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Nebraska Goes 0 For Wednesday On JUCO Players

The Huskers have a bad day with Beau Sandland, Quincy Russell and Lavon Hooks all saying thanks but no thanks.

By Brian Towle
Me too man, me too.
Me too man, me too.
Eric Francis

Man, I woke up today with a GREAT FEELING about Nebraska recruiting. I mean, David Knevel made it official on his commitment to the Husker, and Nebraska started today with three potential JUCO recruits that could see IMMEDIATE playing time next year.

First things first, big time TE recruit Beau Sandland. I mean, granted I know Mike Marrow was the lead and with him taking the Kentucky job, it was a reach. But, Sandland would start immediately for Tim Beck's offense, and would be the main man at TE in both blocking and catching, so one would think that playing in front of a packed house every Saturday at home would be worth more than playing at Miami and their sparse crowds with the haze of a NCAA investigation and such. So it seems to me like thi-

Yep. To Miami.

Alright, fine, lets talk Quincy Russell, the kid who left Texas and wanted to come to Lincoln. It was down to Nebraska and Oklahoma for him, and surely the kid who went to UT wouldn't want to head to Norman. Also, Nebraska also needs depth and experience at DT for next year. So surely Nebraska could win this one an-

Russell is gone, to Oklahoma. Who, in all honesty, probably has as much for DT's in this cycle as Nebraska does.

FINE WHATEVER, WE AREN'T TAKING THE SOMBRERO TODAY. Let's talk.... Lavon Hooks YEA LAVON HOOKS. I mean, yea, he has pushed his commitment back from last week to today, and 2 hours even today cause it sounds like Nebraska was back in it baby! He sees what's going on in Lincoln and wants to be here an-

Son of a bitch? Son of a bitch. Now, Hooks hasn't announced (as of 2pm Central) and I doubt he's going to anytime soon, but if Clouse says it ain't happening, that is good enough for me.

So, to summarize, on a day when the Huskers needed some hits, Nebraska went 0 for 3 on Wednesday. On a day that they couldn't afford to go 0 for on recruiting. JUCO DT's? That's a healthy 0-5 this cycle. This is bad, folks. I know I'm not the most bright guy, but dang, this one isn't a good day.

Now, I saw this tweet and some people got upset about it (re: Sandland)

While sometimes I don't agree with Sipple, he's got a very valid point. If you look at what Nebraska has sent to the NFL lately (Mike McNeil) versus the Hurricanes (Shockey, Jimmy Graham, Gregg Olson), this makes perfect sense for Sandland in that regards. He's going to have to compete for playing time in south Florida, but as far as perception, it could be very well a no-brainer for him given how Nebraska used both Kyler Reed and Ben Cotton this year. However, I still come back to the point he'd be the main guy the second he stepped into North Stadium. That, and the relationship with Marrow was the big game changer here.

Did Nebraska drop the ball with Sandland? That's a good question, and there's no guarantee that he comes with Marrow in Lincoln. But, with what was said to everyone from Beau, I can't believe that Nebraska wouldn't have him today if it wasn't for Vince leaving for Lexington.

Russell and Hooks are really more interesting to me. I mean, Toby Johnson isn't coming anymore, neither is Ben Bradley. That means that Nebraska has a very young and thin defensive line next year.

This is where I wonder how a head coach that has put people like Jared Crick, Glenn Dorsey and of course Ndamukong Suh into the NFL and made them college superstars can't recruit a fairly moderate amount of Junior College kids? Is it the 2 gap, contain scheme? Is it the thought that Nebraska could move to a 3-4 defense? Combination of the two? Your guess could be as good as mine.

Also, and this is for another article but something to think about... why nothing from Iowa Western Community College for Nebraska? They won the JUCO National Championships this year, and in Atlantic, Iowa, they are within a hour of Omaha and within 2 of Lincoln. But not even a interest in anyone from there for Nebraska? What gives there?

Now, the next question: where to go from here? That's something to consider in the coming days. From what we've learned before in previous seasons, Nebraska sometimes has "Plan B's" that the staff has reached on in past seasons. There are kids to be had, but it's gonna be tough filling 9-10 spots with kids who are going to make a difference.

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