2010 Nebraska Recruiting Class

Nebraska Cornhuskers 2010 ... Head Coach: Bo Pelini

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 8-4
2009 Record: 10-4

9/5 Fla Atlantic W 49-3
9/12 Arkansas St W 38-9
9/19 at Virginia Tech L 16-15
9/26 UL Lafayette W 55-0
10/3 OPEN DATE
10/8 at Missouri W 27-12
10/17 Texas Tech L 31-10
10/24 Iowa St L 9-7
10/31 at Baylor W 20-10
11/7 Oklahoma W 10-3
11/14 at Kansas W 31-17
11/21 Kansas St W 17-3
11/27 at Colorado W 28-20
Big 12 Championship
12/5 Texas L 13-12
HOLDIAY BOWL
12/30 Arizona W 33-0

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2008 Record: 9-3

8/30 Western Mich W 47-24
9/6 San Jose State W 35-12
9/13 New Mexico St W 38-7
9/20 OPEN DATE
9/27 Virginia Tech L 35-30
10/4 Missouri L 52-17
10/11 at Tex Tech L 37-31 OT
10/18 at Iowa State W 35-7
10/25 Baylor W 32-20
11/1 at Oklahoma L 62-28
11/8 Kansas W 45-35
11/15 at Kansas St W 56-28
11/22 OPEN DATE
11/28 Colorado W 41-30
Gator Bowl
1/1 Clemson W 26-21

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Top Five Prospects
LB	Lavonte David	6-1	214	Fort Scott, KS
OL	Jermarcus Hardrick	6-7	315	Fort Scott, KS
QB	Brion Carnes	6-0	181	Bradenton, FL
RB	Braylon Heard	5-11	180	Youngstown, OH
DB	Corey Cooper	6-2	203	Maywood, IL
The Rest of the Class
DE	Walker Ashburn	6-3	245	River Ridge, LA
ATH	Kenny Bell	6-2	173	Boulder, CO
DE	Jake Cotton	6-7	265	Lincoln, NE
WR	Quincy Enunwa	6-2	200	Moreno Valley, CA
DB	Ciante Evans	5-11	170	Arlington, TX
ATH	Tyler Evans	6-2	180	Waverly, NE
DT	Jay Guy	6-1	300	Aldine, TX
TE	Chase Harper	6-5	251	Corsicana, TX
DB	Harvey Jackson	6-2	185	Missouri City, TX
ATH	Bronson Marsh	6-0	200	Omaha, NE
DB	Joshua Mitchell	5-11	165	Corona, CA
OL	Mike Moudy	6-7	291	Castle Rock, CO
DE	Tobi Okuyemi	6-3	250	Plymouth, MN
OL	Andrew Rodriguez	6-6	298	Aurora , NE
DT	Chase Rome	6-3	290	Columbia, MO
DE	Donovan Vestal	6-5	240	Arlington, TX

Dec. 30
HOLIDAY BOWL
Nebraska 33 … Arizona 0
In a dominant performance by the Nebraska defense, Arizona came up with no points, just 109 yards of total offense, six first downs, and held on to the ball for just 21:48. A Matt O’Hanlon interception set up the Huskers’ first score, a four-yard Zac Lee run, just 1:15 into the game. Alex Henery connected on all four of his field goal attempts, hitting from 47, 50, 41, and 22 yards away, while Red Burkhead ran for a five-yard score in the second and Niles Paul burned the Wildcats for a 74-yard touchdown late in the third. Nebraska was never threatened as Arizona never came close to scoring.
Player of the Game: Nebraska DE Pierre Allen made four tackles, two sacks, and forced a fumble.
Arizona: Passing: Nick Foles, 6-20, 28 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Keola Antolin, 11-69, Receiving: Delashaun Dean, 3-24
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 13-23, 173 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Rex Burkhead, 17-89, 1 TD, Receiving: Niles Paul, 4-123, 1 TD
What It All Means: This was an amazing performance by the Huskers that will be sure to carry over into next year. Nebraska will be the hot team of the offseason and will be everyone’s favorite to win the North and be in the hunt for the Big 12 title, if not more, but there will still be things to work on. The defense will still be great, even without Ndamukong Suh, but the offense still has to figure out how to close. The 396 yards against a good Arizona defense were nice, but as was the case throughout the year, too many drives ended up with field goals instead of touchdowns. Four Alex Henery field goals helped to put the game away, but this could’ve been an uglier blowout had two of those drives ended in the end zone.
What It All Means: Nebraska put on a show and was fired up to make a statement, but Arizona also contributed to the problem by failing to take advantage of even the most minor of chances. The O line only gave up two sacks, but QB Nick Foles was beaten, battered and bruised into only completing 6-of-20 passes for 28 yards with a pick. He couldn’t breathe with no time to do anything, but when he was able to step into a few throws he was off and his receivers didn’t provide any help. Considering what a nice season this was, the Wildcats have to quickly blow off this disaster. This is a promising team going into next year, and now it has the motivation of this game to work harder. The coaching staff will love that, even if it didn’t like the thumping.

