By Brandon Cavanaugh
As National Signing Day grows closer, we narrow the Big Board from ten prospects down to five. Who does Nebraska need, who do they want and who feels the love going both ways?
1. DT Vincent Valentine – Big Vince gets a big bump all the way to the top spot this week as we start to really add the “need” component to The Big Board’s rankings. It’s hard to say if Valentine’s just been enjoying the attention or is truly torn about where he wants to play. Regardless, Nebraska needs big bodies in the middle and need to sell him on that hard. I still feel he ends up a Husker (barely).
2. QB Devin Fuller – It’s Rutgers vs. Nebraska for Fuller’s services right now and depending on who you talk to, either school has the inside track. The news that Grand Island, Nebraska’s Ryker Fyfe will be walking on leads me to believe that either the Cornhuskers don’t feel they have a solid shot at getting Fuller’s fax or they think he’s a lost cause. Either way, Fuller’s a guy you make room for and if he faxes in a letter of intent next week, it’ll be reason to celebrate.
3. CB Devian Shelton – As mentioned last week, there was talk that Shelton may have made up his mind about where to play football. That idea combined with the great time Shelton had in Lincoln and a likely look at the depth chart makes me think Nebraska may have him in the bag. Don’t count him as a Husker yet, though. He just returned from Washington which has skilled recruiters under Steve Sarkisian. Work of an unofficial visit to UCLA was also swirling. In the end, I don’t see him staying an Oregon State Beaver.
4. CB Brandon Beaver – Speaking of Beavers, Brandon Beaver would be an excellent complement to Shelton, but I get the idea he’s likely going to stick out west. This fight appears to have UCLA and Washington tied with Nebraska as a close third. We’ll see how much ground can be made up.
5. DT Aaron Curry – If Nebraska secures both Valentine and Curry, that’d be a boon to a thin defensive interior. However, Curry appears more likely than Big Vince at this point. Nebraska will be sitting down at home with Curry later this week where they’ll likely press for a commit. In a battle with Missouri and Iowa, the Huskers seem to have a slight lead as of now.
Silence is Golden: Devin Fuller’s a fantastic athlete, then again, so is Alonzo Moore. His name hasn’t come up much lately, and it seems unlikely it will until it crosses a fax line on February 1. Moore has Mississippi State and Nebraska at the top of his list, and while much hasn’t come out of his camp, Cornhusker coach Corey Raymond has his fingerprints all over this recruitment. Raymond’s shown he’s savvy when it comes to getting in a kid’s ear from SEC country like Moore, a Louisiana native.
On Hold: OT Andrus Peat – Depending on who you talk to, Peat’s taking a serious leaning towards Michigan, Southern Cal or Nebraska. Two main components stick out to me with Peat's recruitment – Family and money.
Peat already has a brother at Nebraska (Todd) and a cousin headed there (current commit Avery Moss). This helps when the homesick factor sets in. Also, it would be rather costly for the Peat brothers’ parents to fly two places to see their sons play. A number of people are thinking it and I’ll echo it: Andrus Peat will very likely be Nebraska’s crown jewel of this class right after he faxes his LOI on Signing Day.
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