The Weekly Rundown: Nebraska continues to make a late push for two five-stars in the class of 2025

Nebraska continues to make a late push for two five-stars in the class of 2025.

We hit on that and more as we start your Monday with The Weekly Rundown column.

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Sure bets

You have to feel good about these things right now:

Nebraska’s late push on David Sanders Jr. and Michael Terry III: Tip your hat to Matt Rhule and Nebraska. They have made a strong July push here in recruiting to get five-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. and athlete Michael Terry III back on campus for a second visit.

Can the Huskers sell Terry III or Sanders enough to close the deal on either player? Getting Sanders on campus, even for a short window, was a major victory in itself.

Dylan Raiola’s value to Nebraska: Quarterback Dylan Raiola is a big reason the Huskers are in it with both Sanders Jr. and Terry III.

When a five-star quarterback leads the way in recruiting, you can’t put a price tag on its impact. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a recruit at Nebraska have the pull Raiola does to keep the Huskers in the game with two five-star-level players like Sanders Jr. and Terry III.

Raiola even organized a fan welcoming for Sanders when he arrived on Friday. Husker fans showed out, giving Sanders a five-star welcome to Lincoln.

Carter Nelson: Wide receiver Carter Nelson has been as good as advertised this summer from all reports. I have heard more reports about Nelson coming out of summer workouts than any newcomer who’s joined the team.

Nelson is in a position where he’s not only going to play as a freshman in 2024, but it appears he could have a significant role in the offense. One source I spoke with about Nelson said he’s a “match-up nightmare.”

Flipping WR Isaiah Mozee: I think most saw this coming for the last two weeks, but Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North wide receiver Isaiah Mozee appears likely to flip from Oregon to Nebraska in the coming days. All the reports from NU’s BBQ recruiting weekend event were very positive about Mozee.

Mozee’s father, Jamar, took a job on Rhule’s staff, where he will serve as an assistant wide receivers coach for the Huskers in 2024. This one seems like a no-brainer for all parties involved.

Surprises

These were my surprises of the week:

The NCAA’s decision to increase scholarship numbers across the board: We had a good idea the NCAA would be between 105 and 110 for future football roster sizes. I don’t think people were expecting the scholarship increases, though, in other sports.

Baseball went from 11.7 to 34 scholarships, wrestling from 10 to 30, golf from five to nine, and tennis from five to 10. The men’s track program will now have 45 available scholarships – up from 13.

Not every school can fully fund this many scholarships, but the ones that do will separate themselves in their perspective sports. I can’t imagine what some of the Olympic sports powerhouse programs will be able to do with these types of increases.

Grass at Memorial Stadium will not affect the future of the HS state championship games: Nebraska AD Troy Dannen said we could see grass in Memorial Stadium as early as 2026. Dannen also said switching to a grass surface will not impact playing six NSAA state championship football games in Memorial Stadium just days before a possible Iowa-Nebraska football game.

I was a little surprised to hear that, but Dannen is very confident that whatever NU does when they put in a grass surface, they can change it overnight if there is an issue.

Paul Finbaum’s odd attack on Matt Rhule: Why is ESPN’s Paul Finbaum mad at Matt Rhule for saying that he thinks the Big Ten can be a four-bid league in the new 12-team College Football Playoff?

It’s very plausible. After its automatic bid, seven at-large bids will be on the table each year. One would think Notre Dame will always be in a good position for one of them, leaving six more out there. In most years, the SEC and Big Ten will probably get five or six at-large bids, depending on the depth of ACC and Big 12.

The jury is still out

Questions still surround these things:

Is Nebraska really in the final two with David Sanders?: The feeling coming out of this weekend is that Nebraska and Tennessee might be ahead in the four-team race with Sanders, in front of Ohio State and Georgia.

What impact did Sanders’s 12-hour visit to Lincoln have on him? Did the Huskers do enough to stay on his mind?

The running back position heading into camp: I’m most interested in seeing how the running back position looks now that Gabe Ervin Jr. and Rahmir Johnson are cleared for full contact.

I could easily see NU regularly playing at least three running backs this season. I still give Emmett Johnson an edge heading into camp, and I could see Rahmir Johnson being right there with him. Ervin Jr.’s durability after suffering a hip injury will be something to watch this month.

The parameters around a 105-man roster: We know college football plans to go to a 105-man roster, meaning you theoretically can have 105 players now on full scholarship. (Spoiler: Nebraska probably already has around this many players receiving scholarship-level compensation with NIL in play.)

We don’t know whether you can have more than 105 players in your program or have more of a practice squad-type element. Rhule raised some great questions last week: What if a guy gets hurt? How do you replace them on your 105-man roster? Will teams now release injured players if they count toward your 105? I can’t see that happening. Rhule hopes the 105-man number will serve more as your fall camp roster and you might be able to have some additional players still part of your program that would not make the 105.

This has my attention

Moving forward, this has my attention :

Dorm life begins: Tuesday is officially move-in day for Nebraska’s players and coaches in the Selleck Quadrangle dorm building. For the second year in a row, Rhule will house his 120-man camp roster at Selleck, along with his coaching staff.

This will be a great way to set the tone for the 2024 season as training camp begins. The players will be on a 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. type schedule nearly every day during their time in the dorms.

OL Micah Mazzccua: The stock of offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua appears to be on the rise. Mazzccua has reportedly had a strong summer and looks to be the favorite to start at left guard this season.

Early camp chatter: What will the early buzz be coming out of fall camp this week for Nebraska? It’s always fun to see how some of the newcomers blend into the football team.

Aug. 3 open practice: Nebraska will conduct its open practice sponsored by 1890 on Saturday. What will the scene be like at Memorial Stadium as Rhule offers a rare training camp look at his football team in the spirit of NIL? Will there be over 5,000 fans in attendance?

Sam Foltz: This past week was the eighth anniversary of the tragic death of former Nebraska punter Sam Foltz, who was killed on July 23, 2016, in an automobile accident. Foltz’s legacy has impacted the Husker football program, even in the new Nebraska weight room. Every single all-purpose rack has a halo around the No. 27 to commemorate Foltz.

Nebraska also awards the Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award and the Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship each year to honor his legacy. Each July, former Husker kicker Spencer Lindsay conducts a special kickers and punters camp in Grand Island to honor Foltz.

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and is heard daily 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 Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm .

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