Dec. 5
2009 Big 12 Championship
Texas 13 … Nebraska 12
Hunter Lawrence nailed a 46-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to escape the Huskers and its tremendous defense. Nebraska managed just 106 yards of total offense, but following an interception from Dejon Gomes, the Husker attack marched into position to set up Alex Henery’s fourth field goal of the game nailing a 42-yarder with 1:44 to play. Texas marched back down the field and cut it close, with Colt McCoy throwing the ball out of bounds with one second to play. The clock read zero and Nebraska ran on the field. The play was reviewed and Texas got one final chance. The Longhorns managed a two-yard McCoy touchdown dash and a 39-yard Lawrence field goal to go up 10-6, but couldn’t get back on the board until the final moments.
Player of the Game: In a losing cause, Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh made 12 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 6-19, 39 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Roy Helu, 10-28, Receiving: Brandon Kinnie, 2-30
Texas: Passing: Colt McCoy, 20-36, 184 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Tre Newton, 19-36, Receiving: Jordan Shipley, 7-71
What It All Means: Nebraska did everything right considering its offensive limitations. There might have been three turnovers, but the defense was able to hold firm all game long and Alex Henery kept the team in a position to pull off the win. But with the kickoff that went out of bounds after the final Henery field goal and the inability to come up with one final stop once Colt McCoy got hot in the final moments, the Huskers had just enough leakage to lose the game. But it came down to a final fraction of a second, and if nothing else, the expectations will be high going forward under Bo Pelini … if Nebraska finds an offense.

Nov. 27
Nebraska 28 … at Colorado 20
Nebraska scored in a variety of ways getting a 59-yard punt return for a score from Niles Paul, a 24-yard Zac Lee touchdown pass to Ben Cotton, and a 20-yard Matt O’Hanlon interception return for a score on the way to a 21-7 halftime lead. But Colorado caught back with a six-yard Scotty McKnight touchdown catch to make things interesting before the Huskers went on a crushing 13-play, 80-yard drive, finshing with a seven-yard Red Burkhead touchdown, to put the game away.
Player of the Game: Nebraska RB Rex Burkhead ran 18 times for 100 yards and a score
Colorado: Passing: Tyler Hansen, 21-44, 269 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 21-110, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 7-114, 2 TD
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 9-14, 73 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Rex Burkhead, 18-100, 1 TD, Receiving: Ben Cotton, 3-33, 1 TD
What It All Means: Nebraska isn’t going to win the Big 12 Championship unless the offense has a few dozen tricks hidden up its sleeve offensively. The defense was fine, but it wasn’t up to its normal snuff giving up too many yards and three touchdown passes, but one of the scoring throws came when no time was left on the clock and there were key stops in the red zone. But the offense was a disaster with just 73 yards passing and 217 yards total. That’s not going to work against the Longhorns, even if the defense plays its best game of the season.

Nov. 21
at Nebraska 17 … Kansas State 3
Kansas State scored first on a 44-yard Josh Cherry field goal early in the game, but that was the team’s only big highlight as Nebraska scored 17 unanswered points to win the Big 12 North crown. The Huskers got a 17-yard Mike McNeill touchdown catch in the second quarter and a 14-yard Roy Helu touchdown run in the third, and the defense did the rest with two key takeaways, including a forced fumble as KSU appeared to be on the verge of scoring. Kansas State outgained Nebraska 293 yards to 267, with the Wildcat defense led by LB Ulla Pomele, who made 15 tackles and three tackles for loss.
Player of the Game: Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh made nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and two broken up passes.
Kansas State: Passing: Grant Graham, 11-31, 126 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Daniel Thomas, 19-99, Receiving: Brandon Banks, 5-48
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 13-19, 166 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Roy Helu, 26-95, 1 TD, Receiving: Niles Paul, 4-82
What It All Means: The Huskers are off to Big 12 title, and while the offense doesn’t have any chance unless the defense is able to do even more and the offense shows some semblance of explosion. The Nebraska D is doing a great job of stopping the mediocre offenses cold, but Texas is at a whole other level and isn’t going to be held to under 20 points. The Huskers haven’t opened up the offense much because it hasn’t had to. Zac Lee needs to start making more big plays happen down the field, while Roy Helu, who was ganged up on by Kansas State, needs room to move. 

