Satellite Camp Notebook: Nebraska’s 2024 opening opponent UTEP works Mary Hardin-Baylor Camp with Husker coaching staff
BELTON, Texas – Well, wasn’t this a sight to behold.
The respective coaching staffs for Nebraska and UTEP worked a satellite camp Monday at Mary Hardin-Baylor.
It was just those two programs, which will square off Aug. 31 in Lincoln.
You don’t see this very often.
“I don’t think they designed it this way, for Week 1 opponents to come down and do a camp together, but it’s been really fun,” said first-year UTEP head coach Scotty Walden, a 34-year-old fireball.
Walden lavished praise on Nebraska while also verbalizing challenges in his current situation that Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule faced last season in his first year at the school.
“I think any time you take over a program, the No. 1 thing is instilling your culture,” Walden said. “You have to bring in young men and you have to bring a staff in that epitomizes your culture from A to B and even from C to D.
“You must lay out clear expectations. That’s been the biggest challenge, I think, in general. Specific to UTEP, it’s defeating that perception that we’re a border town and it’s dangerous.”
Walden said El Paso is one of the safest cities in America.
“I’ve never been in a place that’s been more misrepresented than El Paso, Texas,” Walden said. “We have elite people. We have a phenomenal fan base.”
He was proud that UTEP drew 5,000 people to its spring game, even if that number may not impress Nebraska fans.
He said it represented energy for his program, emphasizing that he’ll do anything to get the energy back in a program that was 20-49 in six seasons under Dana Dimel.
-Steven Sipple
German OL/DL prospect David Hoffken is looking to land at a D-I school before the 2024 season.
Huskers eye David Hoffken as a possible late 2023 add
One of the more intriguing stories that came out of Monday’s camp was German lineman prospect David Hoffken.
The 6-foot-7, 255-pound Hoffken is a 22-year-old who can play immediately in 2024.
His size and footwork caught the Husker staff’s attention right away. He can play either defensive or offensive line. He didn’t lose a single rep on either side of the ball on Monday.
It appeared Nebraska was giving him more of a look as an offensive tackle. On Tuesday, Hoffken will be at Houston Christian to work out for the Huskers again. He currently holds offers from North Texas and Massachusetts.
-Sean Callahan
Nebraska offered 2027 WR Jordan Frohack on Monday in Texas.
Mary Hardin-Baylor prospect breakdown
Several prospects of note were at the Mary Hardin-Baylor camp in Belton on Monday, divided into two sessions.
Nebraska made three offers at the event, and two prospects who worked out already had NU offers. Here’s the full camp rundown:
HOL take: This was probably one of the bigger stories of the camp for Nebraska. 2024 Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall defensive end Konstantin Paschos was a relative unknown but had 20 small-school offers entering the camp on Monday. After NU saw the 6-foot-7, 240-pound Paschos work out live, it immediately followed with an offer. The Huskers will see him work out again on Tuesday in Houston.
HOL take: Another new offer from Monday’s camp was 2027 Lockhart (Texas) wide receiver Jordan Frohack. It was Frohack’s first offer. The NU staff spent a lot of time around him.
HOL take: Wide receivers coach Garret McGuire made another new offer from the camp to Waxahachie (Texas) standout Kohen Brown. The 6-foot, 180-pound Brown runs 10.81 seconds in the 100-meter dash.
HOL take: One of the highest-profile players that worked out on Monday was 2026 Southlake (Texas) Carroll wide receiver Brock Boyd. The four-star receiver already holds a Husker offer. Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Oregon are other high-profile schools that have already offered the talented wideout. Boyd’s father, Kris Boyd, was once an assistant coach to Joey McGuire at Cedar Hill (Texas) High School, so his relationship with Garret McGuire goes back a long way. He came to the camp to spend time around McGuire.
HOL take: Temple (Texas) edge Jamarion Carlton is one of the top overall defensive players on NU’s 2026 recruiting board. He visited Lincoln earlier this spring during an AAU basketball tournament in Omaha. The four-star had the full attention of defensive line coach Terrance Knighton.
HOL take: Another top 2027 prospect at the camp was Waco (Texas) University defensive back Davontrae Kirkland. The 6-foot, 175 Kirkland holds multiple Power Four offers already. Nebraska has not offered yet, but you would think one could come his way very soon.
HOL take: Another notable name working out at the camp was 2025 Georgia Tech QB commit Grady Adamson. The Edmond (Okla.) signal-caller is the son of Chris Adamson, one of the founders of Gridiron Imports, who brought all the international players to Belton.
Quick hits
***Nebraska’s coaching staff flew a private plane to Temple, Texas, on Monday to work the camp in Belton. The staff then flew to Houston to work Tuesday’s camps at Houston Christian.
Access to a private plane has made working camps like this very easy for the NU staff, compared to earlier years when the staff flew commercially to events like this.
***Monday’s camp was broken up into two sessions that featured around 200 players in the morning and 200 in the afternoon. Tuesday’s camp will be laid out in similar fashion.
***Rhule wasn’t on hand Monday, and won’t be Tuesday, because he’s attending a donor event, according to secondary coach Evan Cooper.
-Sean Callahan
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