Thirty-eight Nebraska high school football players sign to play Division I football

Bellevue West's Zavier Betts and 37 other Nebraska prep football players signed letters of intent to play Division I football or will walk-on.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Dean Backes
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Dec 20, 2019, 10:00am
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The activity and suspense from Round One of National Signing Day has pretty much wrapped up and Nebraska can lay claim to 22 recruits who signed an FCS or FBS National Letter of Intent. Sixteen others signed the paperwork to walk-on at the University of Nebraska. In all, 17 of Nebraska's finest prep football players signed the proper paperwork to join the Huskers next fall.

Lincoln Southeast's Gifford and Trevino wait on scholarships to play for the Huskers

Former Lincoln Southeast safety/running back Isaac Gifford had plenty of scholarship offers dangling in front of him throughout the recruiting process. But the allure of Husker football got in the way of FBS football programs like Wyoming, the Air Force Academy and Colorado State.

"I'm like every other kid from Nebraska," Gifford said by phone following Wednesday's National Signing Day festivities. "You dream of running out in that stadium in front of 90,000 fans."

History and childhood dreams weren't the only attractions pulling Gifford away from other FBS schools. The 6-foot-1, 195 pound senior is a fan of Nebraska's coaching staff and said he could see himself playing for Scott Frost, Erik Chinander and Barrett Ruud for the next four or five years.

"They have some really good athletes coming in here," Gifford said. "They're doing something right. They're getting kids to want to come here and play. They're getting kids to buy into what they are doing."

Gifford, who agreed to come to Nebraska as a blue shirt, will walk-on for a semester before receiving a scholarship next fall. The No. 5 recruit in Nebraska for 2020 said he is working out with trainer Christopher Slatt in preparation for the rigors of B1G football. Much like Knight teammate Xavier Trevino, who is also walking on with the Cornhuskers, Gifford is not intimidated by a little work.

Lincoln Southeast head football coach Ryan Gottula said both Gifford and Trevino are not only great football players; they are hard workers, fantastic students and strong leaders on and off of the field. Gifford is versatile, Gottula said, while Trevino has a great motor – especially for an offensive lineman.

Gottula also looked on as Isaac Appleget and Teivis Tuioti signed with South Dakota State and Nevada respectively.

Husker defensive line coach Tony Tuioti now has two favorite colleges

At one point Teivis Tuioti and his father Tony, Nebraska's defensive line coach, talked about how cool it would be to be in the same room and for the older Tuioti to be able to coach his son in college. But Teivis Tuioti opted to continue playing football at Nevada next fall.

"We always felt it was important for him to find himself, blaze his own path and be able to grow and expand as a young man on his own," Tony Tuioti told the Lincoln Journal Star Wednesday. "That's more important than anything else, and that's why we're excited for today."

Columbus' Braasch realizes Division I dream

Some fans may have questioned Discoverer running back Joseph Braasch's desire to play Division I football. But Braasch overcame all doubt and signed with Craig Bohl at Wyoming on Wednesday.

"I've been very underrated," Braasch told the Columbus Telegram earlier this week. "Signing to a Division I college, that was my dream. I think I overcame ... being unnoticed. Flying under the radar. That was the main thing I beat, and people's opinions. I had a lot of doubters. Some of those were close to me. Some of those weren't. I proved them all wrong."

Nebraska Pipelines to South Dakota State and Wyoming

South Dakota State has been reaping plenty of talent from Nebraska over the past few recruiting cycles. With the addition of six Nebraskans to their roster next fall, 17 Nebraskans will dot the Jackrabbit roster in 2020. Wyoming hasn't been shy about persuading Cornhusker State talent to come to Laramie either. Craig Bohl's Cowboy roster will list the names of nine Nebraskans as they take the field in 2020.

Transferring In, Transferring Out

While Nebraska is losing the services of former Kearney standout Isaiah Stalbird next fall, Colorado State's Nouredin Nouili, a former Norris athlete is walking on with the Huskers. Stalbird will be taking his talents to South Dakota State where he still has three years of eligibility left. Nouili, a former foreign exchange student from Germany, will be able to play three years for Frost.

Nebraska's 38 Division I signees

Listed below are the 38 Cornhusker State FBS and FCS football signees.

Nebraska (scholarship)
Zavier Betts, Bellevue West (Bellevue)

Nebraska (walk-on)
Bladen Bayless, Beatrice
Nate Boerkircher, Aurora
Baylor Brannen, Millard West (Omaha)
Elliott Brown, Elkhorn South (Omaha)
Casey Doernemann, Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point)
Broc Douglass, Grand Island
Isaac Gifford, Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln)
Ty Hahn, Johnson-Brock (Johnson)
Ashton Hausmann, Norris (Firth)
Braden Klover, Southern (Wymore)
Trevin Luben, Wahoo
Keegan Menning, Fremont
Mason Nieman, Waverly
Eli Simonson, Archbishop Bergan (Fremont)
Grant Tagge, Omaha Westside (Omaha)
Xavier Trevino, Lincoln Southeast

South Dakota State
Caleb Francl, Grand Island
Isaac Appleget, Lincoln Southeast
Wyatt Seagren, Oakland-Craig (Oakland)
Nate Sullivan, Bellevue West
Abraham Hoskins III, Omaha Central (Omaha)
Dalys Beanum, Millard West

North Dakota
Chase Perchal, Millard South (Omaha)
Kason Kelley, Millard North (Omaha)

Nevada
Teivis Tuioti, Lincoln Southeast

Harvard
Kaedyn Odermann, Millard West

North Dakota State
Tyson Gordon,Skutt Catholic (Omaha)
Marques Sigle, Omaha North (Omaha)

Notre Dame
Xavier Watts, Burke (Omaha)

Wyoming
Kohl Herbolsheimer, Millard South
Caleb Robinson, Omaha Burke
Joseph Braasch, Columbus (Columbus)

Kansas State
Will Swanson, Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion)

Princeton
Miko Maessner, Kearney

Ohio University
Bryce Kitrell, Ashland-Greenwood (Ashland)

Northern Illinois
Jevyon Ducker, Bellevue West

Northern Iowa
Blake Anderson, Omaha Skutt Catholic

Where are they going?

As we pointed out earlier, Nebraska earned the signatures of 17 of the 38 Cornhusker State athletes that officially made it known where they were going to play football as either a scholarship recipient or as a walk on next fall. South Dakota State claimed six Nebraska athletes while Wyoming received an affirmative nod from three Cornhusker State football players. North Dakota and North Dakota State will both be adding a couple of Nebraskans to their rosters this fall.

Leading the Way

Lincoln Southeast sent four athletes to FBS and FCS schools Wednesday, to lead the way, while Bellevue West and Millard West added three football standouts a piece to Division I rosters. Grand Island, Millard South, Omaha Skutt Catholic and Omaha Burke looked on as two of their own signed the proper paperwork to compete for D1 programs next fall. In all, 27 Cornhusker State football programs sent prep athletes to compete on the gridiron at the highest level next year.

Highest ranked

Bellevue West claimed two of Nebraska's top four football players in this recruiting cycle with Nebraska signee Zavier Betts leading the way and future Northern Illinois running back Jevyon Ducker taking the fourth spot in the state. Betts is the 107th athlete on 247sports.com's board and was ranked as the No. 21 wide receiver. Ducker, on the other hand, ranks 1,132nd nationally and is said to be the No. 15 all purpose back. Watts (478th overall), Swanson (924th overall) and Gifford (1,417th overall) round out the Top 5 in the Cornhusker State.

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