Nov. 14
Nebraska 31 … at Kansas 17
Roy Helu ran for scores from 20 and 17 yards out in the final 6:19 to take over the lead and put Nebraska in the driver’s seat for the North title. Helu also recovered a fumble in the end zone to start the scoring, but the Huskers settled for three Alex Henery field goals to let a mistake-prone Kansas back into the game. The Jayhawks sputtered early, but Todd Reesing was able to run for a five-yard score and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Dezmon Briscoe for a 17-16 lead midway through the fourth. The Jayhawk D couldn’t hold.
Player of the Game: Nebraska RB Roy Helu ran 28 times for 156 yards and three scores
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 13-21, 196 yds
Rushing: Roy Helu, 28-156, 3 TD, Receiving: Niles Paul, 4-154
Kansas: Passing: Todd Reesing, 19-41, 236 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Toben Opurum, 15-43, Receiving: Kerry Meier, 10-127
What It All Means: Nebraska might have had some rocky moments a few weeks ago, and the offense continues to stink with Roy Helu isn’t carrying the attack, but now it’s one game away from playing for the Big 12 North title. The Huskers are in the championship game if they can beat Kansas State next week, and they can make a statement that they’re the dominant team in the North, as if that’s something special, but beating the Wildcats and closing out with a win over Colorado. The defense continues to be special, and it gave Kansas problems at times, but to beat KSU, Helu has to keep running well and QB Zac Lee, who got the start after being benched last week, has to do a better job in the red zone. 

Nov. 7
at Nebraska 10 … Oklahoma 3
Nebraska gained just 180 yards of total offense and cranked out a mere seven first downs, but the defense picked off five Landry Jones passes with Matt O’Hanlon coming up three, including an interception to snuff out a potential final scoring chance. The Huskers scored first on a one-yard Ryan Lee touchdown catch, and was able to get up for good in the third on a 28-yard Alex Henery field goal. OU’s only points came on a 28-yard Tress Way field goal.
Player of the Game: Nebraska S Matt O’Hanlon made 12 tackles with three interceptions and a broken up pass
Oklahoma: Passing: Landry Jones: 26-58, 245 yds, 5 INT
Rushing: Chris Brown, 12-50, Receiving: Ryan Broyles, 8-74
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 5-9, 35 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Roy Helu, 20-138, Receiving: Roy Helu, 3-15
What It All Means: Nebraska has a tremendous defense and a great back in Roy Helu Jr. That needs to be enough to get through the rest of the schedule. The Husker defense is playing at a championship level, but the offense has been abysmal and did nothing through the air against OU. The coaching staff tried out Cody Green, but he completed just 2-of-5 passes for four yards. It’s not like Zac Lee did much better completing 5-of-9 passes for 35 yards and a score. No matter how it looked, it was a win over Oklahoma, and now it’s all North the rest of the way starting out at Kansas. Fortunately, the bear of the finishing kick, Kansas State, is at home. 

Oct. 31
Nebraska 20 … at Baylor 10
Justin Blatchford returned a blocked punt for a score and Jared Crick came up with five sacks as Nebraska’s special teams and defense helped out a rookie quarterback making his first start. Freshman Cody Green got the start for the Huskers and threw for 128 yards helping lead the team to a 20-0 first half start with Alex Henery kicking two field goals and Dontrayevous Robinson scoring from a yard out. However, Green threw one interception with Cliff Odom took for a 45-yard touchdown, but that was the only excitement for the Bears. Nebraska only gained 273 yards.
Player of the Game: Nebraska DT Jared Crick made 13 tackles with five sacks and six tackles for loss with a broken up pass.
Baylor: Passing: Nick Florence, 19-38, 222 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Jay Finley, 8-19, Receiving: David Gettis, 7-124
Nebraska: Passing: Cody Green, 12-21, 128 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Dontrayevous Robinson, 13-61, Receiving: Dontrayevous Robinson, 3-22
What It All Means: Yeah, Nebraska got the win over a struggling Baylor, but Cody Green didn’t come up with much of a spark for the attack in place of Zac Lee throwing for just 128 yards and leading the offense to a mere 273 yards and one touchdown. The defense did its job, with Jared Crick leading the way to a dominant day from the line, but if the O doesn’t do a lot more in a big hurry, there’s no way the Huskers have a shot against Oklahoma or Kansas over the next two weeks.  s

