringe of the term "major contributor")...
5*=2
4*=9
3*=10
2*=0
But that's the point, they're at least comparable...
NU's new class has the following number of recruits heading to Lincoln to start their careers on the defensive side of the ball:
5*=0
4*=2
3*=9
2*=2
Kind of lopsided on the 3-4* range, don't you think...
I'm not trying to make the point that any of this makes any difference in the slightest...heck, I'm the first to admit that the current bunch of Blackshirt recruits could end up better than the group that Bo just coached to the MNC. But I've heard the same line of reasoning that you sort of alluded to a couple of times now from various sources (That Pelini's defensive unit at LSU was made up of similar under-the-radar and otherwise lower-ranked recruits like he's brought to his first class at Nebraska) and I just wanted to assert that such was not the case at all.
dawhusker Apr 18 08
After reading your piece on Cover 2, and reviewing some of our latest recruits, one name really jumps out, Mason Wald. On the highlight film i saw Wald looked incredible. You cant teach what he has as inate, and that is his ability to take the right angle to the play. The skill to mentally see where the ball is going to be, process the information, and act simultaneously to put you in that place, is a major talent of a top tier safety. Wald highlight reel shows this in spades. If you have not viewed it, take a look.
I look for this young man to emerge early, unless BP decides a red shirt him to maximize his time and contribution to the defense is in the teams best interest.