Illinois Class of 2021 defensive end Ryan Keeler was at Nebraska's Big Red Barbecue on Friday. He currently has 13 offers, several from Big Ten programs, and he told us what he liked about his first trip to Lincoln:
"I wanted to visit Nebraska because I have heard a ton of great things about it, I know that Coach Frost is going to turn the program around and make it a winning program once again. My dad and my brother came with me on the visit. We were there almost the entire day, sunrise to sunset. We checked out all of the facilities and academics. I had an overall wonderful time there.
"The food was amazing! I spent the most time with the Dillon brothers and Coach Tuioti. Coach Tuioti told me that he needs me to be a part of the Blackshirt defense. The main takeaway I got from the visit was that it’s truly a family atmosphere the coaches care for you as if you were one of their own children. I can’t wait to get back on campus to experience a game day."
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Schertz (Texas) Clemens High inside linebacker Derrick Lewis was another Class of 2020 unofficial visitor to Lincoln for the Big Red Barbecue on Friday. He is currently holding a baker's dozen list of scholarship offers, with five of them being from Power Five programs. One of those schools that has offered him is Nebraska.
Lewis and his father made unofficial visits to Kansas, Nebraska and Texas Tech over the past few days, and he commented to HOL about how his stay in Lincoln went for him.
"It went great! I got a chance to talk to all the coaches. I got a chance to see the facilities, and even talk to one of their linebackers who was there. I wanted to visit Nebraska because I felt that they are a good university that fit how I play on the field, so I definitely wanted to check them out. It was definitely what I expected I would find and I thank the coaches for allowing me to come up there."
Lewis is being recruited as a MIKE linebacker by the Husker staff and he spent a lot of time with his potential future position coach.
"I got to talk to Coach Barrett Ruud the most, which is their inside linebackers coach. We went over some film and I liked what I saw. I got a chance to see how he coaches his own players, and maybe how he could coach me in the future."
Lewis is not planning to make his college decision before his senior season starts and he is going to set up some official visits for the early weeks of the college season. He believes that Nebraska stands a good chance to get a return trip from him on an official visit.
"I'm looking for my relationship, not only with the head coach, but with my position coach."
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Class of 2021 West Branch, Iowa defensive end prospect Jeff Bowie has visited the home state of Iowa Hawkeyes several times over the past year, as well as trips to Iowa State and Northern Illinois, but Friday was his first exposure to the Nebraska football program.
"It was pretty fun. My dad and my stepdad came with me. I talked with Coach Frost, Coach Chinander, and the defensive line coach. It was just really nice and it made for a really fun visit. They answered any questions I had, I would say."
This was Bowie's first time in Lincoln and he was pleased by what he experienced.
"I really didn't have any expectations going in because I had never been there before, but I definitely thought it was a nice place by the time I left."
Bowie said, in his college search, he's looking for the best connection with his potential future coaches. Most of the programs that have offered him, including Nebraska, have told him they like him as a hand-on-the-ground defensive end. That's the position he would prefer to play in college.
His Nebraska unofficial visit was his last trip this summer, according to Bowie.
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Santino Marucci was one of two Class of 2021 offered quarterback prospects who attended Friday's Big Red BBQ, and he gave us his thoughts about how his first experience in Lincoln went:
"My father and I went on the visit to Nebraska, and we got in Thursday night and stayed until Saturday morning. I had the opportunity to tour both the campus and football facilities. As this being the first time I have been to Nebraska, I can say that the university as a whole blew me away. The facilities were state of the art and the game stadium was the biggest i have ever seen.
"I spent most of my time with Coach Mario Verduzco (qb coach), Coach Frost, and Coach Duvall (strength coach). Each coach I talked to I had great conversations with and, with that being said, the entire staff that I had a chance to talk to treated me like family there. I also liked the area of Lincoln as well, walked through the Haymarket District with my father and enjoyed that."
Marucci also got the chance to pick the brains of a couple current Cornhusker quarterbacks.
"I also got to watch the Friday Night Lights camp they held that night, spent time talking with Adrian Martinez and Luke McCaffrey (two qbs at Nebraska), and got their input on the school. Both said there isn’t a place like Nebraska and it’s a great place to be."
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Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro Class of 2021 four-star athlete Denzel Burke traveled to Nebraska with his father not having very high expectations for what he would find in Lincoln, but he was pleasantly surprised with the city and the Huskers' football program.
"I wanted to visit Nebraska because it was just something new and I haven't gone on very many visits yet. I've only been to Arizona State, so I wanted to check something else out. Going into Nebraska, my expectations weren't very high because I didn't know much about Nebraska.
"I thought it would just be a little school in a little state, so when I got here I was very shocked! And then, when I left, I was very impressed by the people and how they treated me."
Burke expanded further about the impression the people he encountered in Nebraska and around the football program made on him during the weekend.
"One of things that popped out to me about my time there is that the people really cared about me. They genuinely cared about me and they really want me. They are recruiting me as an athlete."
Burke, who plays receiver and cornerback for his high school, only has four early offers at this point, but they are from the likes of Nebraska, LSU, Auburn and Arizona State; so undoubtedly more scholarships will be arriving for him throughout the year.
Burke was asked what the highlights of his stay in Lincoln were for him, and he replied:
"I would say it's a very mellow state and they have a great foundation, and I wasn't expecting that. Me and Coach Frost, the head coach, had a really good talk about the future and stuff like that. He was asking me questions about what I was looking for in a school. We got along good."
Burke added he also has a prior relationship with NU Class of 2019 signee, out of Arizona, Javin "Buddha" Wright; as well as another unofficial visitor to Nebraska this weekend, Jaeden Gould, from New Jersey.
"Yeah, I know Javin Wright because we kind of grew up together playing 7-on-7 and we went to a couple L.A. tournaments together. And I know his father, too. I have trained with him a little bit in the past. So, me and Jaeden met a long time ago. We went to a USA football camp in Canton, Ohio, like three or four years ago, and we just kind of created a bond. We've been friends ever since."
Burke said, even though Nebraska is quite a distance from Arizona, he could very well see himself ending up playing his college football in Lincoln, and that distance would not be a hindrance for him.
"Not at all. Me and my dad loved it here."
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