Hey everybody, today I'm going to analyze and give my opinions about Nebraska's 2015 Recruiting Class. The Huskers finished at number 31 in the nation, according to ESPN, and signed 20 recruits. I'm never one to look much into the number of stars a recruit receives, but they are given for a reason.
The highest rated recruit in the Huskers' class was 4 star Offensive Guard Jalin Barnett out of Lawton, Oklahoma. He was rated as the number 76 prospect in the nation on ESPN's 300 list, and the number 4 overall Guard. Jalin is a needed recruit as our experienced offensive line is graduating 3 seniors, all from the interior of the line (Jake Cotton LG, Mark Pelini C, and Mike Moudy RG). Nebraska has a good stock of interior linemen on the roster right now, but adding a four star guard never hurts. I believe that Jalin will be a key piece to the Pipeline a couple years down the road. Other Offensive Line recruits include OG Michael Decker, OT Christian Gaylord, and LS Jordan Ober.
The next highest rated recruit in Nebraska's class is 4 star Defensive Back Eric Lee from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He was rated number 144 on ESPN's 300. Lee is already enrolled in the Spring Semester at UNL, and was rated as the number 1 prospect out of Colorado. Lee could make an impact fairly soon for the Huskers in my opinion. Depending on how fast he learns the defensive scheme that Coach Riley and his staff brings in, I expect to see him a lot on special teams and maybe as a third or second string at safety if he is not red-shirted. With Nebraska graduating Senior DB Josh Mitchell, along with 3 other Senior Defensive Backs, I believe that Lee will definitely get a chance at playing time if he proves it in practice. Losing 2 Seniors in the secondary will be tough to replace, but the Huskers signed 3 other DB/S prospects including Avery Anderson, who is also enrolled in the Spring Semester at UNL. The other 2 prospects are Antonio Reed & Aaron Williams.
Stanley Morgan was the 3rd highest rated prospect in the class. Morgan is number 243 on ESPN's 300 and is rated as the number 28 Wide Receiver in the nation. I believe that Stanley is a very important piece of the recruiting class. Nebraska has a fairly deep Wide Receiving corps, but it was plagued with injuries to major role players last year. Jamal Turner tore his Achilles early in the season, Sam Burtch tore his ACL, Brenden Riley had hamstring issues all season, and Kenny Bell had issues with his groin. Wide Receiving corps need to be deep with this amount of injuries. Kenny Bell is the only graduating Senior with Jamal Turner getting a medical red-shirt so he can come back next year. Morgan will be a key wideout in the seasons to come. Other skill players on the offensive side that were signed this year include WR Lavan Alston, RB Devine Ozigbo, and TE Matt Snyder. It was a pretty small class on the offensive side of the ball, but the Huskers are fairly young on the offensive side of the ball.
Nebraska signed a total of 4 defensive linemen in this class. The twins Carlos & Khalil Davis are the two big men in the middle with Alex Davis and big in-state sign DaiShon Neal on the ends. Neal was pursued heavily by a number of other schools including Michigan, but Coach Riley and his staff were able to hold them off to keep the Omaha playmaker. Speaking of playmakers, the other 3 kids are nothing to shake a stick at. Carlos & Khalil Davis are some big Defensive Tackles out of Blue Springs Missouri. They will add some needed depth to a very thin front 4 of the Blackshirts. Finally, one of the farthest kids of the recruiting class is Alex Davis out of Palm Beach Garden, Florida. Alex is a little on the small side at only 220lbs., but his 6'5 length gives him a little bit of a Randy Gregory build. Obviously those are some big shoes to fill, but he adds some needed depth along with great speed. He doesn't have much experience since he's only played football for one year, but has a lot of raw talent to go along with his length.
The most important position in the Huskers' recruiting class was the Linebacker. The Huskers signed a total of 4 Linebackers, including Dedrick Young who has also enrolled early for the Spring Semester at Nebraska. The four Linebackers are from all over the nation, Young is from Arizona, Mohamed Barry is from Georgia, Tyrin Ferguson out of Louisiana, and Adrienne Talan out of Florida. Linebacker is the weakest position for the Huskers, and needs a big jump in talent to help raise the level of play. Talan was the last recruit to sign with the Huskers, making his choice on signing day. These 4 men will help provide some much needed depth to the Linebacking corps of the Blackshirts.
That's my analysis and thoughts on the 2015 Recruiting Class. Hopefully some of these recruits can make some major impacts on the field. Please comment if you have any thoughts or questions! Until next time, GO BIG RED!
Alex Fernando
#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
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