NU hosted close to 50 on "Junior Day"

[Husker_Power]

NU hosted close to 50 on "Junior Day"

 

The recruiting process in college football obviously has sped up dramatically in recent years.

 

Texas, for instance, already has landed 10 verbal commitments for its class of 2010. Not bad considering national letter-of-intent signing day for 2009 was a mere 10 days ago.

 

Hence the growing impact of "Junior Days" on campuses around the nation — including Nebraska.

 

NU had its version of "Junior Day" last weekend, with 46 high school juniors making an on-campus visit to get a taste of Husker football. Players arrived from eight states and included high-profile quarterbacks A.J. Derby of Iowa City and Blake Belle of Wichita, Kan.

 

"We try to almost do what you would do on an official recruiting visit, albeit in about four hours," said Jeff Jamrog, Nebraska assistant athletic director for football. "What we did was give the players a glimpse of everything we feel is important when they come on campus."

 

In other words, prospects met with Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini as well as coordinators, position coaches, academic counselors, strength coaches, trainers, and others.

 

Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com, said "Junior Days" began cropping up about five years ago, starting at Texas.

 

"Mack Brown tried to get a leg up in the state of Texas," Crabtree said. "And as you know, college football often is imitative. You started seeing it at places like Texas A&M, Southern Cal, Oklahoma and Florida. Now it's a very big part of the recruiting process.

 

"Some schools make a big deal out of it, and others keep it low key. But you're going to keep seeing it."

 

Megan Rogers, coordinator of Nebraska's on-campus recruiting, said the Huskers are considering having another "Junior Day" sometime before the April 18 Red-White Spring Game. As for the Spring Game, Rogers said, the Huskers will play host to at least 50 prospects.

 

Said Jamrog: "I don't know exactly what that number is going to be. We hope it's huge. Every prospect that we think can help us, that we've evaluated, we're going to try to get to the game."

 

Nebraska had a "Junior Day" in 2008 but this year "had more numbers and definitely more depth in number of states," Jamrog said.

 

"Our main focal point is to make sure that with anyone within a 500-mile radius, we've done a very thorough job of evaluating players starting first and foremost with the state of Nebraska," Jamrog said.

 

Texas and California obviously will continue to be emphasized, he said. In Nebraska's 21-player class of 2009, eight players are from Texas, six from California, two from Nebraska and one apiece from Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri and North Dakota.

 

"Certainly we're going to recruit other areas than those," Jamrog said. "But we know if we do an excellent job in that 500-mile radius and California and Texas, that we can have a heck of a class."

[HSKRNOKC]

Have heard that Bell has early interest. Wondering if this put a spark in any else?

[husker B-rent]

Have heard that Bell has early interest. Wondering if this put a spark in any else?

 

i see that brian butler is his "mentor". kinda makes me think twice about him.

 

from scout:

 

"His father played in the NFL and his uncle was an NFL All-Pro so he has great pedigree," said trainer/mentor Brian Butler. "He can flat throw the ball. There may be a 6-1 or 6-2 kid who is more technical but he's the 6-6 kid who can really sling it. To me, he's like a Carson Palmer type."

[Ohio Pete]

Have heard that Bell has early interest. Wondering if this put a spark in any else?

 

i see that brian butler is his "mentor". kinda makes me think twice about him.

 

from scout:

 

"His father played in the NFL and his uncle was an NFL All-Pro so he has great pedigree," said trainer/mentor Brian Butler. "He can flat throw the ball. There may be a 6-1 or 6-2 kid who is more technical but he's the 6-6 kid who can really sling it. To me, he's like a Carson Palmer type."

A lot of kids get trained by him and don't end up with the same level of involvement as Bryce Brown. If you look at the list of players on his site, most don't have the shenanigans that apparently follow BB.

[BigRedMan]

On that guys site it has a player named Wil Richards, Is that the same Wil Richards that is walking on for us?

[Ohio Pete]

OWH article on Junior day:

Football: NU embraces 'junior day'

BY MITCH SHERMAN

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

 

LINCOLN - Forty-six high school juniors showed up recently on the Nebraska campus for a day of exploration and explanation less than a week after signing day.

 

They came from eight states and included 20 prospects from Nebraska. Many will earn major college football scholarships and some figure to help shape the Huskers' recruiting class of 2010.

