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Nebraska football is in the middle of a facelift at the EDGE position. Gone are multi-year starters Garrett Nelson and Caleb Tannor. So is former TCU transfer Ochaun Mathis. That trio took the bulk of the reps at the position last season. The new staff needs to find a way to replace that production.

The Huskers return Jimari Butler, who entered the portal briefly before deciding to return to the team, and Blaise Gunnerson. Those two redshirt sophomores will face competition from incoming transfers MJ Sherman (Georgia) and Chief Borders (Florida), two former four-star recruits who will push the incumbents for starting roles.

Earlier installments in Jeremy Pernell’s series:

DL OLTEWRRBPKNU signee rankingsTop 40 classes

New head coach Matt Rhule also did a really good job of bringing in several youngsters who will help rebuild a thin position group.

Elkhorn South defensive end Maverick Noonan was a longtime target of the previous staff. He was offered way back on November 17, 2020, as he was finishing his sophomore season. The Huskers were Noonan's first offer, but by the time he started his junior season, Arizona State, Michigan State, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State had offered as well. By last spring, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Stanford and Vanderbilt joined the list.

Maverick is a Husker legacy. His father, Danny Noonan, is one of the best defensive linemen in school history. Danny was a consensus first-team All-American in 1986 and played in the NFL for six years after becoming a first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1987.

Naturally, Maverick grew up rooting for Nebraska and had an interest in his father's alma mater, but he wanted to explore other options, too. Noonan was becoming one of the top prospects in the Midwest and wanted to take his time with the recruiting process.

Beginning in early spring 2021, Noonan and his parents took visits to several programs, including Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Notre Dame and of course numerous stops at Nebraska. Husker coaches Barrett Ruud, Erik Chinander and Mike Dawson had prioritized Noonan from the beginning, making sure to talk with him at least once a week for over a year.

By last May, Noonan had narrowed his focus to Nebraska, Stanford, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas State and Missouri.

The Huskers brought Noonan to Lincoln for an official visit June 3-5. He was hosted by his former Elkhorn South teammate Teddy Prochazka. Coming out of that visit, Noonan eliminated Iowa and Minnesota from consideration. He just needed to check out one more school before he knew if Nebraska was the place for him.

Noonan flew to California for an official visit with Stanford June 18-20. He enjoyed his time on campus but ultimately decided Nebraska was where he wanted to be. On Friday afternoon, June 24, Maverick, his parents and his sister visited with Scott Frost, Erik Chinander and Mike Dawson. He informed them of his intention to commit, announcing it publicly on Twitter later that evening.

Noonan was one of several local players Matt Rhule immediately prioritized after arriving. On December 2, the first day of the contact period, D-line coach Terrance Knighton stopped by Elkhorn South to formally introduce himself. Two days later, Noonan was on campus for Nebraska's in-state recruiting event, with Rhule conducting an in-home visit the following day. The two sides concluded a busy week with Noonan taking his second Husker official visit the weekend of December 9.

Noonan never wavered after Scott Frost was fired and Mickey Joseph was subsequently replaced. He signed in December and is already on campus as an early enrollee. Noonan is one of five in-state scholarship linemen who signed in this class. That number equals the combined total for the previous seven cycles. The last time the Huskers added even four such players in one offseason was Frank Solich’s first class in 1998.

Noonan was named first-team All-Nebraska by the Omaha World-Herald and first-team Super-State by the Lincoln Journal Star as both a junior and senior. He earned honorable-mention all-state accolades as a sophomore.

The previous staff envisioned the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Noonan much the same way they did Garrett Nelson. The two have very similar traits. Like Nelson, Noonan has a terrific motor and plays with tenacity and burst. Like Nelson, Noonan will come to Lincoln having not played very much out of a two-point stance as an outside linebacker.

I want to temper expectations when I say this, but in my opinion, Noonan is stepping on campus further ahead than Nelson was when he arrived from Scottsbluff in 2019. Noonan is a bit more athletic at this stage and is already so good with his hands and plays with great technique.

We know exactly how Noonan would have been used in Chinander's 3-4 defense, but what are the plans for him in Tony White's 3-3-5? Does the staff put 30 pounds on him and move him up a level? The tools and upside are there for Noonan to be a really good player down the line wherever he ends up.

It's not out of the ordinary for a new coach to come in and solidify commitments from the previous staff. What you don't see very often is a coach come in and get back in the race for someone who decommitted prior to their arrival.

