The latest Husker commitment discusses his verbal pledge to the Big Red.
2025 Moore (Okla.) athlete CJ Simon sat down with his family following his junior season and sorted through his offers, which included Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
The 6-foot, 165-pound athlete kept coming back to what was happening in Lincoln. He announced his commitment on Saturday morning, becoming the fourth member of Nebraska’s 2025 recruiting class and the first from outside the state of Nebraska.
“I’ve been wanting to commit for a little while now, but I had to sit down and talk through things with my family and what I want to see in a school and what’s best for me and my family, and Nebraska is the place,” Simon told Husker247. “They’re like a family up there. I love what they’re doing, the atmosphere. They want to see their players succeed not only in football, but in life.”
The Huskers first offered Simon in April, and since then, the athlete has grown a strong bond with wide receivers coach Garret McGuire. The Huskers see Simon as sliding in as a slot wide receiver when he gets to Lincoln.
Simon made multiple trips to Lincoln after getting the offer, passing through for a game earlier this fall.
“I’ve been up there for a game and we all talked and I liked what I was seeing up there,” Simon said. “Me and Coach McGuire, we’ve been talking and we’ve been growing a good relationship. He’s young and can relate to things and he wants to see his receivers succeed and that’s what I really liked.”
He said the early-season trip to Lincoln made an impact in his recruitment.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “There’s nothing like it. The fans, they really support the team and I liked that. I really liked when everybody’s behind them like that.”
Simon had a strong junior campaign, catching 54 passes for 784 yards and 10 touchdowns. Simon also carried 35 times for 262 yards and three touchdowns. That followed a sophomore season where Simon caught 64 passes for 946 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Simon said he saw much more attention this season, but was still able to excel. He also added a bigger role on special teams to his list of duties this year.
“I feel like I improved in just getting in space away from defenders. My footwork and getting off the linebackers — that’s where I really succeeded,” Simon said. “I got a lot more double teams this year, but I really didn’t let that affect me.”
Simon chose the Huskers over offers from Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, and had been hearing from Oklahoma and Tulsa.