Defensive back and wide receiver continue to be positions of heavy focus for Nebraska in this recruiting cycle.
Those two positions accounted for nearly all of the offers extended by Husker coaches over the last week. Here’s a closer look at each of the new targets added to NU’s board:
Safety Stephan Blaylock, Bellflower, Calif.: Nebraska was offer No. 7 for this defensive back out of the Los Angeles area. His other offers include BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Oregon, UCLA and Washington State. He has a teammate in the St. John Bosco secondary, Jaiden Woodbey, that’s one of the nation’s top prospects and is committed to Ohio State.
Cornerback Tre Douglas, McDonough, Ga.: Nebraska would have a ton of competition to pull this corner out of Georgia. He has at least 30 scholarship offers, including 17 from nearby schools in the ACC and SEC. Douglas ranks as the nation’s No. 28 cornerback, according to the 247Sports composite.
Cornerback Jalen Green, Houston: Another heavily recruited prospect, Green has nearly three dozen scholarship offers, including all the Power Five schools in the state of Texas. He recently received an invite to The Opening Finals and is a consensus four-star recruit, ranked No. 11 nationally at his position by the 247Sports composite.
Safety Julius Irvin, Anaheim, Calif.: Irvin now holds a dozen scholarship offers after Nebraska extended him one last Tuesday. He’s primarily a target of Pac-12 teams, with eight schools from that conference on his list, including nearby UCLA and USC. He’s the nation’s No. 34 safety, according to the 247Sports composite.
Wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, Plantation, Fla.: Schwartz has blazing speed and clocked a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at The Opening Regional in Miami last month, helping secure an invite to The Opening Finals. Schwartz comes from the same high school — Florida powerhouse American Heritage — that Husker signee Willie Hampton attended his senior year. Schwartz has more than two dozen scholarship offers, including all three of the Power Five schools in Florida.
Running back Jahmir Smith, Sanford, N.C.: Smith put up huge numbers during his junior season, running for more than 2,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2016. He has at least nine scholarship offers from Power Five schools, including in-state programs UNC and NC State. He’s ranked as high as the nation’s No. 19 running back by Rivals.
Wide receiver Kassidy Woods, Addison, Texas: Nebraska was one of the first schools to offer this under-the-radar recruit from the Dallas area. His other offers include Iowa State, SMU and Texas-San Antonio, which all followed NU over the weekend. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Woods had 843 yards receiving and seven touchdowns as a junior.
Photos: Nebraska's highest-ranked commit from each recruiting class since 2002
Check out the Huskers' highest-ranked commit, according to Rivals.com, from each recruiting class since 2002.
Tyjon Lindsey, a unanimous four-star prospect, appeared at Nebraska’s Friday Night Lights camp and wowed onlooking fans with his speed. In three years at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) High School, Lindsey, Rivals' 62nd ranked player nationally and No. 9 wide receiver prospect, caught 84 passes for 2,126 yards — a 25.3-yard average — and 31 touchdowns.
Mike Riley’s California roots came in handy with Lamar Jackson, right, as the Huskers secured a commitment from the state’s No. 13 player the day before National Signing Day. Jackson was a consensus four-star prospect and Rivals' 76th-ranked player nationally. He was also the highest-rated prospect from California that NU has signed since at least 2002, as far back as the recruiting rankings go.
Eric Lee, a consensus four-star cornerback, committed to the Huskers from Highlands Ranch (Colorado) Valor Christian as Rivals' 119th-ranked player nationally and the No. 1 prospect from Colorado.
Highland (Ill.) High School offensive lineman Tanner Farmer was Rivals' 82nd-ranked player and a four-star by most recruiting services. Farmer has developed into a key cog on NU's offensive line.
Terrell Newby was a consensus four-star running back out of Los Angeles Chaminade High School and Rivals' 75th-ranked player nationally. Newby rushed for 2,239 yards in his career, finishing 23rd on Nebraska's career rushing list.
Paul Thurston came to the Huskers as a consensus four-star recruit and Rivals' 147th-ranked player nationally, but played a limited role on the offensive line. Thurston stepped in for Ryne Reeves in the Foster Farms Bowl and helped NU rush for 326 yards against UCLA. He transferred to Colorado State for his senior season.
Aaron Green picked NU over Texas, Florida State and California and was Rivals' No. 61 player overall. Green had 105 rushing yards while backing up Rex Burkhead as a true freshman, but transferred to TCU before his sophomore season.
Andrew Rodriguez, from Aurora, was a four-star recruit and the 183rd-ranked player, according to Rivals. Rodriguez was a mainstay on the offensive line throughout his NU career, consistently showing the versatility to play multiple positions on the line. He received honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades for his play in 2013, when Ameer Abdullah rushed for 1,690 yards, the most by a Husker since 1997. I-Back Braylon Heard was Rivals' No. 57 player overall, but didn't qualify academically.
Cody Green, a four-star recruit, was Rivals' No. 173 ranked player and became NU's first true freshman quarterback to start since Tommie Frazier in 1992. Green threw for 340 yards and three scores while backing up Taylor Martinez as a sophomore, but transferred to Tulsa after the season.
Baker Steinkuhler, a five-star offensive lineman from Lincoln Southwest, was Rivals’ No. 8 player. His father, Dean, won the 1983 Outland Trophy. However, Steinkuhler moved to the defensive line and became a Blackshirt. Steinkuhler had a productive career and earned second team All-Big Ten honors as a senior.
Niles Paul was Rivals’ 73rd-ranked player nationally and a four-star wide receiver out of Omaha North. When he finished his career, Paul’s career total of 4,122 all-purpose yards ranked fifth at Nebraska.
Rickey Thenarse, a four-star recruit, was Rivals' No. 239 player and picked NU over USC, UCLA, California, Colorado, Fresno State, Oregon and Washington. Thenarse ended his Husker career with 106 total tackles and three interceptions. He had a blocked punt in the Gator Bowl win over Clemson.
Marlon Lucky, a five-star running back from California, was Rivals' No. 13th-ranked player nationally. Lucky finished his Husker career as one of the most productive all-purpose players in NU history and his 75 receptions in 2007 is a Nebraska single season record. After his senior season, Lucky's 4,214 career all-purpose yards ranked fourth in school history.
Rivals' 42nd-ranked player nationally, Lydon Murtha — a four-star offensive lineman — was a fixture for the Huskers' line despite being hampered by injuries. He earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors for his role in 2008, helping Nebraska average more than 210 rushing yards per game over the second half of the season and score 30 or more points 10 times.
A four-star recruit, Bo Ruud was Rivals' No. 10 ranked linebacker in 2003. Ruud earned first team All-Big 12 honors in 2006 and finished his career 22nd among Nebraska's career tackle leaders with 216. He finished with six career fumbles forced, four fumble recoveries and five interceptions. Ruud returned three of his picks for a touchdown and his 93-yard return against Iowa State is a record for Husker linebackers.
David Horne, a four-star running back from Omaha Central, was Rivals 78th-ranked player nationally and earned first team All-Nebraska honors from The World-Herald. Horne picked NU over Colorado, Michigan, Notre Dame, Iowa and Iowa State and flashed potential as a true freshman, rushing for 651 yards, the fourth-best total ever by a Husker freshman. However, he was dismissed from the team after his junior year for a violation of team rules.
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