Anyone who thought that losing John Blake would affect Nebraska’s defensive line recruiting can breathe a sigh of relief.

This weekend the Huskers got verbal commitments from two defensive tackles, Joseph Townsend and Terrence Moore, and also received pledges from linebacker Austin Stafford and wide receiver Wallace Franklin, giving the Huskers’ 2007 recruiting class 24 commitments.

For this recruiting class, Nebraska emphasized signing defensive tackles and secondary help. Going into this weekend, the Huskers only had one defensive tackle commit —  Demetrius Davis from St. Joseph, Mo.

Now, the Huskers have three linemen who will play for new defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt.

Townsend, who received a four-star rating from Scout.com and Rivals.com, played football this season at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, Calif., and is rated the 29th best junior college recruit by Rivals.com.

Originally, Townsend was a member of Washington State’s 2005 recruiting class. Townsend considered Washington State again, but chose the Huskers over the Cougars while visiting this weekend. Townsend’s brother, Larry, was a defensive lineman for the Huskers in 1994 and 1995.

Moore played high school football at McDonogh in New Orleans and stands 6-foot-5, weighing 285 pounds. During his senior season, Moore had 31 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. Rivals.com gave Moore a two-star rating, while Scout.com rated him a three-star recruit.

Offensive coordinator Jay Norvell was the main coach to recruit Moore, but the Huskers can thank the astronomy department for getting Moore to verbally commit.

“I chose Nebraska mainly for the academics,” Moore said. “I’m going to major in astronomy. A lot of places have stuff that leads to it, but they don’t have an exact program.”

Moore said he had a great visit this weekend and said losing Blake didn’t ever affect his decision.

“It (Moore’s time in Lincoln) was great,” Moore said. “I had a real good time. I never got chance to meet Coach Blake. I knew of him, but I never talked to him, so it didn’t affect me.”

The Huskers also got their third linebacker recruit in the 2007 class with Stafford. Stafford is a weakside linebacker from Hayward, Calif., and chose the Huskers over California, Oregon, Michigan and Michigan State.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound linebacker received a four-star rating by Scout.com and a three star rating from Rivals.com. Scout.com rates Stafford as the 11th best weakside linebacker in the nation, and Stafford runs a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash.

The Huskers’ fourth recruit to commit this weekend, Franklin, is no stranger to the program. Franklin pledged to be a part of Nebraska’s heralded 2005 class, but became an academic casualty and was unable to enroll.

For the past two seasons, Franklin has played wide receiver at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., and received a three-star ranking by both Scout.com and Rivals.com.

However, like in 2005, Franklin still hasn’t met Nebraska’s academic requirements and the Huskers will wait and see if the wide receiver, originally from Beaumont, Texas, will be able to sign a letter of intent in early February.

Reach Tommy Dahlk at 473-7431 or at tdahlk@journalstar.com.