New Husker knows the cold doesn't have to be recruiting con
Even lifelong Nebraskans could do without the cold we've experienced this last week. There is cold and then make-you-angry cold.
But, you know, toughen up. Miami native Henry Gray isn't angry about it at all. He seems ready to feel at home in it. The Husker early enrollee defensive back highlighted his reasons for coming to Nebraska in a recent video put out by the football program.
Within it, he points out one of the very things some schools may use to recruit against midwest and northern schools – the frigidness – is something he actually sees as a positive.
"I feel like if I'm going to go in to the league and play in some place like place like Green Bay, New England or Buffalo, then I feel like I got to be used to the cold," Gray said. "I can't wait until I get to the league when everybody has already been playing at cold schools and they're already used to it."
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The 6-foot, 175-pound Gray was a leading force for powerhouse Miami Central High School, helping the team win a Florida 6A title this past season, a year after losing a hard-fought game to eventual champ Miami Northwestern, which produced Husker signees Marcus Fleming and Ronald Delancy III in the 2020 recruiting class.
Nebraska took seven recruits out of Florida in the 2020 class, and three of those are defensive backs already on campus – Gray, Jaiden Francois and Tamon Lynum. They no doubt now own warmer coats than they ever have before.
The cold, and the snow, can have its appeal to recruits in some circumstances. One of Nebraska's biggest wins of the 2020 recruiting cycle came in December when outside linebacker Keyshawn Greene committed to the Huskers after visiting Lincoln and seeing snow for the first time.
It's not like it was the deciding factor or anything, but it produced a pretty scene in his eyes.
“When I posted I was committed to Nebraska, everybody (coaches, friends and fans) started blowing my phone up and I didn’t talk back to them. The fans said I was dumb for my decision. I told them it’s my decision," Greene said then. “When I was there, seeing the snow, then I saw the field, they told me they get sold out crowds every year, it opened my eyes."
Nebraska also experienced great feedback from recruits who visited for the Michigan State game during Frost's first season in Lincoln in 2018. The game was played in wintery weather, with the Huskers winning a 9-6 defensive struggle.
A struggle that was sort of beautiful, because who doesn't enjoy some football in the snow?
"I was lucky enough to hang onto the NFL for a while. I played in Cleveland and in Green Bay. Loved my experience in those two places. It certainly wasn't warm there," Frost said after that game. "I think being in the Big Ten and getting to play in this type of football against these type of teams, in all conditions, prepares you better to have a chance at the next level.
"We were kind of lucky. A lot of the guys we had in town, we see as defensive players, and we won a game on defense. Some of them had seen snow, but had never seen snow falling from the sky. So I think they enjoyed it. It was a great scene."
Indeed, that AFC Championship in Kansas City this past Sunday wasn't played in honeymoon temperatures.
The tougher elements are not always your enemy in recruiting – not to everyone. Not to Gray. This is home now, even on the days those wheels slip a little on the ice.
"I just want to tell the fans to stay patient, that we're coming ..." said the new Husker. "We've got a young team and the future is looking bright."
Even lifelong Nebraskans could do without the cold we've experienced this last week. There is cold and then make-you-angry cold.
But, you know, toughen up. Miami native Henry Gray isn't angry about it at all. He seems ready to feel at home in it. The Husker early enrollee defensive back highlighted his reasons for coming to Nebraska in a recent video put out by the football program.
Within it, he points out one of the very things some schools may use to recruit against midwest and northern schools – the frigidness – is something he actually sees as a positive.
"I feel like if I'm going to go in to the league and play in some place like place like Green Bay, New England or Buffalo, then I feel like I got to be used to the cold," Gray said. "I can't wait until I get to the league when everybody has already been playing at cold schools and they're already used to it."
Two Times
@_HG2XThis is my new Home
2,052
11:29 AM - Jan 22, 2020
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205 people are talking about this
The 6-foot, 175-pound Gray was a leading force for powerhouse Miami Central High School, helping the team win a Florida 6A title this past season, a year after losing a hard-fought game to eventual champ Miami Northwestern, which produced Husker signees Marcus Fleming and Ronald Delancy III in the 2020 recruiting class.
Nebraska took seven recruits out of Florida in the 2020 class, and three of those are defensive backs already on campus – Gray, Jaiden Francois and Tamon Lynum. They no doubt now own warmer coats than they ever have before.
The cold, and the snow, can have its appeal to recruits in some circumstances. One of Nebraska's biggest wins of the 2020 recruiting cycle came in December when outside linebacker Keyshawn Greene committed to the Huskers after visiting Lincoln and seeing snow for the first time.
It's not like it was the deciding factor or anything, but it produced a pretty scene in his eyes.
“When I posted I was committed to Nebraska, everybody (coaches, friends and fans) started blowing my phone up and I didn’t talk back to them. The fans said I was dumb for my decision. I told them it’s my decision," Greene said then. “When I was there, seeing the snow, then I saw the field, they told me they get sold out crowds every year, it opened my eyes."
Nebraska also experienced great feedback from recruits who visited for the Michigan State game during Frost's first season in Lincoln in 2018. The game was played in wintery weather, with the Huskers winning a 9-6 defensive struggle.
A struggle that was sort of beautiful, because who doesn't enjoy some football in the snow?
"I was lucky enough to hang onto the NFL for a while. I played in Cleveland and in Green Bay. Loved my experience in those two places. It certainly wasn't warm there," Frost said after that game. "I think being in the Big Ten and getting to play in this type of football against these type of teams, in all conditions, prepares you better to have a chance at the next level.
"We were kind of lucky. A lot of the guys we had in town, we see as defensive players, and we won a game on defense. Some of them had seen snow, but had never seen snow falling from the sky. So I think they enjoyed it. It was a great scene."
Indeed, that AFC Championship in Kansas City this past Sunday wasn't played in honeymoon temperatures.
The tougher elements are not always your enemy in recruiting – not to everyone. Not to Gray. This is home now, even on the days those wheels slip a little on the ice.
"I just want to tell the fans to stay patient, that we're coming ..." said the new Husker. "We've got a young team and the future is looking bright."
