July Recruiting Thread… it’s almost gameday (2 Viewers)

[Fargo Husker]

IRVINE, Calif. - Brandon Baker could announce his commitment soon but he also wants to schedule one other official visit so it might be months until the top-rated offensive tackle makes his choice.


“It’s still very unsure,” Baker said at the NIL Sports Summer Kick-Off.

“I was thinking August or September, it felt really good after official visit season. But I’m trying to schedule an official visit to Nebraska in September so if that’s the case then likely December.”

If the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout does take that trip to Lincoln, it’s for good cause as he sees it since the Huskers have appealed to him for a long time.

“I really love the atmosphere, just the energy the Nebraska program brings,” Baker said.

“Coach (Matt) Rhule has seen it down at Baylor, at Temple, he’s been in the NFL so he knows what it looks like. He’s brought those two programs from the bottom up so he could do something special at Nebraska as well, just give him time and I believe so.”

The consensus thinking is that Oregon is the frontrunner and while Baker does not deny heavy interest in the Ducks - and for numerous reasons - there are still many others involved.

“Oregon is still there,” Baker said. “It’s not what everybody believes at the moment but Oregon has always felt like home. I have an older brother who graduated from the University of Oregon. I’ve always been familiar with the program so there is familiarity with that program.”

That list of other top teams includes Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas and Florida State. He’s also still poking around with Tennessee but the others have the edge at this point.

“Ohio State was a great official visit,” Baker said. “I love the culture and I love what coach (Justin) Frye is doing as well as Texas, I love the culture they’re bringing, Florida State, Nebraska, Oregon, that group.

“The opportunity each one brings. You can never go wrong with any of those schools to be coached by great o-line coaches, great head coaches, coach (Mike) Norvell, coach (Steve) Sarkisian, coach (Ryan) Day, coach Rhule, it’s just a great opportunity at all those schools.”

 

[Kaladin]

IRVINE, Calif. - Brandon Baker could announce his commitment soon but he also wants to schedule one other official visit so it might be months until the top-rated offensive tackle makes his choice.


“It’s still very unsure,” Baker said at the NIL Sports Summer Kick-Off.

“I was thinking August or September, it felt really good after official visit season. But I’m trying to schedule an official visit to Nebraska in September so if that’s the case then likely December.”

If the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout does take that trip to Lincoln, it’s for good cause as he sees it since the Huskers have appealed to him for a long time.

“I really love the atmosphere, just the energy the Nebraska program brings,” Baker said.

“Coach (Matt) Rhule has seen it down at Baylor, at Temple, he’s been in the NFL so he knows what it looks like. He’s brought those two programs from the bottom up so he could do something special at Nebraska as well, just give him time and I believe so.”

The consensus thinking is that Oregon is the frontrunner and while Baker does not deny heavy interest in the Ducks - and for numerous reasons - there are still many others involved.

“Oregon is still there,” Baker said. “It’s not what everybody believes at the moment but Oregon has always felt like home. I have an older brother who graduated from the University of Oregon. I’ve always been familiar with the program so there is familiarity with that program.”

That list of other top teams includes Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas and Florida State. He’s also still poking around with Tennessee but the others have the edge at this point.

“Ohio State was a great official visit,” Baker said. “I love the culture and I love what coach (Justin) Frye is doing as well as Texas, I love the culture they’re bringing, Florida State, Nebraska, Oregon, that group.

“The opportunity each one brings. You can never go wrong with any of those schools to be coached by great o-line coaches, great head coaches, coach (Mike) Norvell, coach (Steve) Sarkisian, coach (Ryan) Day, coach Rhule, it’s just a great opportunity at all those schools.”

He wants to be N so bad

 

[Kaladin]

gonna be one hell of line class after we add Brix and Baker

 

[Baron Winnebago]

gonna be one hell of line class after we add Brix and Baker

Uncle Donny finna have us so loaded we might play 7 or 8 linemen at a time #hawgmolllies 🍆

 

[Carm]

Not just Gorney - 247 now

Nebraska making a push with Five-Star OL Brandon Baker: Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive lineman Brandon Baker has another school in mind for an early season official visit. Baker is currently rated the No. 21 player​

GREG BIGGINS63 mins10

Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive lineman Brandon Baker has another school in mind for an early season official visit.

