Three & Out: Carter Nelson is worthy of the hype, offers trickling out in August, and Conor Booth was Nebraska’s guy
Three & Out is Nebraska On3’s feature in which recruiting analyst Bryan Munson gives his weekly takes on topical issues concerning Nebraska football and recruiting.
In this week’s Three & Out, Carter Nelson has a huge week one for Ainsworth, a number of new offers have been made by Nebraska in August, and Nebraska was quick to evaluate Conor Booth and the Huskers got their man. Here is your Three & Out:
Carter Nelson is showing he’s worth the hype
I never needed any convincing that Carter Nelson was Nebraska’s No. 1 player in the 2024 class. Some scoffed. When the offers started rolling in, some still didn’t think that the offers justified ranking and where things stood in the state.
If week one is what we can expect from Nelson this season, then you can anticipate a record-breaking season. Carter had an impact catching, throwing, and running the football. Nelson finished with 363 total yards (118 yards rushing, 89 yards passing, and 156 yards receiving) and six total TDs (two touchdowns each for rushing, passing, and receiving).
RushesYardsTDsReceptionsYardsYds/CompTDs911823156522
CompletionsAttemptsYardsComp %TDsINTs498944%20
The performance was a convincing one. Nelson is on a mission to lead his Ainsworth team to a title. And while some folks won’t get past his production numbers on the field, his production tells me something else. He’s healthy.
The ankle injury that Nelson suffered playing basketball last year lingered. It never had a chance to heal. He was only out a few weeks and back on it, trying to push through. He rolled right into track that spring, where it was clear his ankle was still not 100% based on very good track times and numbers, but not numbers like we had seen him produce.
I talked with Nelson after the spring when recruiting was going crazy for him. He was going to physical therapy, still trying to get his ankle right. He needed that time to heal and recover from the injury he never got through the winter and the spring. Now that his senior year is here, it’s clear: he’s back.
Nelson is the most highly recruited player from Nebraska that I have ever covered. The talented athlete has the total package of speed, athleticism, and still has so much more potential than where he is currently. He’s worthy of the hype; this season, he will have an excellent chance to demonstrate that to everyone.
Offers trickling out in August
There is a growing list of offers going out to 2025 and 2026 players. The Nebraska staff seems eager to get into the season to start hosting recruits from the next couple of recruiting classes. Some good recruiting weekends are coming in September, and I fully expect the Nebraska staff to load those games up with 2025 and beyond recruits.
Nebraska gets their guy with RB Conor Booth
I can still think back to the conversations with Conor Booth following camp in June and picking up an offer from the Nebraska staff, which convinced me that Nebraska had located their running back for the class.
Being a two-sport athlete, the time playing baseball ate into other things. It’s a common theme. Time spent playing one keeps you away from the other.
Booth did what he felt like he needed to do this summer when it came to football. That was, go to Nebraska camp, perform well, and get an offer. But it was only half of the equation that he needed to solve.
After Booth picked up the offer for Nebraska, he immediately told me that he planned to try to play both sports in college. It’s sometimes the kiss of death. It’s on the school now to evaluate if the recruit is worth it to float on a full-ride scholarship when he’s not dedicated to one sport.
I remember having a conversation about Khiry Cooper, who was recruited to play wide receiver for Nebraska but also wanted to play baseball in college. The person I spoke to about Cooper brought up a saying about multi-sport athletes in college: an athlete who plays two sports in college never reaches their potential in either.
These are harsh words but typically accurate.
The plan by Booth is to give both sports a try, but he knows where his bread is buttered. The Nebraska football staff knows as well. If the attempt is falling short, meaning Booth’s time could be better served getting ready to play football, he will know.
He wants his chance, and he got it. Nebraska moved quickly and pulled this one together. Other schools could have had the same evaluation to see if Booth could play both sports in college, and they planned to start on that evaluation this fall.
Nebraska was ahead of that curve and knew what Booth could mean to their class and the program. He has a rare skill set, running and catching the ball with his size. It’s his quickness and his speed, though, that caught Nebraska’s eye. Booth’s 1.6-second/10-yard split to go along with the 6.69-second/60-yard dash.
Testing numbers like that, along with the statistics he put up last year, will put up this year, and next season could have had schools coming from all around to see him. Nebraska knew how talented he was early on, and it didn’t hurt that he grew up a Husker.
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