Jeremy Pernell: Ranking Nebraska's 2024 Signees

Matt Rhule and his staff reeled in an unusually large haul of top-shelf talent for the Huskers

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Rhule signed Nebraska's best class in well over a decade.

The Huskers in the 2024 recruiting cycle signed just their fourth five-star player in the modern recruiting era. Dylan Raiola joins Marlon Lucky (2005), Baker Steinkuhler (2008) and Aaron Green (2011), and represents the most significant recruiting win since Tommie Frazier signed in 1992.

This is also the first class since 2011 where Nebraska signed multiple players ranked within the top 100 of the 247Sports Composite rankings - Dylan Raiola (No. 21), Carter Nelson (No. 55) and Grant Brix (No. 82). They also signed three in that class: Aaron Green (No. 33), Jamal Turner (No. 66) and Charles Jackson (No. 79).

To put that in perspective, the Huskers have signed just six Top 100 Composite players total in the last 12 recruiting classes and never more than one in a season during that stretch: Lamar Jackson (No. 81, 2016), Tyjon Lindsey (No. 50, 2017), Wan'Dale Robinson (No. 87, 2019), Turner Corcoran (No. 48, 2020), Thomas Fidone (No. 93, 2021) and Malachi Coleman (No. 66, 2023).

Matt Rhule's recruiting philosophy is largely analytics-driven and puts a heavy emphasis on specific physical and athletic traits. He is also a huge proponent of kids participating in more than one sport in high school.

This approach ensures you're bringing in kids with very high ceilings. This staff will also take a chance on a kid who has elite athleticism but needs more development than some Power Five coaches are willing to invest. The mindset being that their track record for development will pay off even if it takes longer.

I've written it before but it's worth reminding - especially if you like to follow recruiting closely. There are unofficial thresholds that this staff takes particular notice of when evaluating a player's verified testing results: 11.00 seconds for the 100-meter dash, 22.00 seconds for the 200-meter dash, 45-plus feet for the triple jump, 22-plus feet for the long jump, 50-plus feet in the shot put and 150-plus feet in the discus. This staff knows these numbers help provide valuable athletic context and multi-sport data that is pervasive in NFL Draft results year after year and are highly valued in the scouting process.

The Huskers signed 31 players in their 2024 class. The 31 recruits hail from 14 states: Nebraska (8), Florida (5), Texas (5), Colorado (2), Iowa (2), Arizona (1), Georgia (1), Hawaii (1), Maryland (1), Missouri (1), Montana (1), Nevada (1), North Carolina (1) and Pennsylvania (1).

1. QB Dylan Raiola (Buford, Ga.)
2. TE Carter Nelson (Ainsworth, Neb.)
3. OL Grant Brix (Logan, Iowa)
4. OL Preston Taumua (Waipahu, Hawaii)
5. CB Mario Buford (DeSoto, Tex.)
6. DB/LB Roger Gradney (Garwood, Tex.)
7. WR Jacory Barney Jr. (Florida City, Fla.)
8. OL Gibson Pyle (Klein, Tex.)
9. LB Vincent Shavers Jr. (Miami, Fla.)
10. WR Dae'vonn Hall (Plattsmouth, Neb.)
11. LB Willis McGahee IV (Miami, Fla.)
12. DB Caleb Benning (Omaha, Neb.)
13. DL Keona Wilhite (Tucson, Ariz.)
14. WR Isaiah McMorris (Bellevue, Neb.)
15. QB Daniel Kaelin (Elkhorn, Neb.)
16. WR Keelan Smith (Liberty, Mo.)
17. CB Larry Tarver Jr. (Miami, Fla.)
18. DB Donovan Jones (Omaha, Neb.)
19. DB/LB Rex Guthrie (Littleton, Colo.)
20. TE Ian Flynt (Katy, Tex.)
21. OL Xander Ruggeroli (Las Vegas, Nev.)
22. DB Kahmir Prescott (Philadelphia, Pa.)
23. DB/LB Braylen Prude (Pearland, Tex.)
24. WR Quinn Clark (Bozeman, Mont.)
25. CB Amare Sanders (Miami, Fla.)
26. OL Landen Davidson (Broomfield, Colo.)
27. DL Ashton Murphy (Elkhorn, Neb.)
28. CB Evan Taylor (Waxhaw, N.C.)
29. TE Eric Ingwerson (Papillion, Neb.)
30. OL Jake Peters (Cedar Falls, Iowa)
31. P Kamdyn Koch* (Westminster, Md.)
    * Specialists aren't included in rankings.

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• More info: HuskerMax 2024 recruiting central

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