Surprise Husker Win Reaps Recruiting Rewards

Depending upon perspective, Nebraska's upset of Oklahoma Saturday night means different things to different people.

To most Husker fans it was a pleasant surprise and, while certainly not a cure-all for what has ailed the Nebraska offense, it was a soothing balm for the scrapes and bruises the Big Red has suffered this season.

To Oklahoma fans it was another bitter pill in a tough-to-swallow season. The fact that the their offense failed to score as much as Nebraska's notoriously inept squad hit home like an Acme anvil in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. The only difference being that few in the Sooner State are laughing. Unless they're in Stillwater.

To the casual college football fan, the game was probably more entertaining than first imagined. A titanic battle of two talented defenses imposing their wills on a couple of decidedly weaker offenses.

Most importantly, though, is what the 10-3 slugfest might mean to the Nebraska coaches and their recruiting efforts.

The university hosted eight recruits this past weekend, no small gamble considering the 62-28 drubbing the Huskers received in 2008, in addition to the difficulties the offense has endured in the 2009 campaign. The early results, however, show that the risk was certainly worth the reward.

Following the highly-charged, emotional win, the Cornhuskers nabbed oral commitments from three recruits.

Jay Guy, the most highly touted of the group, is a defensive tackle from Eisenhower High School in Aldine, Texas. Two prominent scouting websites have the 6-foot-1, 300-pounder ranked 17th and 65th nationally at his position. 

While such rankings are largely subjective and most Husker fans will quickly point to the fact that Bo Pelini's predecessor, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, had several highly-ranked recruiting classes, it's one of the few measuring sticks we have to assess incoming talent besides the coach's own word.

Having had more than his fair share of scholarship offers from high-profile schools in the Pac-10, SEC and Big XII (including Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech), Guy was impressed by the entire Nebraska experience.

“The fans are just so into it, having just one team in town. I guess that’s what makes the fans back their team so much,” he remarked to the Lincoln Journal Star.

Also quoted in the Omaha World Herald, he added, “I knew they sold out each game, but I didn't know it really sold out like that. That was ridiculous.” 

His understanding of the importance that Nebraska fans place on their football team bodes well for the young man's future.

Guy also has an appreciation of Nebraska's excellent front four of Suh, Crick, Allen and Turner, telling the World Herald, "That defense is surrounded by the front four. Everything goes through them. That's the kind of defense I want to be a part of.”  Not being afraid to fill those cleats someday is certainly a plus.

Tobi Okuyemi, a defensive end from Wayzata Senior High in Plymouth, Minnesota knew he wanted to be a Husker since this year's Spring Game, but the OU game confirmed it.  The 6-foot-3, 250 pound Okuyemi, described Saturday's game-night atmosphere to the Journal Star as "crazy" and "probably the loudest college football game I've ever been to." 

The Minnesota native has understandably had numerous offers from Big Ten schools (such as Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State), but gave his verbal to the Huskers before heading home on Sunday. One of the aforementioned websites lists Okuyemi as the fifth best recruit in his home state at any position.

Rounding up the weekend recruiting bonanza is 5-foot-11, 165 pound, cornerback Joshua Mitchell, one of four recruits from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Corona, California to visit Nebraska last Saturday. While the level of the programs pursuing Mitchell isn't as stellar as Guy and Okuyemi (with the exception of UCLA), Mitchell comes from a football family. His brother, Immanuel, is a freshman at Colorado State and his father, Mario, played for San Diego State. 

The three latest players to commit bring Nebraska's 2010 commitment total to fourteen, with just a handful of slots remaining. Given Bo Pelini's pedigree and the inspired play of the Blackshirts, it's not shocking that the latest trio of commitments comes on defense. However, three of Mitchell's teammates, wide receivers Austin Hill and Tyler Slavin, as well as tight end Harold Mobley, remain interested in joining Mitchell in Lincoln for the next few years.

Accustomed to playing offense, they might have come away with a different perception of the Nebraska program. To them, maybe the glass is half empty. Then again, they might be able to come into the Husker system and make an instant impact.  It's all about perspective.

Hopefully, the Nebraska coaches can put the finishing touches on this recruiting class with the proper players and make that glass overflow with fresh talent and winning attitudes.