You could say Nebraska had an unfair advantage in securing a commitment from football recruit Ben Cotton.

Really, just think of all the in-house visits one member of Nebraska’s coaching staff had with Ben over the years.

Yes, both parts of the father-son combination of Barney and Ben Cotton have joined the Nebraska program in the last 48 hours.

Barney Cotton is already in Lincoln as one of nine assistant coaches who will be on new Husker head coach Bo Pelini’s staff.

And after Barney came aboard, it didn’t take too much work to sell his son, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound tight end, on being a Husker.

On Monday night, Pelini called and offered the younger Cotton a scholarship.

Ben talked it over with his family, then called Pelini back at about 10 p.m. to tell him he’d accept.

Louisville is the loser in the deal. Ben, out of Ames, Iowa, was previously committed to the Cardinals.

“It’s great to know he wants me to be a part of what they’re going to be doing here in the future,” said Ben, who has lived in Lincoln before. “I know Nebraska football and Nebraska athletics and how big of a deal it is to the state of Nebraska.”

His dad is a former Husker player and served as NU’s offensive coordinator in 2003 before moving into the same role at Iowa State after Frank Solich was fired.

Barney spent this year out of coaching after Dan McCarney resigned from Iowa State in 2006.

More than anything, Ben is thrilled at the opportunity to play at the same school his dad is coaching.

“I always wanted to play for my dad in college,” Ben said. “When he was let go at Iowa State, that opportunity seemed to diminish for the time being. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with Louisville, but when this happened, (the Louisville coaches) were very understanding of the situation.

“They understood it was family first and said they would have probably done the same thing with their son.”

Now, who joins Barney Cotton on Pelini’s staff?

Here’s an idea:

n Ron Brown, after four years out of football, confirmed Monday he’s coming back to coach tight ends. It’s believed Cotton will coach the offensive line.

n Shawn Watson and Ted Gilmore, part of the Husker staff this past season, appear set to be retained as part of the offensive staff.

n On the defensive side, a source said the staff is likely to include Marvin Sanders, Mike Ekeler and Bo’s brother, Carl Pelini, currently Frank Solich’s defensive line coach at Ohio University.

Sanders coached Nebraska’s defensive backs when Pelini was here in 2003. He later became the co-defensive coordinator at North Carolina. Sanders and Ekeler have already been in Lincoln this week.

Ekeler is an assistant strength coach at LSU. He’s a 1990 graduate of Blair High School who played linebacker at Kansas State.

Before going to LSU, he was a defensive coordinator at Minnesota State under former Husker player and coach Jeff Jamrog. He was also a graduate assistant at Oklahoma in 2004 when Pelini was there as a co-defensive coordinator.

n John Papuchis, a 29-year-old defensive intern at LSU, could also be on the staff.

Pelini has said he wishes to move quickly in hiring his assistants to help with the recruiting process.

Ben said he talked for about 20 minutes on the phone with Pelini on Monday.

“Great guy, great family guy,” he said. “He definitely has high expectations for the future of Nebraska football, and that’s what I like to hear.”

And how’s his dad feel about all this? A new job? His son by his side?

“He’s definitely excited, just getting a job for us as a family,” he said. “It’s a great living situation, being able to go back where he came from.”

Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.