Nebraska’s New Batch of Floridians May Change Husker Recruiting Fortunes in the Sunshine State

A state that has routinely frustrated Nebraska football in prep recruiting may now be a source of riches.

Nebraska wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. advances a catch for a short gain in the third quarter against Colorado. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska football coaches reeled in a heralded recruiting class in 2024, signing players from 15 states, including five athletes that call Florida home. Impressively, the entire quintet of Floridians appears to have already made a serious impact in their brief time in Lincoln.  

Jacory Barney leads the Huskers in all-purpose yards, totaling 216 so far with seemingly 200 more called back in penalties. Vincent Shavers Jr. was the toast of pre-season and currently occupies a spot on the two-deep, as does Amare Sanders, who recorded a pivotal pass breakup against Northern Iowa. Willis McGahee IV has played in all three games to this point and forced a fumble in the win over Colorado. And Miami native Larry Tarver Jr has appeared in two games thus far.  

Nebraska appears to have struck gold with its Florida recruiting haul. But that’s the exception for the Sunshine State and Nebraska, not the rule.  

Willis McGahee IV (17) and Princewill Umanmielen celebrate Nebraska’s recovery of a Colorado fumble to secure the win. / Amarillo Mullen

NU has been known historically as a program that built the core of its teams within the 500-mile radius of the Plains and supplemented with athletes from the speed states. Florida has not been among them.  

In the last 50 years, the Huskers have signed 46 Florida high schoolers, not counting the 2024 class that’s now in its first season or anyone that took a circuitous route to Lincoln (sorry Lavonte). Of those 46, only 12 ever started, and that counts guys like eventual transfer Tyler Moore, who started a single year. Almost 30 of them either transferred, were booted, or didn’t qualify out of high school. The list of All-Americans at NU numbers just three Florida natives, two of which came to NU from JUCO. That leaves a single prep signee that made an All-American list – Tommie Frazier.  

Historically speaking, Florida high school football has been the white whale of Nebraska’s recruiting efforts, a beast so alluring but elusive it has driven Husker coaches mad trying to tame it. 

Nov 1992; Norman, OK, USA, FILE PHOTO; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback (15) Tommie Frazier in action against the Oklahoma Sooners at Memorial Stadium. / RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The first Floridian to sign with Nebraska out of high school appears to be Jimmy Austin, a running back in the 1979 class. He did not letter. Then, Nebraska signed just three Floridians in the entirety of the 1980s. Two lettered but neither held down a starting job.   

But what of the 90’s teams? It’s well-documented how Nebraska changed their recruiting philosophy in the late 80’s/early 90’s in response to their bowl game futility against faster southern teams. But Florida played a smaller role than you might remember. Only four - Frazier, Shevin Wiggins, Tyrone Williams, and Leslie Dennis - lettered in the decade.  

Wiggins, who was booted from the team before the ’99 campaign, matriculated with the 1994 class. Nebraska didn’t have another high schooler from gator country enroll until Fabian Washington did in the 2002 class, a span of eight years.  

The early 2000s weren’t much kinder. Nebraska routinely swung for blue-chippers down south but struck out. Daytona Beach grad Buster Davis took his recruitment past signing day in 2002, torn between the home state Seminoles and the Huskers. He ultimately elected to play for Bobby Bowden and earned All-American accolades in garnet and gold. A year later, Nebraska again was left at the altar when Mike Jenkins chose South Florida, an unthinkable proposition in the early aughts. He eventually became a stalwart defensive back in the NFL.   

Sep 28, 2007; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls defensive back Mike Jenkins (4) celebrates as the Bulls defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 21-13 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

The Tallahassee Five was the subject of much speculation in the 2004 class, a quintet of players from Lincoln High School that entertained playing together in college. Solich and his staff camped out in the panhandle recruiting them. Bill Callahan did the same once hired. But it was energy wasted. Only one – Danny Muy – ended up signing with Nebraska. Muy left for South Florida after a single year.  