That's exactly what happened with versatile IMG Academy defender Cameron Lenhardt. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Lenhardt began his high school career at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. Former D-line coach Mike Dawson, whose primary recruiting connections were in the Northeast, offered Lenhardt back on May 4, 2020, and built early inroads.

Following his sophomore season at Don Bosco Prep, Lenhardt was considered the best player in the state for his class. He decided to transfer to the prestigious IMG Academy, located in Bradenton, Florida, to finish out his high school career.

Over the years, Lenhardt took visits to several schools. He made multiple trips to Penn State, while also visiting Michigan State, Florida, Notre Dame, Florida State, Boston College and Rutgers. Last spring, he narrowed his focus to Nebraska, Penn State and Michigan State. Having never been to Nebraska, he wanted to take an official visit to Lincoln to get a better look at the Huskers.

He was on campus for the weekend of June 24 and left town with the Huskers as his clear leader. He'd long been the top target at the position for Erik Chinander and Mike Dawson, and the coaches continued to recruit him heavily over the next several months.

Lenhardt silently committed to the previous staff in July and announced it publicly on August 25. Not long after, the wheels fell off Scott Frost's program. The former head coach was fired after a 1-2 start, with Erik Chinander joining him in the unemployment line a week later. Lenhardt decommitted from Nebraska less than two hours after the news of Chinander's firing.

Mickey Joseph kept the door open for Lenhardt and continued to recruit him. Other schools circled back on him, including Maryland, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Penn State, Cal and Syracuse. As was the case with Riley Van Poppel, Lenhardt had a strong affinity for Nebraska. Despite the impending coaching change, he kept Nebraska at the front of his mind. Lenhardt was even considering taking an unofficial visit while Joseph was still the interim head coach.

When Matt Rhule came to Nebraska, one of the first things he did was re-offer Lenhardt, doing so on November 29. The two quickly bonded over their New York City roots. Lenhardt also tapped into his connections in the region. He knew people affiliated with the Temple program under Rhule, so he was able to get some opinions about Nebraska's new leader, both as a coach and a person. Rhule told him the program was going to continue prioritizing him and wanted Lenhardt to return to campus to meet the new coaching staff.

Lenhardt set up his second Husker official visit for the weekend of December 9. The day before he came, Tony White was named defensive coordinator. The two had a relationship from White recruiting him to Syracuse, and Lenhardt was excited by the prospect of playing in his defense.

He took an official visit to Maryland December 16 as he trimmed his list to a final five of Nebraska, Maryland, Penn State, Georgia Tech and Rutgers. Lenhardt ended up signing with Nebraska on December 21, during the early signing period, but didn't announce it publicly until January 3, during the fourth quarter of the Under Armour All-American game on ESPN2.

Lenhardt is one of the more unique front-seven defenders in the 2023 class. He's a bit of a tweener, although the 3-3-5 is amendable to players who fit in that category. He was a traditional defensive end during his first two years at Don Bosco Prep, where he became one of the most sought-after kids in the Northeast. When he got to IMG, he spent his junior year playing middle linebacker, and was also used as a stand-up EDGE and overhang linebacker. This past season, he transitioned to a full-time interior D-lineman, lining up as a 2i, 3 or 4i depending on the down and distance. To his credit, he's played well everywhere he's been and was voted team captain for IMG as a senior.

It also helps that Tony White had already been recruiting him for his defense, so a plan should be in place for Lenhardt. The previous staff viewed him as a weakside defensive end, playing a role similar to Caleb Tannor. I'll be interested how White deploys him.

Lenhardt is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals and ESPN, who also ranks him the No. 143 player in the class. He had a strong week of practices preparing for the Under Armour All-America Game, going up against some of the best O-linemen in the 2023 class. He enrolled in January and is already on campus. He's participating in winter conditioning and will take part in spring ball.

Another high-profile EDGE this staff identified and zeroed in on quickly was Princewill Umanmielen. Matt Rhule offered Umanmielen on November 28, and used his past connections with the family and high school to quickly gain ground in his recruitment.

Rhule had known Princewill and his parents for years. While at Baylor, he had recruited his older brother, Princely, but Rhule ultimately left for the NFL and Umanmielen chose Florida. The Husker head coach also had a standing relationship with Manor (Tex.) High School head coach James Keller - also Princely's coach - from his time recruiting the school with the Bears.

