I spoke with Mark Johnson, the father of Maize (Kan.) 2023 quarterback Avery Johnson tonight. Bill Busch was in Wichita on Jan. 14 when Nebraska first offered and both he and Mark Whipple were in Dodge City last Thursday to watch Johnson play a basketball game. Busch drove over from Kansas City and Whipple flew in so they could be at the game. This week on Friday NU head coach Scott Frost is expected to be in Wichita to check in on Johnson. So that's three appearances over 15 days, which tells you where he's at on the QB board.
Mark Johnson told me Nebraska by no means is "late to the party" with his son's recruitment. He said it's still "one big party." Right now their plan is to come to Lincoln on the opening weekend of March when the dead period ends. They would have come up this weekend, but they already made plans to visit Arkansas and things go dead on Sunday until Mar. 1.
I get the sense the major players right now are Arkansas, Kansas State, Nebraska and Tennessee. I also found it interesting that both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are not in the picture, and have had little to no contact with Johnson despite being only a couple of hours away. When Johnson comes up to Lincoln in March, his said it will not be a part of the Junior Day. They want to make sure to give him his own entire day with the staff. He's been very impressed though with the job Bill Busch has done, and the quarterback history of both Mark Whipple and Scott Frost over their coaching careers.
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Another quarterback that is expected to be in Lincoln this weekend is Ankeny (Iowa) signal-caller JJ Kohl. Rivals.com's @Clint Cosgrove caught up with Kohl this week and had this to say about his upcoming trip to Lincoln.
"I think bringing in some of the new coaches they brought in, they brought in Coach (Donovan) Raiola and Coach (Mark) Whipple," Kohl said. "I think those two coaches are really smart and I think they have an opportunity to change the offense at Nebraska. I'm really looking forward to getting some time with Coach Whipple and Coach Frost and just kind of pick their brain and ask them more personal questions about recruiting and how they would see me fit in their offense.
"I would say right now at Nebraska there are a lot of exciting things going on, obviously with Coach Whipple and the success he had at Pitt this year bringing him in was huge. I have a lot of questions still for Coach Whipple and Coach Frost, and I'm really looking forward to heading over to Lincon on the 29th."
Mark Johnson told me Nebraska by no means is "late to the party" with his son's recruitment. He said it's still "one big party." Right now their plan is to come to Lincoln on the opening weekend of March when the dead period ends. They would have come up this weekend, but they already made plans to visit Arkansas and things go dead on Sunday until Mar. 1.
I get the sense the major players right now are Arkansas, Kansas State, Nebraska and Tennessee. I also found it interesting that both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are not in the picture, and have had little to no contact with Johnson despite being only a couple of hours away. When Johnson comes up to Lincoln in March, his said it will not be a part of the Junior Day. They want to make sure to give him his own entire day with the staff. He's been very impressed though with the job Bill Busch has done, and the quarterback history of both Mark Whipple and Scott Frost over their coaching careers.
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Another quarterback that is expected to be in Lincoln this weekend is Ankeny (Iowa) signal-caller JJ Kohl. Rivals.com's @Clint Cosgrove caught up with Kohl this week and had this to say about his upcoming trip to Lincoln.
"I think bringing in some of the new coaches they brought in, they brought in Coach (Donovan) Raiola and Coach (Mark) Whipple," Kohl said. "I think those two coaches are really smart and I think they have an opportunity to change the offense at Nebraska. I'm really looking forward to getting some time with Coach Whipple and Coach Frost and just kind of pick their brain and ask them more personal questions about recruiting and how they would see me fit in their offense.
"I would say right now at Nebraska there are a lot of exciting things going on, obviously with Coach Whipple and the success he had at Pitt this year bringing him in was huge. I have a lot of questions still for Coach Whipple and Coach Frost, and I'm really looking forward to heading over to Lincon on the 29th."