Callahan regularly went to the well of Florida JUCO transfers, with mixed success. But not even his recruiting chops could get claws into the deep trove of prep athletes in the state. He notoriously went all in on Harrison Beck as his quarterback in the vaunted 2005 class. But the Clearwater native left abruptly in fall camp 2006. A competent pass game in 2009 behind a fifth-year senior quarterback would have meant at least a conference championship for Pelini and his stellar defense, if not more.  

Nebraska started accumulating some traction under Bo but, as with Beck, sometimes the allure of a Florida athlete was costly.  

Ernest Suttles arrived on campus from Tampa in June 2013. He was summarily dismissed just days later after hitting a teammate over the head with a bottle. Sedrick King signed out of Plant City, FL in 2014. Nebraska had to turn away Elijah Lee to make room. Lee, a Missourian who went to Kansas State instead, enjoyed a successful career in Manhattan and played in the NFL until just recently. King never made an impact.  

Sep 18, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers cornerback Braxton Clark (11) breaks up a pass intended for Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Mario Williams (4) during the fourth quarter at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Nebraska’s futility appeared to be at an end with Scott Frost’s hire from UCF in late 2017. Frost signed six high school prospects from the state in the mad rush to fill out his inaugural class. None finished their careers at Nebraska and only one, Braxton Clark, stuck around for more than a year.  

But no failure was as pronounced as Frost’s 2020 class that arrived on campus just in time for a worldwide pandemic. Seven Floridians signed with Big Red – zero stayed through the entirety of their eligibility. Only two made it through the first year. Almost all eventually flamed out during their collegiate tours.  

Receiver Marcus Fleming departed for Maryland, playing just one season as a Terrapin before becoming embroiled in legal issues. Corner Ronald Delancy made some noise early at Nebraska but left the team shortly after criticizing the coaching staff in the wake of a bad loss to Illinois. He’s now a backup safety at Wisconsin. Ballyhooed linebacker Keyshawn Greene enrolled at Nebraska and then entered the transfer portal just days later. He landed at FAU for a year as a defensive back but appears to have fallen out quickly. Jaiden Francois delayed his signing day ceremony amid rumors that Nebraska DB coach Travis Fisher was planning to leave. He still signed with the Huskers but didn’t even make it to pre-season. He transferred to UCF where he had two tackles in three seasons. He’s since transferred to Utah State, where he’s begun to emerge. Henry Gray was a four-star safety prospect who Scott Frost credited with peer recruiting much of the class. But he never made it to fall camp and transferred to FIU for two years before again entering the transfer portal. Marvin Scott III lasted two years, made it on the field as a short-yardage back, but transferred to FAU before washing out there.  

Tamon Lynum was the only one who made it past 2021. He was coming on as a solid contributor under Tony White but transferred to Pitt prior to the 2024 season.  

Perhaps because of the abundant failures, Frost turned his assistant coaches’ attentions elsewhere. Only Kamonte Grimes and Victor Jones signed on from Florida in the 2021 and 2022 classes, respectively. Both transferred without ever contributing. 

Nebraska defenders John Bullock and Cameron Lenhardt combine to bring down Northern Iowa running back Amauri Pesek-Hickson. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

There are signs of hope though with the 2023 signees along with the 2024 stars already shining. Dwight Bootle flashed as a true freshman before being injured. And Cam Lenhardt, an IMG graduate (though originally from New Jersey), already dons a Blackshirt at practice. The 2025 class Nebraska is currently closing on does not include any Florida athletes, though coaches are still working to flip wide receiver Cortez Mills from Oklahoma. The 2026 signees may ultimately call a Floridian theirclass quarterback. But much remains up in the air regarding the region’s future in Nebraska’s talent acquisition plans.  

Only time will tell if the Sunshine State is done casting shadows on Lincoln. 

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