 

Not bad, huh?

 

Compare it to Texas, which snagged 10 oral commitments from a similar event last week, and you'd think NU officials might feel a bit depressed.

 

No way, according to Jeff Jamrog, Nebraska's assistant athletic director for football operations.

 

"We feel comfortable with where we're at," Jamrog said, "and we feel good about what we're doing. Some people may think it's all about early commitments. With us, we just want to make sure that the ones we offer scholarships are the right ones and that they make their decisions at the right time."

 

There's no denying that the recruiting process moves more quickly every year, in large part because of emerging forces like the junior day. It's a trend that has swept through major conferences to bring emerging prospects in big numbers to campus.

 

As with many aspects of recruiting, Nebraska faces natural disadvantages in competing for participation in its junior days against programs in the South surrounded by high concentrations of premier talent.

 

"It's gotten crazy out there," said Barry Every, a recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and former administrative assistant for football at North Carolina, Florida State and Georgia. "This stuff is to the point where it never ends."

 

Every left FSU to work at Georgia after the 2000 season. While in Tallahassee, he said, he never recalled the Seminoles hosting an event specifically billed as a junior day. The school tried to cater to juniors for one, lower-profile home game each year, he said, but not much more until spring.

 

By his final season at UGA in 2007, Every helped plan four junior days a year in addition to other events devised to bring underclassmen to campus.

 

It all happened as a result of accelerated recruiting and early commitments.

 

And Texas, no surprise, has led the charge nationally. UT has secured half or more of its recent recruiting classes as a direct result of junior day events.

 

"There's no doubt the whole process starts much earlier now," Jamrog said. "We think it's a priority to get as many juniors on campus and do it right after the signing date."

 

Nebraska held its first junior day on Feb. 7 as the ink had barely dried on 19 letters of intent signed four days earlier.

 

"I don't really feel like we're trying to keep up with anybody," said Megan Rogers, NU coordinator of on-campus recruiting. "We've been doing the same things that other schools are doing."

 

So what happens on a junior day?

 

It's like an en masse unofficial visit, meaning prospects must pay their own way to campus. Players toured the facilities this month and met with coaches and strength and conditioning and academic personnel.

 

Nebraska began to distribute invites to the event on Sept. 1, the first day permissible by the NCAA to contact high school juniors in writing. Another junior day is set for April 18 in conjunction with the Red-White game.

 

Rogers said the Huskers may add a third junior day to the spring schedule.

 

"We want them to see everything the university has to offer," she said.

 

Among the notable prospects to attend Nebraska's first junior day were offensive lineman Luke Joeckel and wide receiver Ross Apo of Arlington, Texas, quarterback Blake Bell of Wichita, Kan., receiver Marquise Hill of St. Louis and defensive tackle Beau Allen of Minnetonka, Minn.

 

Most of the 46 juniors visited with at least one family member - a plus, according to Rogers.

 

Before leaving Lincoln, many attended the NU-Texas men's basketball game at the Devaney Center, a 58-55 upset win for the Huskers.

 

Finally, a victory over the Longhorns with recruiting implications.

[Ohio Pete]

Another junior day is set for April 18 in conjunction with the Red-White game.

 

Rogers said the Huskers may add a third junior day to the spring schedule.

 

"We want them to see everything the university has to offer," she said.

FYI the Nebraska Spring game is the same day, April 18th, as the spring games for the following Big 12 schools (Big 12 blog):

Iowa State

Missouri

OSU

TAMU

TTech

 

You'd have to think Nebraska has a nice shot at the kids it gets to come to the Spring Game.

[glm09]

Another junior day is set for April 18 in conjunction with the Red-White game.

 

Rogers said the Huskers may add a third junior day to the spring schedule.

 

"We want them to see everything the university has to offer," she said.

FYI the Nebraska Spring game is the same day, April 18th, as the spring games for the following Big 12 schools (Big 12 blog):

Iowa State

Missouri

OSU

TAMU

TTech

 

You'd have to think Nebraska has a nice shot at the kids it gets to come to the Spring Game.

 

Does Missouri use their spring game as a huge recruiting tool like we do? Because there are several guys, WR especially, that we are going to be battling them for. Wonder where they will end up on that day.