Not unexpected, but still feared by Husker fans, Nebraska’s football recruiting class shrunk in recent weeks.

The transition from Bill to Bo was anticipated to bring a few recruiting hiccups, and it has.

Nebraska had 24 known oral commitments the last week of October. Now the Huskers have 19.

“That’s bound to happen,” Nebraska’s new coach, Bo Pelini, said Monday, the first day of a recruiting dead period that runs through the bowl season. “We’ve got to deal with it. Our work is far from finished here. We can’t control what’s gone on in the past. All we can control is going forward.

“Anytime you go through a period of coaching uncertainty there are a lot of issues. Players want to know how they fit in with a new staff. Does the new staff have the same plans for them? Every situation is unique unto itself.”

Jeremy Crabtree, Rivals.com national recruiting guru, said Nebraska fans might as well get used to a wild recruiting ride until Feb. 6, national signing day.

“You’re going to see both sides of it,” Crabtree said. “You’re going to see kids that were not even on Nebraska’s radar who are suddenly targets, guys out of left field. Then, on the flip side, you’ll see kids like (quarterback) Blaine Gabbert, defections like that. It happens anytime there’s a coaching change.”

For the past two weeks, Pelini and his staff have been in a mad recruiting rush, trying to reassure any prep players looking elsewhere after Bill Callahan was fired.

The Huskers have taken some hits along the way.

Bryce Givens, a heralded offensive lineman from Denver and once a Husker commit, has eliminated Nebraska from his list of prospective schools. Josh Williams, a defensive end from Texas, has done the same.

Then on Thursday, the Huskers lost out on a ballyhooed in-state recruit, as offensive lineman Trevor Robinson decided on Notre Dame.

Add those names to the list of players that have decommitted from Nebraska this fall: linebacker Shaun Mohler, the “five-star” quarterback Gabbert, running back Jonas Gray.

What’s worse for Nebraska is that Givens, Williams and Mohler all could potentially sign with Colorado.

And over the weekend it seems that several current Husker recruits, most notably Simi Kuli, visited other schools. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive end, arguably the top junior college recruit in the country, reportedly visited Oregon State.

Other coaches have been able to capitalize with Husker recruits by raising questions about the uncertainty of the situation at Nebraska.

“That’s part of what Nebraska is going to have to fight at this point,” Crabtree said. “The good news for them is they have some answers now. Kids want to know, ‘What offense are you going to run? What defense are you going to run? What’s your nonconference scheduling philosophy?’ Those are questions, now that the staff is here, where they are going to be able to answer some of that.”

Having finalized his coaching staff over the weekend, Pelini was in Baton Rouge, La., on Monday, finishing his duties as defensive coordinator for LSU. The Tigers will play Ohio State for the national title on Jan. 7.

Announced as the Husker coach just 15 days before, Pelini said, “I feel good about where we’re at. We’ve been able to accomplish a lot.”

And when it comes to recruiting, he is confident his new staff will do quite well.

“No. 1: You have to be able to evaluate, and then you have to have a passion,” Pelini said. “(Recruiting is) not rocket science. It’s about being able to communicate.”

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