Malachi Coleman and 11 other prep football players in the Cornhusker State have elected to stay home and play for first-year Nebraska coach Matt Rhule.
The activity and suspense from early signing day has wrapped up and Nebraska can lay claim to 13 recruits who signed an FBS National Letter of Intent to play football at the next level. Four other Cornhusker State athletes signed the paperwork to walk-on at the University of Nebraska. In all, 12 of Nebraska's finest prep football players have officially joined Husker Nation as players.
According to 247Sports.com, Omaha Creighton Prep's Rocco Marcelino is committed to Princeton. However, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman had not signed with the Tigers as of Thursday evening.
Nebraska's Top 5 football players as they are ranked by 247Sports all signed FBS letters of intent Wednesday including Lincoln East's Malachi Coleman, the state's top-rated player. Coleman gave Matt Rhule's 2023 recruiting class a shot in the arm when he walked away from Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado and signed with the Cornhuskers.
Gretna quarterback Zane Flores will head to Stillwater, Okla. to play for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State, Archbishop Bergan's Kade McIntyre signed with Brent Vanables and the Oklahoma Sooners and Gunnar Gottula of Lincoln Southeast and Elkhorn South's Maverick Noonan are set to join Coleman at Nebraska.
Inclement weather forced a snow day on high schools in Lincoln on Wednesday. But Gottula didn't allow a chill in the air and a little snow to delay officially become a Cornhusker. He signed his letter of intent at home Wednesday at 7 am.
"It feels really good," Gottula said after signing. "Being able to be a Husker and have everything signed and official is pretty exciting."
Gottula, who listed Nebraska as his No. 1 after receiving an offer following his sophomore year, said he hopes to grow as a person and sponge up as much information as he can so he can become the best football player that he can be his freshman year.
"I really liked the tradition behind the program and the whole school really when it comes to football," Gottula said. "It's an exciting atmosphere. Being a kid and going to the games and everything, it was a program I wanted to be a part of for sure.
"Seeing the facilities and the whole football building and meeting the coaches in person and being able to see the tradition firsthand, it was special to me. Walking through the tunnel and out into the stadium, seeing all of the things you hear about as a kid that you don't see in person and talking to the coaches sold me right away."
An early enrollee, Gottula is closing in on the day that he walks into Memorial Stadium with the Red N on his chest as a Cornhusker.
"There were so many great people that played here before and being able to represent that Red N – it'll be nice."
Much like Gottula, McIntyre was sold on Oklahoma long ago and knew where he was going to play football at the next level. All he had left to do was sign his name Wednesday.
"It feels really good," he said about finishing the process. "Like I keep saying, it was the icing on the cake. I had committed quite a while ago and after that I knew I was going to be a Sooner.
"I got offered and a few weeks later went on a visit. As soon as I got down there, I just knew it was the place for me, honestly. Going down there and meeting everybody was, ‘Wow, this is the place.' "
Zane Flores of Gretna is one of Nebraska's top recruits and headed to Oklahoma State. (Photo: Nathanial George)
The future Big XII and SEC tight end said Oklahoma liked his versatility – his size, speed and strength. Now, McIntyre hopes to parlay those attributes into some playing time as a true freshman.
"I want to get down there and play if I can," McIntyre said. "I want to get down there and connect with all of the players and the coaches that first year and hopefully make the travel team and get some playing time."
Gretna's Mason Goldman (Nebraska), Kade Pieper of Norfolk Catholic (Iowa) and Omaha Westside's Tristan Alvano (Nebraska) didn't make the Cornhusker State's Top 10, but all three signed Power 5 letters of intent. Elkhorn South's Cole Ballard, Korver Demma of Gretna, Bellevue West's Cayden Echternach and Grant Seagren of Oakland-Craig all joined Nebraska as Preferred Walkons.
Below we take a look at the Cornhusker State's Top 10 Division I prospects, how 247Sports ranked them and where they ended up. We are also displaying where the select athletes ended up on the Lincoln Journal Star's All-State teams and what kind of numbers they put up last fall according to MaxPreps' Statistics Database.
Where Nebraska's Top 10 football prospects ended up1.
Malachi Coleman,
Lincoln East (Lincoln) | Athlete — Nebraska
4-Star | 0.9590 | Nationally-84th | Position-2nd | Nebraska-1st
Class A Honorable Mention All-State – Lincoln Journal Star
31 Catches for 496 Yards and 6 Touchdowns | 32 Tackles | 2 Quarterback Hurries | 3 Kickoff Returns for 125 Yards | 1 Kickoff Returned for a Score.
