The Husker coaches offered two big-time prospects on Friday night. While the portal visits go on, NU staff is about ready to go on the road again.
Husker coaches are able to get back on the road recruiting again on Monday.
Before that, why not extend offers to two of the more high-profile names in this 2026 recruiting class?
That’s what the Big Red did on Friday night, with offers both coming attached to two of the new Husker assistants.
Nebraska extended an offer to five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys. The No. 4 player overall in the 2026 class tagged NU wideouts coach Daikiel Shorts when he announced the news on social media.
Wrote Andrew Ivins from the Under Armour All-America Game: Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams and Cam Coleman have reset expectations for freshmen wide receivers. Dakorian Moore, Vernell Brown III and others could certainly burst onto the scene this fall, but the 2025 cycle might not have a true Day 1, outside game-wrecker. That’s why you need to know the name Tristen Keys. Our lone five-star wide receiver right now in the 2026 cycle, Keys looked the part all week in Orlando while squaring off with much older defensive backs. He’s a high-hipped, three-level separator with the sap to move the chains in a variety of different ways.»
Out of Hattiesburg, Miss., the 6-2, 175-pound Keys totaled 1,275 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on 58 receptions as a junior.
The Huskers also extended an offer to four-star cornerback Dorian Barney, with new secondary coach Addison Williams now on the scene.
The DB from Carrolltown, Ga., ranks No. 76 among all prospects in the 2026 recruiting class and seventh nationally among all corners.
Barney was committed to Alabama from May to November last year but is not attached to any team as the 2025 year begins.
The Huskers haven’t wasted any time staying after portal targets and potential high school recruits since winning the Pinstripe Bowl 20-15 over Boston College a week ago.
December used to very much be about being on the road recruiting, but was dramatically different this past month given the rules. And, frankly, bowl prep and portal recruiting made it best to have coaches on campus.
«You’re basically starting first thing in the morning, and you’re working into the evening, and we had people coming in pretty much all December, getting ready for the bowl,» Husker head coach Matt Rhule said on Dec. 29, just before the bowl game. «We’ll be back to work on the 1st. So there’s no break, there’s no vacation, there’s no time away. There’s the game and then we’ll be ready to host people that first week.»
The Huskers have done that, but Rhule and 10 assistants can also now head out recruiting again starting Monday.