The Weekly Rundown: Gibson Pyle’s big weekend and could Nebraska’s 2024 OL class be adding another four-star?
2024 Nebraska OL commit Gibson Pyle had a big weekend in Florida, and could the Huskers offensive line class be adding another four-star soon?
We hit on that and more as we start your Monday with The Weekly Rundown Column.
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Sure bets
You have to feel good about these things right now:
OL Gibson Pyle’s value: Sometimes, when a player commits early to Nebraska, you might forget about them.
When Houston (Texas) Klein Cain offensive lineman Gibson Pyle committed to the Huskers on Apr. 1, he was the second player to join NU’s now 23-man 2024 recruiting class. He’s an interior offensive lineman, and generally, he doesn’t play a position that garners a lot of headlines.
This weekend, Pyle more than put his name back toward the top of the recruiting class. After a strong showing at the FBU Top Gun Showcase event in Naples, Fla., Pyle earned an invite to the prestigious All-American Bowl in San Antonio. He’ll join Ainsworth (Neb.) TE commit Carter Nelson as the second Husker locked into the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious all-star football game.
This is also another great sign of how strong some of the early evaluations head coach Matt Rhule and his staff made are.
Sam Foltz’s legacy: We are approaching the seventh anniversary of the tragic death of Nebraska punter Sam Foltz. Over that time, several different things have been done to honor Foltz’s legacy.
This past weekend in Grand Island, nationally renowned kicking expert Jamie Kohl and a large group of former and current Husker specialists put on a camp to honor Foltz on the field he played his high school football.
Former Husker kickers Drew Brown, Pat Smith and Spencer Lindsay were some of the notable past players in attendance, along with current Husker kickers Tristan Alvano and Brian Buschini.
Brice Matthews to his hometown Astros: I can’t think of a better script for Nebraska baseball’s Brice Matthews. Being drafted by his hometown Astros is a homerun.
Matthew is also the highest Husker baseball player to be drafted since Alex Gordon in 2005, and no Husker has been picked in the first round since Joba Chamberlain in 2006.
Max Anderson to the Tigers: Omaha native Max Anderson was drafted in the second round by the Detroit Tigers. How about this stat: NU is the first team to have its middle infield drafted in the first two rounds since Arizona State in 2015.
Surprises
These were my surprises of the week:
OL Preston Taumua: The recruitment of Waipahu (Hawaii) offensive lineman Preston Taumua has been hard to follow, mainly because of the lack of interviews he’s done over the process.
However, what we learned this week is not only is Nebraska in the mix for his final teams, the Huskers might be the leader. I’m not sure a week ago anyone saw this coming. Oregon had been considered the leader in the clubhouse before he visited Lincoln.
Illinois’s 100+ year drought in Nebraska: Illinois is set to sign two Nebraskans in its class of 2024, which is a surprise. Omaha Central OL Caleb Pyfrom and Cross County tight end Tanner Hollinger announced their commitments to the Illini over the last two weeks.
The even bigger surprise is that Illinois has not had a Nebraka native letter for them in football since Leo Klein in 1917. That stat blows my mind. There hasn’t been a Nebraskan to play for the Illini since the end of World War I.
The jury is still out
Questions still surround these things:
Brandon Baker’s final teams: On Saturday, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive lineman Brandon Baker teased a tweet showcasing four different teams. Baker showed pictures of Florida State, Oregon, Georgia and Nebraska. He’s taken official visits to Texas, Ohio State, and UGA.
Baker does not have plans to take an official visit to Lincoln, but he visited NU in both March and April. What did his tweet mean? Are the Huskers still in the mix with Baker, or was this more a tweet to pull more engagement from Nebraska’s rabid fan base?
Grant Brix’s timeline: HuskerOnline’s Bryan Munson caught up with Logan-Magnolia (Iowa) offensive lineman Grant Brix, and not much has moved over the last two weeks.
Brix still talks regularly with Nebraska, K-State, Oklahoma and Alabama. He’s given no hint on when he might make his announcement.
Nebraska’s LB/pass rusher board: German linebacker Justin Okoronkwo de-committed from Maryland this past week. It appeared Nebraska might be in it with him after his June visit to Lincoln. However, on Sunday, he announced his commitment to Alabama.
Now, where will NU go to find another linebacker/pass-rushing piece in the recruiting class?
This has my attention
Moving forward, this has my attention:
The situation at Northwestern: What a mess. The situation at Northwestern and the alleged hazing allegations centered around Wildcat head coach Pat Fitzgerald are just getting started.
What’s interesting is the time. We are about three weeks from the start of fall camp. How Northwestern’s administration navigates through this will be very interesting. They don’t have a lot of time to figure things out.
What’s also added to this is the number of current or former players speaking out anonymously. What’s unique about Northwestern is you have very few daily reporters covering the team. A couple of fan websites and student reporters make up the daily press corps. The Chicago mainstream media only comes around for key games and big headlines. You better believe the coverage in Evanston will be ramping up heavily this week.
Former Husker Keem Green: A few former Husker players and defensive coordinator Erik Chinander expressed their prayers for the Keem Green situation.
The former NU defensive lineman appears to have been in a bad “accident’ according to Damion Daniels.
Conference Media Days season is upon us: It’s hard to believe, but Conference Media Day season is here. Things kick off this week with the Big 12 on July 12-13 in Dallas.
We won’t get Big Ten Media Days until the end of the cycle on July 26-27. The SEC is July 17-20, Pac-12 July 21 and the ACC will hold its event July 25-27.
Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and can be heard daily 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 appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.
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