Three & Out: Nebraska pulled out all of the stops with five-star+ OT David Sanders Jr., a pair of 2026 running backs are emerging, and junior day format was a success

Three & Out is Nebraska On3’s feature in which recruiting analyst Bryan Munson gives his weekly takes on topical issues concerning Nebraska football and recruiting.

In this week’s Three & Out , the Huskers have done all that they can do with five-star+ offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. Nebraska is zeroing in on a pair of home run-hitting running backs in the 2026 class (one is visiting Lincoln on Wednesday!), and the July junior day format was a huge success. Here is your Three & Out:

Nebraska has done all they can for David Sanders Jr.

If David Sanders Jr. chooses a school other than Nebraska, it will not be because of a lack of effort. I have never seen anything like what’s happened since Friday.

There has been an outpouring of support from Nebraska fans since Dylan Raiola dropped his tweet with Sanders’s itinerary. He also told everyone to meet him and Sanders at the Tom Osborne Athletic Complex.

Hundreds of Nebraska fans greeted Dylan, David, and his family. In return, Husker Nation got smiles from Sanders and his family. Tennessee fans mocked Nebraska because of the supposedly poor turnout until only 68 fans showed up in Knoxville and vandalized a rock to welcome Sanders.

Again, this is the first time I have seen something like it.

You have to think that Nebraska is doing all it can to ensure that Sanders knows how much they want him. The issue, as I see it, is that Nebraska can’t outbid Tennessee or any of the other schools on Sanders’s final four list.

You have to expect that all of the schools are committed to matching, if not beating, the offers from other schools. So, wash this part of the equation out regarding Sanders.

So, what will this come down to? Personal connections? Nebraska has to feel good about this. Clearly, Sanders has a special relationship with Raiola. Similarly, Sanders has this relationship with players and recruits at the other schools.

Does it come down to having a winning record and being immediately ready to win a championship? If so, this is where Nebraska falls short of the other three schools on Sanders’s list. The Huskers had just five wins last season, but with a favorable schedule in front of them and tons of optimism and juice behind Matt Rhule, Tony White, the Blackshirts, and Raiola.

Sanders will have to “see it.” He will have to look past the recent track record and even the track record in general over the past 15 years or so, feel the excitement around the program, and take the word of his personal confidant Raiola, who is encouraging Sanders to join him.

The good news? Sanders is a smart kid. If there is a recruit who could “buck the trend” of going where it’s fashionable or popular, it might be Sanders. Hasn’t Sanders already bucked the trend, to some extent, by officially visiting Nebraska, not including them in his top six, and then adding them back onto his final four list?

Nebraska couldn’t have played it any better. They have done all they can.

The Huskers are zeroing in on a couple of 2026 running backs

Nebraska hosted a new name at running back for the 2026 class this weekend. Damarius Yates , who is strongly trending for Mississippi State, snuck into Lincoln and was announced with our visitor preview last week.

There is a lot to like about Yates. The four-star running back from DeKalb (Miss.) Kemper County was the 200-meter state champ last year and also ran the 100-meter in 10.8 seconds. On the football field, he ran for 1,129 yards and 19 touchdowns and added 13 receptions for 265 yards and five touchdowns.

The Huskers are looking for more homerun hitters at the running back spot, and Yates fits the bill. He averaged 11 yards per carry and 113 yards per game last season. It was a significant development for Nebraska to get Yates on campus this summer. Hopefully, they can get it to happen a couple more times through the fall and spring before possibly getting him to take an official visit in the summer.

While everyone was excited to see Yates’s name on the list, more visitors are expected this week, including another 2026 running back who has already visited Lincoln twice. Dezephen Walker , from Raymore (Mo.) Raymore-Peculiar confirmed with me on Tuesday morning that he would be in Lincoln on Wednesday.

Walker is another homerun threat at running back who can beat defenses to the edge and cut upfield at precisely the right moment. Walker loved his last trip to Nebraska, a junior day in January, and has been looking forward to his return visit to Lincoln ever since.

It’s good to see Nebraska in on so many difference-making junior running backs. The next challenge will be for the Huskers to have each back in Lincoln multiple times through this fall, winter, and spring before they start taking official visits.

Junior Day format was a hit (again)

There was a repeated word throughout my conversations with the junior day visitors this weekend. The word was “fun”. It was the type of weekend that all of the recruits appreciated, as it allowed them to get the time with the coaches, players, and recruits and be less about the business side of recruiting.

The format was similar to last year’s end-of-summer junior day, where the group broke out into teams and competed against one another. There were activities like scavenger hunts, where the teams had golf carts and chased down clues all over campus. They also took part in team challenges like three-point contests and played each other on the golf simulator.

Some folks might see having so many first-time visitors to Nebraska and more of an informal junior day as a disadvantage to the weekend. The Huskers didn’t land any commitments, not that any were really anticipated, but around the country, there was a run on top 2026 recruits committing at similar events.

The less business-like and more relaxed setting allowed the recruits to evaluate Nebraska. It allowed the Husker staff to see how the recruits could fit on their roster. The guard was down for all the recruits, and the coaches and other staff members could see how the recruits were as people and if they could gel quickly with one another on their teams.

There was a lot of psychology involved in the weekend. Everything was a little experiment for the Nebraska coaches to watch and see how all the recruits were doing and whether they had similar experiences. The answers were all consistent.

Another positive aspect of the weekend was Nebraska chatting with all of the recruits about coming back this fall for game-day visits. The Huskers have to take advantage of a very friendly football schedule to allow recruits to do high school football activities in the morning and get to Lincoln before the 6:30 game starts against Colorado and Northern Iowa in weeks two and three.

It was a perfect way to wrap up the summer. Nebraska is starting to push on the 2026 recruits—15 recruits from the 2026 class were in Lincoln this weekend—and is even starting to get an early start on the 2027 and 2028 classes.

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