2.
Zane Flores,
Gretna | Quarterback — Oklahoma State
3-Star | 0.8878 | Nationally-467th | Position-28th | Nebraska-2nd
Super-State First-Team All-State Quarterback – Lincoln Journal Star
Class A First-Team All-State Quarterback – Lincoln Journal Star
235 of 359 for 3,117 Yards and 31 Touchdowns to 7 Interceptions | 79 Carries for 262 Yards and 10 Touchdowns.
3.
Kade McIntyre,
Archbishop Bergan (Fremont) | Athlete — Oklahoma
3-Star | 0.8797 | Nationally-600th | Position-41st | Nebraska-3rd
Super-State Second-Team All-State Linebacker – Lincoln Journal Star
Class C2 First-Team All-State Linebacker – Lincoln Journal Star
72 Carries for 540 Yards and 11 TDs | 41 Catches for 413 Yards and 5 Touchdowns | 3 Kickoff Returns for 58 Yards | 6 Punt Returns for 89 Yards | 73 Tackles | 10 Tackles for Losses | 4 ½ Sacks | 1 Fumble Recovery.
4.
Gunnar Gottula,
Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln) | Offensive Tackle — Nebraska
3-Star | 0.8792 | Nationally-610th | Position-48th | Nebraska-4th
Super-State First-Team All-State Offensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
Class A First-Team All-State Offensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
12 Tackles | 1 Interception.
5.
Maverick Noonan,
Elkhorn South (Omaha) | Edge — Nebraska
3-Star | 0.8769 | Nationally-653rd | Position-63rd | Nebraska-5th
Super-State First-Team All-State Defensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
Class A First-Team All-State Defensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
1 Carry for 1 Yard and 1 Touchdown | 48 Tackles | 5 Tackles for Losses | 6 ½ Sacks | 4 Quarterback Hurries | 1 Pass Defended | 1 Fumble Recovery.
6.
Benjamin Brahmer,
Pierce | Wide Receiver — Iowa State
3-Star | 0.8736 | Nationally-737th | Position-100th | Nebraska-6th
Super-State First-Team All-State Linebacker – Lincoln Journal Star
Class C1 First-Team All-State Wide Receiver – Lincoln Journal Star
81 Catches for 1,525 Yards and 21 Touchdowns | 15 Carries for 124 Yards | 1 for 2 for 53 Yards and 1 Touchdown | 42 Tackles | 2 Tackles for Losses | 1 Sack | 2 Interceptions | 3 Fumble Recoveries.
7.
Beni Ngoyi,
Lincoln High (Lincoln) | Wide Receiver — Iowa State
3-Star | 0.8714 | Nationally-783rd | Position-106th | Nebraska-7th
Super-State Second-Team All-State Defensive Back – Lincoln Journal Star
Class A Honorable Mention All-State – Lincoln Journal Star
12 Catches for 188 Yards and 2 Touchdowns | 13 Tackles.
8.
Brock Knutson,
Scottsbluff | Offensive Tackle — Nebraska
3-Star | 0.8672 | Nationally-884th | Position-70th | Nebraska-8th
Super-State First-Team All-State Offensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
Class B First-Team All-State Offensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
20 Tackles | 3 Tackles for Losses | 2 Quarterback Hurries | 1 Fumble Recovery | 1 Fumble forced.
9.
Jaylen Lloyd,
Omaha Westside (Omaha) | Athlete — Nebraska
3-Star | 0.8658 | Nationally-928th | Position-74th | Nebraska-9th
Super-State First-Team All-State Wide Receiver – Lincoln Journal Star
Class A First-Team All-State Wide Receiver – Lincoln Journal Star
44 Catches for 784 Yards and 5 Touchdowns | 2 Carries for 6 Yards | 6 Kickoff Returns for 86 Yards | 3 Punt Returns for 61 Yards.
10.
Sam Sledge,
Creighton Prep (Omaha) | Offensive Line — Nebraska
3-Star | 0.8631 | Nationally-NA | Position-76th | Nebraska-10th
Super-State First-Team All-State Offensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
Class A First-Team All-State Offensive Line – Lincoln Journal Star
40 Tackles | 8 Tackles for Losses | 2 ½ Sacks | 7 Quarterback Hurries | 3 Passes Defended.
