Good afternoon, everyone! It’s a whole new world! (of recruiting, that is). To get the 2020 recruiting class kicked off, let’s acquaint ourselves with some names and key targets. There’s a few moonshots, and a few sure things listed here. Buckle in, it’s time to ride that magic carpet ride that is football recruiting again!

In-State Offers

Remember how last year only kids named Garrett were offered? Similar theme this year:

Zavier Betts - The top prospect from the state, Betts is a four-star, speedy receiver who is ranked 61 in the 247 Composite rankings. Also has offers from Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State and others.

Xavier Watts - Hailing from the same high school as current Huskers Chris Hickman and Nick Henrich, Watts is three-star receiver (who is also a dang good safety) with offers from Tennessee, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Notre Dame, among others.

Local Offers

South Dakota, don’tcha know?

Nash Hutmacher - Top recruit out of South Dakota and four-star offensive tackle. Potentially an all-name candidate. Offers from Oregon, Wisconsin, and Iowa State.

St. Louis

The recruiting staff is working hard to form a beachhead in this recruiting hotbed. It remains a tough nut to crack.

Reggie Love - No relation to Stanford’s Bryce, but the four-star running back has some good offers from Notre Dame, Illinois, and Arkansas.

Jordan Johnson - A top-50 player and four-star receiver, Johnson is a four-star receiver whose offer list includes Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State and Notre Dame. He’s announcing his commitment July 28.

James Frenchie - Four-star receiver with a great name and the classic Midwest-player offer list: the Kansas’s, Missouri, the Iowa’s, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

Jalen St. John - A three-star offensive lineman who has the same offer list as Frenchie, but Auburn and Tennessee are also there.

Kevon Billingsley - Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Georgia are names that pop-out on the offer list for this four-star defensive tackle. He’s headed to Tuscaloosa, right?

Antonio Doyle - Four-star inside linebacker with offers from LSU, Michigan and most other Midwest schools. According to 247, he is warm on the Huskers over everyone so clearly Ruud can recruit.

Mookie Cooper - We were burned by Bookie going to Oklahoma, but thankfully Mookie didn’t play with our emotions. The four-star running back has already committed to Texas.

Kansas

Those wheat fields are good for making offensive linemen. Must be all the wheat farming.

Turner Corcoran - It’s a three-man race between Oklahoma, Ohio State and Nebraska for the four-star offensive tackle. And it looks like he’s leaning Huskers (don’t freak out, don’t freak out).

Hayden Pauls - Three-star lineman with a miniature version of the classic Midwest offer list. You can just tell he will go to Iowa or Kansas State and become an all-conference player.

Alex Conn - Not much is known about this guy. He has no ranking and only one offer, from the Huskers. Either this is another catfish or Greg Austin is onto something with this 6-6 offensive tackle.

Colorado

Apparently the mountains build good linemen too. Must be all the climbing.

Andrew Gentry - A four-star offensive tackle whose recruiting battle looks to come down to which religion he chooses: Catholicism (Notre Dame), Mormonism (BYU), the Church of Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), or the sacred Roll Tide (Alabama).

Reece Atteberry - Another offensive lineman with four stars, another offer from Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Ohio State.

Roger Rosengarten - He’s six feet, seven inches tall, has an awesome name and is warm on five schools. One of them is UCLA and we beat them in a bowl game with a losing record. That is all.

Iowa

Not many linemen prospects in Iowa. Must be all the incest.

Josh Volk - He’s a three-star guard from Iowa. He’ll be All-Conference in the Big Ten by the end of his career.

Blaise Gunnerson - A defensive end that is probably headed to Iowa State, but at 6-5, 250, he would be a underrated add for Scott Frost if he can go head-to-head with Matt Campbell.

Star Gazers

There are a surprising number of five-star prospects with Nebraska offers.

Zachary Evans - The number one player in the country and a five-star running back. He has Alabama or Georgia written all over him.

Kendall Milton - Another five-star running back who will choose whoever Evans doesn’t, or Florida State for whatever reason. He’s also warm on Fresno State so I’ll have whatever Jeff Tedford is having.

Julian Fleming - The top receiver in the country who is leaning towards joining the Big Ten, with the Buckeyes or most likely the Nittany Lions. Glad he will be in the East.

Rakim Jarrett - The third-best receiver in the country that everyone is hoping goes to Maryland instead of Ohio State.

Darnell Washington - A five-star tight end from Las Vegas. His offer list is just about everyone you would expect, plus Southern Utah and Oregon State.

Justin Rogers - A five-star guard that I would give anything to get to Lincoln, but it looks like he’s a toss-up between Ohio State and Georgia. Chalk, move on.

Bryan Bresee - The second-best player in the country and a five-star defensive end, is either going to Clemson or the Big Ten via OSU, PSU or Maryland (the Terps are really going for it).

Justin Flowe - A five-star linebacker who will most likely go to USC and become a no-name until Urban Meyer comes to LA to save the Trojans, and Flowe will be their best player. I don’t like it, but it will happen.

Sav’ell Smalls - A five-star linebacker that has to choose between to of the top coaches in the country: Nick Saban or Chris Peterson. He’s also considering Willie Taggart but, why?

Kelee Ringo - A five-star corner prospect whose choice will come down to Washington or Texas.

There are more names to know, these are just some of the top players under consideration. There will be up to ten official visits around the Spring Game. Kade or myself will get visit previews out in plenty of time to salivate over the visitors’ potential before they arrive. Welcome to the 2020 recruiting season, everyone! GBR!