Umanmielen was a high-value target for the staff immediately. Matt Rhule and Terrance Knighton were at Manor High School on December 12 visiting with Princewill, and then made a point to visit Umanmielen’s parents and grab lunch at Lady T Kitchen, the family's Nigerian restaurant located in Pflugerville.

A couple days later, Umanmielen was in Lincoln taking an official visit December 15-17. He was hosted on his trip by outgoing senior Ochaun Mathis, who also attended Manor High School. Umanmielen committed to Nebraska on December 19, over finalists Ole Miss and Kansas State, two of his more than 25 scholarship offers from every Power Five conference.

Umanmielen was selected to play in the prestigious All-American Bowl. He's considered a four-star prospect by all four major recruiting services and is ranked as the No. 216 (247Sports), No. 235 (Rivals), No. 261 (ESPN) and No. 291 (On3) overall player in the country. He had 130 tackles, 47 tackles for loss and 21 sacks over 23 games as a junior and senior. He was named District 11-5A-I Defensive Lineman of the Year as a senior after earning co-honors as a junior.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Umanmielen has freakish athleticism and is a high-upside prospect that could bloom into a dominant pass rusher. He has all the tools you look for: length, an explosive first step, suddenness and twitch, and the ability to close well. Umanmielen graduated early and is already on campus. He'll participate in spring practices.

One of the byproducts of the transfer portal landscape is that junior colleges are getting less and less attention and priority. More and more teams are allocating scholarships for guys in the portal and they're generally taking those opportunities away from juco players.

When Mickey Joseph took over as interim coach, he ramped up the search for pass rushers. In October, during Nebraska's second bye week, Joseph dispatched a couple coaches to check out several junior colleges. One of the offers the staff made was to Kai Wallin, an EDGE prospect out of American River Community College, located in Sacramento, California. Former quality control coach Joey Connors, who was promoted to the full-time staff when Bill Busch replaced Erik Chinander, extended the offer.

When Matt Rhule took over a month later, he picked up the mantle and continued the recruitment. Defensive line coach Terrance Knighton took point and after several days of phone calls with Wallin, he and recruiting staffer Omar Hales flew to Sacramento to conduct an in-home visit on December 6. Wallin was in Lincoln a few days later with his parents for an official visit the weekend of December 9. Wallin connected with Knighton and was blown away by the visit. He committed to the Huskers on December 12, over finalists Kansas, Oregon State and Indiana. He had planned on visiting the Hoosiers the following weekend but canceled those plans.

The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Wallin is the poster child for using junior college to reset your recruitment. Wallin grew up a talented basketball player who didn’t play football until his freshman year of high school. He was a multi-sport athlete at Sacramento (Calif.) Jesuit High School and didn't put his main focus into football until he was an upperclassman. Because of that, Wallin’s college interest amounted to partial FCS offers and a handful of FBS walk-on opportunities.

He decided to bet on himself and enroll at American River C.C., which is coached by Jon Osterhout, a longtime family friend. Osterhout was a Husker graduate assistant from 2006-08, working on both Bill Callahan and Bo Pelini's staffs. The initial plan was for Wallin to redshirt and develop for a year before attempting to break through and earn college looks.

Wallin impressed coaches so much during training camp that they approached him about skipping his redshirt and playing immediately. He was all in and the rest is history. Wallin posted 33 tackles, five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in route to earning first-team NorCal All-Conference honors.

In the process, Wallin collected double-digit offers that included Power Five tenders from Arizona State, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Missouri, Oregon State, Utah and Washington State along with Nebraska. He was ranked the No. 20 overall juco player in the country by On3 and the No. 7 ranked juco EDGE player in the country by the 247Sports Composite.

Tony White plans to use Wallin as a stand-up outside linebacker in his 3-3-5 stack front. He'll also move up to a three-point stance in their four-man looks. He's still relatively new to the game and his best football is clearly ahead of him. Even so, in his one year of juco ball, he showed a lot of physical and athletic traits to be a very useful player in White's defense. He enrolled in mid-January and will have four years to play three seasons for the Huskers. Having the chance to participate in winter conditioning and spring practices might open the door to Wallin joining the fray immediately and being a multi-year contributor.

Tomorrow I'll continue my breakdown of the second-level defenders that were added in this class by switching to the linebackers.


2023 recruiting carousel