LINCOLN — Walker Ashburn entered his high school coach's office a year ago, claiming he was 6-foot-3.

Coach J.T. Curtis didn't believe him.

“I told him to go get measured and come back,” said Curtis, who guides the football program at John Curtis High School in River Ridge, La.

Turns out Ashburn was telling the truth. He had developed the body type of a prospective collegiate defensive end, even though the staff had always pegged him as a linebacker.

And thanks to the growth spurt, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound high school senior has the size to match his athleticism, the type of physical upside that likely caught the attention of Nebraska coaches earlier this year. Ashburn pledged Monday to sign with the Huskers.

“He just kept growing,” Curtis said. “And he continues to get better and better.”

That's good news for the NU staff, since Ashburn became the seventh known member of Nebraska's 2010 recruiting class when he made his nonbinding pledge public during the holiday weekend.

He's one of two defensive ends in the class. Donovan Vestal, from Arlington, Texas, committed last month.

Ashburn chose Nebraska over several schools, including Oklahoma State and Stanford. He liked the NU coaches, Curtis said, and Husker safety P.J. Smith, a former high school teammate, helped reassure Ashburn that Nebraska would be a good fit.

Two years ago, Smith was on Ashburn's team. That team won a fourth straight Class 2A state title. The school won its fifth championship last year.

Ashburn played a large role in those championship runs, Curtis said. As a sophomore, Ashburn earned MVP honors during the 2007 state final.

And since then, opposing teams have been doing everything they can to try to slow him. But Ashburn isn't easy to contain, Curtis said.

“He's got excellent speed and great upper body strength,” Curtis said. “He's just a very active defensive lineman who can really run.”

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com