Baker is currently rated the No. 21 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite as well as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country.

We had a chance to see him work out over the weekend at the NIL Sports Summer Kick Off and physically, he looked very good. He weighed in at 6-5, 290 pounds with an 83” wingspan and carries his weight extremely well.

He looks lean and has plenty of room to add good weight and he has always been a plus athlete for the position.

On the recruiting front, Baker took June official visits to Georgia, Ohio State and Texas and told us the Buckeyes made the biggest impression.

“I liked all the visits but Ohio State was my favorite one,” Baker said. “I just really like the coaches there, coach Day and I’m very close with coach (Justin) Frye.

“He might be the OL coach I’m closet with and I really like the plan they have in place for me. Texas was a great trip too and I can definitely see myself there. They have everything you need to be successful and I really like the overall fit and comfort level for me there.”

Baker has gone back and forth in terms of his timeframe for making a decision. At one point, we thought it could happen late summer but as of now, we don’t expect a decision to happen that soon.

“I’m going to try and take an official visit to Nebraska,” Baker said. “We have a bye the weekend of September 16 and they have a home game that weekend too so the timing works out well.

“I took two unofficial visits and loved it there. I love the fan support, the atmosphere and I like what coach Rhule is building. He’s a great coach and I think they’re going to be really good so I definitely want to take a closer look.”

Oregon is one school that has always been high on Baker’s list. He didn’t visit back in June but said that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that his interest in the Ducks has wavered.

“No I still like Oregon a lot,” Baker said. “I actually wanted to go to their Saturday Night Live event at the end of this month but I won’t be able to make it because we start practice.

“I was gone a lot during the spring so once we start fall camp, I’m going to be locked in on my team. I still have high interest in Oregon but I’ve been there so many times already. I wanted to visit some other schools and see how they compare to Oregon, that’s where things are at right now.”

 

[Tsakoi]

I ain't falling for this Baker shit.

I also wasn't falling for the Hawaii kid either.

(See what I did there?)

 

[Carm]

I ain't falling for this Baker shit.

I also wasn't falling for the Hawaii kid either.

(See what I did there?)

I am normally an optimist, but I just don't believe this guy will ever sign with Nebraska.

 

[iruletheskool]

I am normally an optimist, but I just don't believe this guy will ever sign with Nebraska.

You gotta shoot to score

 

[Carm]

You gotta shoot to score

I'm not saying we shouldn't have him visit

 

[Kazman5k]

Not just Gorney - 247 now

Nebraska making a push with Five-Star OL Brandon Baker: Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive lineman Brandon Baker has another school in mind for an early season official visit. Baker is currently rated the No. 21 player​

GREG BIGGINS63 mins10

Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive lineman Brandon Baker has another school in mind for an early season official visit.

Baker is currently rated the No. 21 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite as well as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country.

We had a chance to see him work out over the weekend at the NIL Sports Summer Kick Off and physically, he looked very good. He weighed in at 6-5, 290 pounds with an 83” wingspan and carries his weight extremely well.

He looks lean and has plenty of room to add good weight and he has always been a plus athlete for the position.

On the recruiting front, Baker took June official visits to Georgia, Ohio State and Texas and told us the Buckeyes made the biggest impression.

“I liked all the visits but Ohio State was my favorite one,” Baker said. “I just really like the coaches there, coach Day and I’m very close with coach (Justin) Frye.

“He might be the OL coach I’m closet with and I really like the plan they have in place for me. Texas was a great trip too and I can definitely see myself there. They have everything you need to be successful and I really like the overall fit and comfort level for me there.”

Baker has gone back and forth in terms of his timeframe for making a decision. At one point, we thought it could happen late summer but as of now, we don’t expect a decision to happen that soon.

“I’m going to try and take an official visit to Nebraska,” Baker said. “We have a bye the weekend of September 16 and they have a home game that weekend too so the timing works out well.

“I took two unofficial visits and loved it there. I love the fan support, the atmosphere and I like what coach Rhule is building. He’s a great coach and I think they’re going to be really good so I definitely want to take a closer look.”

Oregon is one school that has always been high on Baker’s list. He didn’t visit back in June but said that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that his interest in the Ducks has wavered.

“No I still like Oregon a lot,” Baker said. “I actually wanted to go to their Saturday Night Live event at the end of this month but I won’t be able to make it because we start practice.

“I was gone a lot during the spring so once we start fall camp, I’m going to be locked in on my team. I still have high interest in Oregon but I’ve been there so many times already. I wanted to visit some other schools and see how they compare to Oregon, that’s where things are at right now.”

This is a pipe dream but sept 16th is an ideal visit day. First home game under the light against an opponent we (should) kick the shit out of. About as hyped as it can get.

 

[nja13]

IIRC, the scuttlebutt when we fell out of contention the first time – besides not winning enough to attract a No. 1 player – was that we didn't want to meet his NIL ask. He wanted elite left tackle money and we didn't think he was an elite left tackle. Maybe that's all hocus pocus, or maybe we've changed our tune on our NIL offer?

 

[The Bearded One]

IIRC, the scuttlebutt when we fell out of contention the first time – besides not winning enough to attract a No. 1 player – was that we didn't want to meet his NIL ask. He wanted elite left tackle money and we didn't think he was an elite left tackle. Maybe that's all hocus pocus, or maybe we've changed our tune on our NIL offer?

 

[Kinish]

I ain't falling for this Baker shit.

I also wasn't falling for the Hawaii kid either.

(See what I did there?)

That only works once a cycle.. Baker is so gone

 

[Carm]

IIRC, the scuttlebutt when we fell out of contention the first time – besides not winning enough to attract a No. 1 player – was that we didn't want to meet his NIL ask. He wanted elite left tackle money and we didn't think he was an elite left tackle. Maybe that's all hocus pocus, or maybe we've changed our tune on our NIL offer?

I doubt we changed the NIL policy. Rhule doesn't appear to want to have a huge NIL differential between freshmen and doesn't want to get a freshman who is coming simply because we have the highest NIL offer.

That seems like a reasonable approach to me. I think it would create issues that would make it impossible to build the kind of culture Rhule says he wants.

The other possibility is that maybe he is no longer asking for as much NIL.

 

[BorWhiskey]

Or, thinking back to the NIL round table discussion, @ShortSideOption mentioned that players can get better offers from having a good social media presence. And the best way to do that is flirt with us. This isn’t anything but that at this point. Some smoke would be out there if this was legit. Maybe I missed it but it doesn’t seem like the Nebraska recruiting gurus are asking him questions or reaching out for quotes. I bet they know this one isn’t worth the squeeze and are going to let national people write the farcical stories about there being a chance.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

Uncle Donny has offered young Brendan something far more valuable than worldly possession: good vibes and the opportunity to be his ohana

 

[ShortSideOption]

Or, thinking back to the NIL round table discussion, @ShortSideOption mentioned that players can get better offers from having a good social media presence. And the best way to do that is flirt with us. This isn’t anything but that at this point. Some smoke would be out there if this was legit. Maybe I missed it but it doesn’t seem like the Nebraska recruiting gurus are asking him questions or reaching out for quotes. I bet they know this one isn’t worth the squeeze and are going to let national people write the farcical stories about there being a chance.

I wonder if anyone uses Tater Island valuations (which take into account social media presence) to try and broker deals. Going further, one of our local guys had the team he was committed to tell him "you'll actually have the ability to get different NIL deals than a lot of the local kids we have because of your reach back home."

I have zero idea what that means or how that could help him with a team in another state and I didn't care enough to ask because NIL has bothered me from the beginning.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Uncle Donny has offered young Brendan something far more valuable than worldly possession: good vibes and the opportunity to be his ohana

I'm old enough to remember Frosty bringing in Vaha Vainuku to help jumpstart the Polynesian pipeline. This tweet has me laughing:

 

[slattimer]

I'm old enough to remember Frosty bringing in Vaha Vainuku to help jumpstart the Polynesian pipeline. This tweet has me laughing:

Dean was always good at overestimating any Juco croot oe transfer as immediate impact guys.

 

[1HuskerDad]

Dean was always good at overestimating any Juco croot oe transfer as immediate impact guys.

Evidently, so was Frost!