Nebraska Football National Signing Day 2015: 5 Takeaways from Cornhuskers' Class

The 2014 Nebraska football season didn’t end how Husker fans expected it to. After all, at this time last year, Nebraska had a different head coach in place.

Fast-forward one year and things have changed. With new head coach Mike Riley in charge, fans were unsure of what to expect for the 2015 recruiting class. There wasn’t going to be much time from when Bo Pelini was fired (late November) to when the class would need to be finalized. Could Riley and his staff get it together?

The short answer is yes. Nebraska landed at No. 35 on 247Sports’ Team Recruiting Rankings and No. 5 in the Big Ten. Even more important than the final ranking, Riley and his staff filled much-needed positions, primarily on defense.

By the time all the letters of intent were signed, Nebraska had 20 players in the 2015 recruiting class, with an additional eight players committed to walk-on spots for the Huskers.

Will this class be exactly what Nebraska needs? Only time will tell. In the meantime, here are the top takeaways from Nebraska’s 2015 class.

The 2015 Recruiting Class Is a Success

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Hail Varsity’s Brandon Vogel summed it up best:

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The assumption with most coaching changes is that a program needs to be prepared to take its lumps a little bit with a transitional recruiting class. That’s the cost of making a change. But Nebraska likely ended up with a class of 20 players – one more than the number the new staff was hoping to hit – ranked about where it would’ve been, the low 30s according to most services at noon on signing day, had a change not been made. 

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He called it a win. Rightfully so.

It’s hard to say what this class can and will do and accomplish in its time at Nebraska. That’s what makes evaluating recruits the hardest.

However, as Vogel pointed out, Riley only lost one of the six players who committed to Nebraska before April 2014. That was running back Kendall Bussey Jr., who opted to sign with Texas A&M instead.

Besides that one loss, Riley quickly stepped in and maintained key relationships while also finding new recruits of his own.

It’s OK if you call that a success right now. It sure feels like one.

Michigan and Jim Harbaugh Little Threat to Riley

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

It could have gotten ugly for Riley quick. When Jim Harbaugh was hired as Michigan’s new head coach, he quickly began showing interest in quite a few of Nebraska’s recruits. It made fans a bit nervous.

However, if Riley was ever worried, he never showed it. Instead, he set out to do what he needed to do, which was secure those commits.

That included tight end Matt Snyder, who received a list of 42 reasons why he should attend Michigan from Harbaugh.

Another player Michigan wanted was defensive end DaiShon Neal of Omaha Central High School, but Riley was also able to get the win over Harbaugh and keep the commitment. With the letter of intent signed, it’s only that much sweeter.

The Huskers did lose defensive end Reuben Jones to Michigan, but two out of three really isn’t bad.

The main takeaway here is that Riley isn’t afraid to go head-to-head with coaches like Harbaugh. Instead, other Big Ten coaches will likely have to keep their eye on Riley. That's a great sign for the future of Nebraska football.

The Linebacker Position Got the Attention It Needed

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Nebraska was in desperate need of some linebacker recruits. Riley talked about the need at that position on ESPNU, via Sean Callahan of Huskers Online:

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Well linebacker for sure. There had been injuries there, there had been some attrition and we had to start getting some guys that could play and also be good in the way of depth in numbers at that position. We knew we had to do that and then we kind of earmarked we would like three offensive linemen in this class, we looked at that the quarterback thing hard because it's kind of fun to look at the quarterback - that one guy you are going to recruit.

We opted not to because we didn't want to make a late decision without a lot of background. We feel good about the guys here. We'll focus on that for next year. I'd say though the No. 1 spot we had to look at that we noticed was linebacker.

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So Riley went out and got those needed players who can fulfill the need at linebacker. Those recruits are Mohamed Barry, Tyrin Ferguson, Adrienne Talan and Dedrick Young.

All four young men can make an immediate impact for Nebraska. That was the most important thing, and that's exactly why Riley pursued them.

What fans should take away from this is Riley's ability to focus. While he knew he had other positions he could target, he decided to review what Nebraska needed most and put his time there.

Charlton Warren Was a Major Part of This Recruiting Class

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

There's a reason Riley retained Charlton Warren from Pelini's staff, and he addressed it on national signing day:

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I think that Charlton was a big resource. I think it was great to have him. Everything about him and hiring him was confirmed to me why that was a good thing because of who he is. He was a good connection to a lot of these guys. The first homes I went into, Avery and Eric, defensive backs from Colorado that he had recruited, those folks wanted to know what is going to happen to Coach Warren. That is a good sign. The other part of it is his general knowledge about where they’ve been recruiting and who they’ve been recruiting. He was the guy who came up with the name Devine Ozigbo when we were looking for a back. We looked at the film, loved him, and took off from there. Having him with the background in that area was very, very good for us.

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Fans should feel good about Warren staying with Nebraska. Watching his Twitter account, he was happy to share where he was going and how hard he was recruiting. It's clear that Warren is proud of the work he is doing with the Huskers.

As a result, he helped bring in some solid recruits. With the linebacker position needing so much attention, as noted, Warren stepped up big to make sure the Huskers filled the missing spots.

Nebraska fans knew what they had in Warren before. This signing day solidified that, and the takeaway should be that the Huskers' secondary could really have a bright future thanks to him.

Riley and His Staff Do Things Differently

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Nebraska fans have figured this out by now. Riley and his staff are their own people and, as a result, approach situations like recruiting in their own way.

However, who was expecting a “Fax Cam” that allowed fans an inside look into the Huskers “war room” as national signing day progressed? It wasn’t always the most riveting of live feeds, but it was still really fun to watch.

Plus, the Nebraska recruiting staff made it entertaining for fans to be a part of. That’s why the UNL Teletubbies showed up, via For The Win. There were also cameos by various football recruiting staff members, and the constant shot of where Nebraska's class stood.

What Riley and his staff are proving is that it’s OK to have a little fun. He even made that point in his national signing day press conference:

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I like the idea that we are fairly transparent. Fans have fun following along, I think we got great response from that. Our guys had fun putting it together so it was pretty good. I guess you could say my part in it is the messaging. Ryan Gunderson is very much involved in this. We’ve been together long enough that he knows what messages Nebraska football will send out to fans, to our recruits, to the parents, to our team and so as we get together we have a message that we want to pass along but we want to have fun with this thing too. I think that kids in general relate to that and it’s a great way for us to get out information and to connect with these people.

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There’s still a lot of time and energy that go into running a football team, but Riley has made it clear he and his staff will do things a little differently. Whether that be "Fax Cams" or tweets, fans are going to be let in on the world of Nebraska football more than ever.

Maybe some fans will have a problem with that. For now, it’s hard not to be entertained by it all.

All recruiting information and player statistics are courtesy of 247Sports.

Quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted.