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April Recruiting thread (1 Viewer)

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Carm

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Some Parker Thune nuggets from KC UA this past weekend

Michael Boganowski will be on a visit to his father’s alma mater, New Mexico State, this Wednesday. Obviously, NMSU is not expected to be a serious contender for Boganowski’s commitment, but Jerry Kill’s staff offered him last month and he’s taking the visit in recognition of his dad’s legacy there. He’s made trips to Michigan, Washington, Kansas and Kansas State in the last few weeks, and he’ll be back in Norman this weekend for Oklahoma’s spring game. In speaking with Boganowski, I learned that he’s got three schools penciled in for official visits, with the Sooners squarely on that shortlist. Michigan and Kansas State are the other two programs with which he intends to OV, and he’s leaving his options open with the other two officials right now. I consider Washington and Florida State the two most likely options therein. For the moment, it legitimately seems as though Kansas State is the biggest competition to Oklahoma in this race, as Manhattan is scarce more than a 15-minute drive from Boganowski’s hometown of Junction City (Kan.). The Wildcats were his first offer, and one source informed me that “he’s No. 1 on their entire recruiting board, overall.” Don’t discount K-State here, especially given the program’s propensity to develop NFL draft picks on the defensive side of the ball.

— Another Kansas native really turned heads on Sunday morning at UCReport, as three-star OL Kaedin Massey proved he could hold his own against elite edge talent despite a frame that’s still very much in development. The Lyndon (Kan.) product was brutalized in his first 1v1 rep by four-star EDGE Marquise Lightfoot, but after collecting himself and receiving a couple pointers from the event’s coaching staff, Massey won every single rep he took for the rest of the 1v1 period. After the event, he disclosed that he’s already booked his five officials, but wouldn’t confirm which schools will receive them. However, in talking to sources around Massey, it seems those schools will be Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. I still regard his recruitment as primarily an OU-NU battle.

— 2025 Derby (Kan.) TE DaSaahn Brame holds over a dozen early offers, including Oklahoma, and will be back in Norman this weekend to take in the spring game. It’s far too early to distinguish a lean for Brame, who didn’t pick up his first FBS offer until January. The blow-up has come very quickly for the Kansas State legacy, as his Oklahoma offer in late February was quickly followed by offers from Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska and several others. Here’s what I can say about Brame: once Davon Mitchell officially reclassifies to the 2024 cycle, there shouldn’t be a higher priority amongst 2025 tight ends for the Sooners. Brame is an enormous, versatile and hard-nosed football player who’s capable of filling blocking roles and pass-catching roles with equal aplomb. Especially given that he’s barely two hours up the road in the Wichita area, I fully expect the Sooners to push hard for Brame.

Isaiah McMorris elected to postpone his visit to Penn State last week and attend prom instead, but he does intend to get to Happy Valley before officially narrowing things down. I expect him to release a top four in advance of his commitment, and those four schools will in all likelihood be Oklahoma, USC, Penn State and Nebraska. The Sooners and Trojans are the ones that have set the pace here, and although sources have given me the indication that Oklahoma still maintains a slight lead, I would be quite wary of USC. That said, with Oklahoma trending nicely for Bryant Wesco and set to host Zion Kearney at the spring game, the pickings aren’t slim at receiver.
 

Carm

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Schaefer on KC UA

Nebraska targets showed out on a blustery day in Kansas City, with Christian Jones stealing the show and earning MVP honors, while multiple others delivered big performances on the field against similarly talented individuals.

Here’s a quick run through the highlights on Sunday:

— The day started with the offensive line and defensive line warming up, stretching, running drills and then eventually getting to the one-on-one reps.

Here’s a few thoughts on different players:

Kaedin Massey: The big offensive lineman was a curiosity for all the evaluators, who wanted to see how he’d hold up against different competition in a different element. Massey got several reps at left tackle and he showed impressive aptitude for coaching, taking the advice after the first rep and then stonewalling or fighting to a stalemate on the second.

Massey is a big lineman that would be a great get for Nebraska. The Huskers need actual left tackles and not guys who have to play the position because someone eventually needs to be out there. Massey is big, raw and powerful.

Caleb Pyfrom: Similar to Massey there was a curiosity to how Pyfrom would do in an environment like Sunday’s event. The lineman stayed out at right tackle and fought off his defender both times, showing could balance and a nice ability to transfer his weight to catch a bull rush.

Nebraska has really gone hard after Pyfrom and it is easy to see why. He’d be a nice addition to the offensive line room. Watch out for Penn State. They’ve definitely got Pyfrom’s attention and he’s looking at official visits to all of Cockeye, Nebraska and Penn State.

Kyle Rakers: Whereas Massey and Pyfrom have impressive frames and the height to play outside, Rakers took words from Donovan Raiola about needing to bulk up to handle the interior to heart. In short order the lineman has added quite a bit of mass and he played well with it, holding up against multiple different interior linemen, using multiple different moves. Rakers was tough in there.

Will Turboff will have a clearer picture of who Rakers is considering, but it seems like he’s emerged as a real alternative to Gage Ginther after the Huskers missed out on the Colorado lineman.

Jayshawn Ross: The only defensive player I spoke with on Sunday, Ross confirmed that Nebraska has offered and that he’s interested in the Huskers. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound defender looked impressive physically and his smooth pass rushing ability earned him several egregious holds during the 1-on-1 portions.

Ross is a conundrum. He’s an after thought in his own recruitment and allowing a guardian to filter schools before he’ll fully focus on any specifically or with a visit. He did say he believes Nebraska has a chance at being one of the few schools he visits. We’ll see. This is an unusual recruitment, but someone is going to get a really impressive football player.

— Christian Jones took over the middle portion of the event as he won MVP honors during the linebacker/running back portion. Jones looks smooth in coverage and it is something he’s spent a lot of time working on with Omaha Westside.

There’s a lot to like about Jones physically. He’s got big upside with his frame, he’s a good student and he’s a willing teammate and player. There’s a chance Jones is the next big thing in Nebraska, taking up the position held by guys like Nick Henrich, Avante Dickerson, Devon Jackson, Malachi Coleman and currently Carter Nelson. Jones is almost shy compared to some of those recruits, but his play on the field certainly does a lot of talking.

— The last group of the day featured wide receivers and defensive backs, where the state of Nebraska was well represented having Caleb Benning, Dae’vonn Hall and Isaiah McMorris all working out, as well as several other players who have Nebraska offers or interest.

Here’s a few thoughts on each player:

Caleb Benning: The Westside defensive back had some of the strongest reps of the day in the one-on-one drills, including an interception when matched up with Hall, but small, quick receivers like Isaiah Mozee did get the best of Benning on quick hitters.

That’s to be expected. Mozee might’ve been the most impressive player at the whole tournament and he scored an invite to a future select camp. Benning shows willingness to play tight and physical, while also calculating the risk of detaching and attacking the ball in the air. He’ll keep improving in coverage over time, but his instincts continue to be a terrific skill.

Dae’vonn Hall: The Bellevue West receiver couldn’t get the ball thrown where he wanted against Benning, in what feels like a genuine rivalry, but on the other side of the field he made the catch of the day working against a defender hanging onto him as he tracked a deep ball off course, catching it while falling into the back of the end zone.

Hall looks physically impressive and he said he’s working on cleaning up his footwork and trying to improve minor details so his release and routes are even cleaner. This recruitment remains open, but Hall spoke highly of Matt Rhule, a good sign after he missed the Junior Day.

Isaiah McMorris: The one thing about McMorris is he’s not going to wow based on size, but I can’t shake Cade Johnson comparisons when I watch everything the Bellevue West receiver does. That might be unfair given Johnson has NFL experience and was an FCS All-American before that, but McMorris is competitive, plays bigger than his frame, absolutely gets the most out of every rep.

McMorris is looking hard at all his options and it could be tough for Nebraska, but the Huskers are still in the picture and could be closing in on an official visit date.

Isaiah Mozee: Flat dominated. Effortless routes. Effortless athleticism. Nothing more to say really. Nebraska has offered. Oklahoma is the favorite since his dad, Jamar Mozee, played there.

CJ Simon: Didn’t get to catch up with this receiver, but he made some nice catches throughout the event and appeared to be quite comfortable and willing to go against everyone despite being a smaller 2025 recruit. Nebraska has offered the Moore (Okla.) High athlete.
 

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