LINCOLN — Nebraska is piling up pledges for its 2011 recruiting class at an accelerated pace nearly eight months before signing day, a strategy unlikely to change when the Huskers join the Big Ten next year.
Actually, according to one analyst, the summer recruiting season might become even more important for the NU football staff.
Big Ten coaches all look outside their region for top talent, and the most appropriate time for them to lure those prospects is right now — when school's out, the weather's warm and optimism's high.
So Nebraska, a Midwestern school that stretches its recruiting tentacles from coast to coast, shouldn't seem at all out of place once it's a member of the Big Ten, said Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting editor for Rivals.com.
“I know a lot of (Big Ten) teams that love to recruit early, especially when you're dealing with adverse weather conditions,” Crabtree said. “You know that you're going to go elsewhere (for recruits), and that can make recruiting somewhat difficult because you have to have a broad reach.
“When you're talking about Nebraska, that's not going to be a totally foreign thing.”
The Huskers have 12 known members in their 2011 recruiting class already, gaining nonbinding pledges from players who hail from seven states.
Much of the momentum generated recently, though, is a result of three standouts from the region.
Beatrice's Daniel Davie pledged June 16. Bubba Starling, an athletic quarterback from outside Kansas City, picked NU Sunday. Hastings St. Cecilia lineman Zach Sterup made his commitment public last week.
But Nebraska has certainly put an emphasis on wrapping up at least the core of this class early, with likely plans of babysitting and coddling late. The staff operated similarly in 2008, though it didn't secure its 12th pledge until the season had begun.
Last year, by the time August's preseason camp ended, Nebraska had just five oral commitments for its 2010 class.
No member of the NU football staff was available to comment for this story, but coach Bo Pelini told the Big Ten Network earlier this month that he has yet to consider any potential alterations to the way Nebraska recruits its prospects.
“That's for another time,” he said minutes after Nebraska officially announced its move to the Big Ten. “You start thinking ahead too much, then you lose focus on what the task is at hand.”
As it stands right now, Nebraska's total of 12 commitments would rank third in the Big Ten, behind Indiana's 18 and Ohio State's 15. The next highest total is Michigan State, with six.
But a couple of the traditional powerhouses are being selective for a reason. Crabtree said Michigan has a small senior class, and thus few spots open for its 2011 group. Same goes for Penn State. The Nittany Lions have just 10 seniors.
Typically, there's more activity around this time, according to Crabtree.
Coaches of Big Ten football teams look toward warm-weather climates quickly, hoping to snatch top-tier recruits before they're consistently tempted by southern powerhouses to stay near home. The most persuasive pitches are often made before the fall season's first kickoff.
Nebraska, it seems, already takes that same approach.
“If you recruit in the Big Ten territories, you know that you have to go someplace else to get speed and skill, just because there are limited quantities of those types in the Midwest,” Crabtree said. “And usually, you see Big Ten schools doing well outside their region.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds