The 3-2-1: Final thoughts from June and what’s next?

We put a wrap on what’s been a very crazy June and more in this week’s 3-2-1 column.

1 – Nebraska does not appear to be in a rush to fill spots

At seven commits on June 24, things would normally be behind for Nebraska, but in 2022 it appears that’s right where Scott Frost wants them.

The Huskers are halfway home in their class of 2022 from what we know today. I think for a lot of us, that’s hard to believe.

We have become so accustomed to NU taking a full 25 every year, and now things are on track to be the smallest class size we’ve seen at NU in the 85-scholarship era.

The best way to describe things is every position has to size down by one. Instead of three at a position, you might be taking two, etc.

That has left a lot of interesting situations. In normal years with full numbers, you could afford to offer guys like North Platte’s Vince Genatone and West Fargo’s (N.D.) Carson Hegerle. In 2022 they are now “wait and see guys.”

COVID-19 has essentially created a mess that could be on our hands as deep as 2025.

The NCAA remains the biggest wildcard on what they will do with Super Seniors for 2022.

For Nebraska, the other issue will be rebalancing their numbers. With 52 players now carrying freshman designation, they have to redistribute that weight as much as they can.

2 – Raiola was the big story that came from this June

A lot of things came out of this very busy month of June for Nebraska, but the biggest story for me was 2024 Burleson (Texas) quarterback Dylan Raiola.

I’ve seen a lot of quarterbacks throw at Husker camps since 2004, but none at the level of Raiola.

He has Rivals100 and five-star potential. His connection to the program is obvious.

Dominic Raiola told me Friday they plan to watch NU play at Oklahoma this year and hopefully get up to a home game as well.

The Huskers will have a chance with one of the top 2024 quarterbacks in the country, but a lot of that will be based on program trajectory and stability over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

3 – Group of Chicago prospects all leave Lincoln with an offer Friday

There was so much attention that came out of the Dylan Raiola camp performance on Friday, but several other storylines emerged.

I thought the biggest was the group of Chicago prospects that came to FNL and all left Lincoln with an offer.

2022 athlete Jalil Martin, 2023 wide receivers Logan Lester and Malik Elzy, and 2024 wide receiver I’Marion Stewart all made their mark on Friday.

Watching them line up and catch passes from Raiola, along with 2024 Bellevue West wide receiver Daevonn Hall and 2023 Nebraska tight end recruit Ben Brahmer, was a lot of fun.

This workout that took place inside the Hawks Center was easily the high point that came from NU’s 2021 camp slate.

1 – What do you think happens with super seniors in 2022?

Nobody knows when the NCAA will make a decision on Super Seniors for the 2022 season in the FBS ranks.

For Nebraska, there are a lot of guys that will be on that bubble on whether or not they will want to return for an extra year.

Today, I think the NCAA is going to end up rolling over the 2021 Super Senior rule to 2022. If the NCAA doesn’t, it will create a mess by taking away opportunities from 2022 high school recruits who will be left without spots.

I also get the impression NU is telling recruits to hang tight, hoping this is the direction things head.

2 – What recruit was the biggest surprise that Nebraska got in with this June?

There were several recruits who ended up taking official visits to Nebraska this June that weren’t necessarily on the radar before.

It’s easy to say running back commit Ashton Hayes here, but the biggest surprise visitor for me was Oraland (Fla.) Evans defensive back Markeith Williams.

This is classic Travis Fisher. He oftentimes recruits very under the radar and has been able to land commits and visits from prospects nobody even knew the Huskers were in the mix with. Williams is a perfect example of this, as the Big Red are battling Ohio State and Miami for Williams.

Today, Nebraska appears to be in a spot where they can’t take linebacker Tyler Martin’s commitment.

However, I think once the Huskers learn more about the numbers and how things work, they will have room for Martin. I predict, once Martin has the green light from NU, he will be N.

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and he can be heard each day at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week he appears on NET’s Big Red Wrap-Tuesday’s at 7 pm.