Husker coaches look to 'wow' recruits
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By Brian Christopherson
The beginnings of Bill Callahan's trendy, Rodeo Drive-makeover to Nebraska football will be unveiled to an eager public Saturday.
The score of the first Red-White spring football game under the new head coach will mean nothing. But there's a game within the game that day where scoring points actually matters.
Tim Cassidy, Nebraska associate athletic director for football, said between 70 and 100 high school juniors from all over the country will be among the 50,000 to 60,000 fans expected to grace Memorial Stadium for the game.
If Cassidy has his way, all those recruits will exit dreaming of wearing scarlet.
"Iwant the recruits when they leave here to be wowed. Iwant them to be wowed by the fact that they had time to visit with our coaches, that they're impressed with them as men," Cassidy said. "I want them to be wowed by the fact that we have the greatest fans in the country."
Prep players ranging from Clearwater, Fla., quarterback Harrison Beck to Ada, Okla., offensive guard Craig Roark were invited via letter to be wooed by Callahan's West Coast Offense and the Husker gameday experience. That experience includes a pre-game mingle with coaches and glimpse at the school's academic program.
The number of recruits attending the spring game is comparable with recruit attendance at recent Red-White games. But it harks mention that this year three top quarterback prospects are coming for a visit at the same time.
Signal-callers joining Beck in Lincoln Saturday are Nevada's Kyle Seevers (6-foot-6, 190 pounds) and California's Kevin Lopina (6-foot-3, 205 pounds). All have been offered scholarships by NU.
Beck is thought to be Nebraska's top quarterback target. A product of a school that already runs the West Coast offense, he said he's already received 50 handwritten letters from Nebraska coaches.
He visited the campus on March 16. Now, he's enthused to spy Lincoln with a gameday atmosphere.
"Nebraska is exciting to me because they're switching to the new offense and they don't have the quarterbacks to run it right now," Beck said. "They have leftover option-type quarterbacks and I'm not saying they're not going to do a good job or can't do a good job. But if you're going to have a new offense, and Ihave experience in that offense, it definitely puts me on a different level."
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Beck has received scholarship offers from eight schools and has already attended scrimmages at N.C. State and Miami (Fla.) as only a junior. It shows how times have changed.
Callahan - who spent his last two seasons at the helm of the Oakland Raiders and led them to the 2003 Super Bowl - remembers only several recruits attending the spring game when he last coached college ball at Wisconsin in 1994.
"Years ago, you wouldn't see a recruit on campus until the fall and you wouldn't even know who the recruits were," Callahan said. "Recruits want to get out and make their decisions much earlier before their senior seasons and Ithink that's wise."
Cassidy said spring game invitation letters were sent out to every junior high schooler on Nebraska's recruiting radar. He called the number of recruits on that radar "vast," not committing to an exact figure.
The visits this weekend are unofficial, meaning prospects and family pay travel and food fees. About half of the recruits are from out-of-state, according to recruiting coordinator, Scott Downing.
One of the top prospects attending is Roark, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman who has already received 11 scholarship offers. He's listed as the top offensive guard in the country by recruiting analyst Max Emfinger.
While Roark is leaving Oklahoma to see Nebraska scrimmage, Lincoln Southeast 300-pound offensive tackle Tyler Peterson is going to Oklahoma to view the Sooners' spring game Saturday. He'll then travel to watch Kansas' game Sunday.
Peterson's hardly down on Nebraska. He's already visited a few Husker spring practices and liked what he's seen.
"It seems like recruits all around are more interested (in Nebraska)because of the West Coast offense and Coach Callahan," Peterson said. "He knows the NFLway, has NFL-type practices. It's good to show people in the NFLyou've been running an NFL-type offense in college."
Enter Lopina.
He admits he probably wouldn't have given NUnearly as much consideration last year, even saying: "The option? Idunno about that."
On Thursday, Lopina was to visit Arizona State, then board a plane for Lincoln today.
Omaha Central junior tight end Nate Prater has a much shorter trip on the interstate, but his intrigue in the "new" Nebraska is peaked.
"Most of all, Ijust want to see how they utilize the tight end, see how many times they actually look at the tight end," said the 6-foot5-, 250-pound Prater, who was just offered a scholarship this week from Kansas and is considered one of the top prospects in the state.
Callahan is ready to show his hand. All he wants is to get these recruits to the stadium Saturday - let them see his system, see the red in the stands, maybe get lost in the history of the place.
What will recruits find?
"I think it will all just illustrate to a recruit that this place is important," Callahan said.
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7438 or bchristopherson@;journalstar.com.
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