The coaches or anyone at Nebraska can not comment on the recruit before national signing day. So the recruiting services only have the recruit or people close to the recruit they can use as sources. It would be an NCAA violation if anyone at Nebraska commented to the recruiting service (or anyone for that matter) about the recruit committing.
I know that coaches can't comment on a recruit. But is it really a violation to confirm or deny that a player has committed? A simple yes/no answer? I could be wrong about it, but that just doesn't sound correct. And if that is right, well, that's f'd up. Seriously.
Yes, I am pretty sure it is a violation. Now I don't know if someone "Off the record" may have hinted that Brown has committed but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that even mentioning if a recruit has committed is a violation.