Nebraska Football: Cornhuskers' Top Remaining Recruiting Targets for NSD 2015

With national signing day less than a month away, Nebraska football head coach Mike Riley is working to complete his first class for the Huskers.

Having only been at Nebraska since early December, Riley is doing his best to pick up where former head coach Bo Pelini left things—while also paving his own path.

Nebraska currently has four early enrollees and 11 hard commits, according to 247Sports. Of those, the majority are 3-star recruits, with a few 4-stars mixed in.

At this time, 247Sports ranks the Huskers at No. 33 in its recruiting rankings. However, Riley is likely less worried about the final ranking of this class and more about securing important and much-needed recruits.

Who are those recruits exactly? Here are five of the Huskers' top remaining recruiting targets heading into national signing day.

All stats and player information via 247Sports unless otherwise noted.

4-Star OG Jalin Barnett

About the Target

• Height: 6'4"
• Weight: 315 lbs.
• Position: Offensive Tackle, Offensive Guard
• High School: Lawton High School (Lawton, Okla.)
• 247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 61 overall, No. 6 offensive guard
• Also in Contention: Oklahoma State

Analysis

Oklahoma native Jalin Barnett told ESPN that he has narrowed his college choices down to two, per NewsOK.com. Those two programs are Oklahoma State and Nebraska.

The Huskers weren't on his radar until Mike Riley came along, but Barnett's high school coach confirmed to HuskerOnline.com (subscription required) that Nebraska has moved up his list.

That's good news for the Huskers.

Barnett is big but nimble, as Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald called him. McKewon also likes how Barnett could fit on the right side of Nebraska's offensive line.

ESPN Insider's (subscription required) Craig Haubert also had nothing but good things to say about Barnett. 

"With Barnett's size and strength, it is tough to bull-rush the big man who flashes ability to sink and reset well," Haubert said. "It is no easy task to work around Barnett either once he gets locked on, as he can maintain a good base and displays the short-area lateral agility to mirror rushers."

Now that Riley has his staff in place, it will be interesting to see if Nebraska can get Barnett to commit.

4-Star WR Lavan Alston

About the Target

• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 170 lbs.
• Position: Wide receiver
• High School: St. Bonaventure (Ventura, Calif.)
• 247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 304 overall, No. 37 wide receiver
• Also in Contention: Washington State, California, Oregon State, USC

Analysis

Nebraska might not have a wide receivers coach yet, but the Huskers still need to find recruits at the position. Lavan Alston is one player to seriously make a push for.

Alston is set to visit Nebraska at the end of the month, which might be exactly what the Huskers need to secure his commit. The challenge will be overcoming the long list of programs he is considering.

According to his 247Sports profile, he has interest from USC, California, Washington State and Oregon State, just to name a few.

That Oregon State connection should tell you everything about why Riley wants Alston at Nebraska now. In fact, the young wide receiver even visited Oregon State before Riley departed for the Huskers.

The hope is now that Alston would seriously consider Nebraska with Riley in charge. He'd be a great fit for Riley's pro-style system, so it'll be interesting to see what he decides.

In the meantime, his highlight tape gives a good account of the type of player he could be for Nebraska.

3-Star ATH Adrienne Talan

247Sports

About the Target

• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 195 lbs.
• Position: Athlete
• High School: Charles W. Flanagan High School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• 247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 74 Safety
• Also in Contention: Iowa, Oregon State, Temple

Analysis

Adrienne Talan committed to Oregon State on Nov. 10. He then decommitted on Dec. 6. It's not too shocking he followed that up with an official visit to Nebraska on Dec. 13—after Mike Riley had moved.

Talan is exactly what Nebraska needs, too.

As the Omaha World-Herald's McKewon noted, "The Huskers have five scholarship linebackers in the whole program. Five. And three of them are upperclassmen. Translation: The Huskers need numbers badly."

So, what is Talan thinking? According to Bryan Munson of Big Red Report, it looks good for the Huskers.

"I don't have a timetable," Talan told Munson via text. "Nebraska is my leader. I am still considering Temple."

Prior to his commitment to Oregon State, Talan was committed to Temple. He decommited on Nov. 5, so it's hard to say whether he'd really recommit or not.

For the time being, it looks good for Nebraska, which is great news at the linebacker position.

3-Star OLB Mohamed Barry

About the Target

• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 210 lbs.
• Position: Outside linebacker
• High School: Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.)
• 247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 72 offensive linebacker
• Also in Contention: Kansas State (currently committed), Miami

Analysis

Mohamed Barry has been committed to Kansas State since November, but there's no reason Nebraska can't still pursue the outside linebacker. That's why Riley and his staff extended an offer on Jan. 7.

Barry plans to take an official visit to Nebraska on Jan. 24. With the Huskers' need for more linebackers, he could definitely fit in quickly at Nebraska.

Secondary coach Charlton Warren and the Huskers are said to be pursuing Barry aggressively, per Huskers Illustrated (subscription required). The first step was getting him a visit, so the Huskers seem to be in good shape. The question remains whether Warren can flip Barry's commitment from Kansas State to Nebraska.

The good news for the Huskers is Barry has already decommitted from one program. He was originally committed to Wisconsin before Kansas State, so that leaves hope he might not be completely locked in on anyone until he signs on the dotted line.

3-Star WDE Steven Wright

247Sports

About the Target

• Height: 6'4"
• Weight: 235 lbs.
• Position: Weak-side defensive end
• High School: Wane County (Waycross, Ga.)
• 247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 32 weak-side defensive end
• Also in Contention: USC, Georgia Southern, Penn State

Analysis

The Huskers are losing Randy Gregory to the NFL draft, and Avery Moss' appeal to return was denied (via the Omaha World-Herald). That means there's no time like the present to keep finding the right guys to fill the voids.

Steven Wright could be one of those guys.

What makes him worth keeping an eye on is the fact he's already received an offer from Nebraska. While it came from Pelini's staff, Riley might remain interested.

As of now, though, Wright seems to be leaning toward UCF.

For fans who would like to get to know Wright better, his Hudl profile is a good place to start. Could he be the right fit for the Huskers? It's hard to say, but with his previous offer, he's still worth keeping high on the target list.