tOfficial 2013 Nebraska Recruiting thread.

[Jack_John_Mark]

I'm pretty drunk.......

Maybe I just made that up or soemthin

 

[iruletheskool]

LOL. Night sir

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Night irule

 

[Brasky]

You two get along now, ye hear?

 

[Papalou]

Leader




Written by

Stu Whitney

Filed Under
Columnists
Stu Whitney










When Nate Gerry traveled to the University of Nebraska with his family last weekend as part of a hand-picked group of high-level recruits, he already knew that he would be a Cornhusker.

The Washington football standout had gained considerable recruiting buzz over the past five months, drawing major-college offers from Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State, Arizona State and Michigan.

But the 6-foot-2, 208-pound rising senior had a special feeling about the Huskers, especially after meeting athletic director Tom Osborne and head football coach Bo Pelini as part of the school’s “Big Red Weekend” recruiting fest.

So when Pelini invited Gerry and his parents into his office Saturday and talked of the program’s plans to play Gerry early and often at the safety position, the kid was ready to pounce.

“Coach Pelini asked if I had any questions,” says Gerry, ranked 93rd nationally by ESPN among 2013 recruits at the “athlete” position. “I told him I didn’t have any questions, but that I wanted to be a Husker and gave him my verbal commitment. He seemed pretty happy about that.”

Gerry said the front-runners for his services were Nebraska and Iowa, and the Huskers won out by forging a consistent relationship that included not just Pelini but associate head coach Barney Cotton and secondary coach Terry Joseph.

“The communication with Nebraska was just a lot different and a lot better,” says Gerry, a standout sprinter who helped Washington claim another boys track title last month. “I knew all the coaches, and they kept in touch and visited a lot. They made me feel comfortable.”

Pelini is not the first talent-seeking coach to promise playing time to a recruit, but he told Gerry and his parents, Brian and Kelli, that his assurances were not just lip service.

“He told Nate, ‘Our plan for you is to play you early,” said Brian Gerry, head athletic trainer at Augustana. “He said they had two seniors who were safeties and a junior who’s a good player, but after that they were looking for Nate to be part of the future of their defensive backfield.

 

[Papalou]

“(Pelini) said, ‘We’re still undecided about whether we’re going to redshirt you or not, but your football future is as big as you want to make it. You have all the tools to be successful.’ ”

That’s not a big secret around here, although Gerry has been known primarily as a wide receiver at the high school level. As a junior in 2011, he averaged 18.3 yards a catch on 34 receptions with eight touchdowns to earn Argus Leader Elite 45 honors.

He has since increased his size and speed (10.39 in the 100 meters and 21.31 in the 200) to become a three-star recruit, and he envisions rising further as part of the Husker football tradition.

“He was very excited about the facilities and prestige of Nebraska itself,” says Brian Gerry. “When it came down to Nebraska and Iowa, it impressed him that there was a very strong family atmosphere about Husker football, and they showed genuine interest. They have high expectations for Nate.”

It was a significant recruiting victory for Nebraska, whose past forays into South Dakota produced All-Americans such as Larry Jacobson (Sioux Falls) and John Dutton and Randy Schleusener (Rapid City). More recently, area players Mark Vedral (Gregory) and Kyle VandenBosch (Larchwood, Iowa) made their mark in Lincoln.

For Gerry and his family, it was also a relief. Though the major-college recruiting whirlwind can be exhilarating at first, it can also wear you down over time.

At the end, he was getting handwritten letters from head coaches such as Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) and Jerry Kill (Minnesota) on a regular basis.

“He gets six to eight pieces of mail every day, in addition to all the phone calls and text messages,” says Brian Gerry, whose older son Matt is a receiver at Augustana.

“Nate is very mature in his ability to handle all that, but I get the sense that he feels very good about the decision being made, so he can move on and get ready for his senior year at Washington. There’s a peace about him now.”

Says Nate: “It takes a big chunk off my shoulders and allows me to focus on winning a state football championship with the Warriors.”

That’s bad news for rival coaches, because Washington could well be the state’s top-ranked team with a future Cornhusker leading the way on both sides of the ball.

“He’s definitely a Division I athlete,” said O’Gorman coach Steve Kueter. “We’ve watched him develop through the years, and he’s the real deal. Everyone will have to account for him, because he’s a game-changer.”

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Gerry is a guaranteed future Husker stud........

BOOKMARKIT

 

[Brasky]

Gerry is a guaranteed future Husker stud........

BOOKMARKIT

Anything in particular you noticed about his build....JJM?

And don't say I didn't fuckin tell you so.

 

[Brasky]

Can someone tell me who each guy is? I have a pretty good idea but...

 

[Brasky]

From left to right I think it's Dan Samuelson, Josh Banderas, Greg Hart, Christian Lacouture, Nathan Gerry, A.J. Natter

 

[chucksker]

QB Damion Hobbs has the Huskers in his top 3. other 2 are Arkansas St. and Missouri....it will be BAD if we cant real him in over those other two schools....

 

[Brasky]

It's not like we've never lost a QB to Missouri.

They like to pass over there.

 

[HuskerInSecLand]

I have??

I love ye, jjm. It wes jest a troll attack

FEGS!!

 

[chucksker]

It's not like we've never lost a QB to Missouri.

They like to pass over there.

yes but, even though i don't like Tito very much...Tito>>>>>>Gabbert.

 

[Brasky]

HAH!!!!!!!!!! Chuck if we would have had gabbert you realize we would have won 2 big 12 championships, and we likely would have won the national title in 2009, right?

 

[HuskerInSecLand]

Good article lou. That's twice today I wanted to rep ya but I got to spread some love.

 

[chucksker]

HAH!!!!!!!!!! Chuck if we would have had gabbert you realize we would have won 2 big 12 championships, and we likely would have won the national title in 2009, right?

i realize this, but that don't mean i have to like him.

 

[Brasky]

I fuckin hate him, but I would take him over martinez all day every day.

 

[chucksker]

i would too, i just don't want to have to admit it

 

[Papalou]

Good article lou. That's twice today I wanted to rep ya but I got to spread some love.

no worries HISL I liked it and thought you fellers would too