Oct. 24
Iowa State 9 … at Nebraska 7
Iowa State stunned the Huskers with eight takeaways and including four inside the Cyclone five. Nebraska, as poorly as it played, still had a chance late, but Zac Lee was picked off. All the scoring was done in the first half as Iowa State got a 47-yard Jake Williams touchdown catch in the second, along with a 52-yard Grant Mahoney field goal in the first, while Nebraska scored on a three-yard Dantrayevous Robinson run. Nebraska outgained the Cyclones 362 yards to 239.
Player of the Game: Iowa State LB Jesse Smith made 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, forced a fumble and picked off a pass.
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 20-37, 248 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Dontrayevous Robinson, 15-77, 1 TD, Receiving: Niles Pau, 6-143
Iowa State: Passing: Jerome Tiller, 9-19, 102 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Jerome Tiller, 19-65, Receiving: Josh Lenz, 3-32
What It All Means: Don’t blame the defense. Ndamukong Suh made eight tackles with a sack and three quarterback hurries in yet another All-America effort, Iowa State gained just 239 yards, and there were just 5-of-18 third down conversions. But the offense can’t score on anyone at a BCS conference level. This is a team that’s strong enough defensively to win a Big 12 title with, but the mistakes and the sputtering two weeks in a row, and three if you dismiss the fourth quarter against Missouri, have been too much to overcome. Fortunately, Baylor is up next before dealing with Oklahoma and Kansas, but the disaster on offense has to stop now simply by holding on to the ball. 

Oct. 17
Texas Tech 31 … at Nebraska 10
Texas Tech only gained 259 yards of total offense, but the defense came up with five sacks, with four coming from Brandon Sharpe, and Daniel Howard took a fumble 82 yards for a score on the way to the stunning win. Steven Sheffield connected with Baron Batch for a 16-yard score and he ran for two one-yard scores, but the game was all about the Red Raider D. Nebraska only managed a 21-yard Alex Henery field goal and a 13-yard Khiry Cooper touchdown catch, but Tech was able to go on a 54-yard scoring drive late in the fourth, culminating in a Sheffield score, to put it away.
Player of the Game: Texas Tech DE Brandon Sharpe made seven tackles and four sacks
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 16-22, 128 yds
Rushing: Roy Helu, 16-68, Receiving: Chris Brooks, 5-66
Texas Tech: Passing: Steven Sheffield, 23-32, 234 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Baron Batch, 12-38, Receiving: Baron Batch, 6-25, 1 TD
What It All Means: Outside of a wild fourth quarter against Missouri, the offense hasn’t produced against a BCS team this year. It couldn’t get into the end zone against Virginia Tech, it struggled for most of the game against Mizzou, and it was a disaster against Texas Tech and its pass rush. The Husker defense did its job with a great pass rush and nice production, keeping the Red Raiders to just 259 yards, but the offense didn’t pick up the slack with no big pass plays down the field. Cody Green tried to get the offense moving in place of Zac Lee, but he didn’t do much better. This was a bad loss, but it was against a team from the South. The North is still there for the taking, and it should be easy to get back on track with Iowa State coming to Lincoln next week.

Oct. 9
Nebraska 27 ... at Missouri 12 
In a driving rainstorm, Nebraska roared back with a 27-point fourth quarter starting with a 56-yard strike to Niles Paul, his first of two touchdown grabs, and an eight-yard Mike McNeill touchdown grab. Roy Helu put it away with a five-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining. Missouri took advantage of good field position and Nebraska's problems with the rain getting a safety off a muffed punt snap and a controversial one-yard Blaine Gabbert touchdown run that was reviewed and could've gone either way. But Gabbert threw two interceptions to set up late scores and the Nebraska defense shut down the Tiger attack late.
Player of the Game: Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh made six tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, forced a fumble, and came up with an interception.
Missouri: Passing: Blaine Gabbert, 17-43, 134 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Derrick Washington, 20-80, Receiving: Danario Alexander, 6-43
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 14-33, 158 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Roy Helu, 18-88, 1 TD, Receiving: Niles Paul, 6-102, 2 TD
What It All Means: After the way the team couldn't close out against Virginia Tech, it got the confidence boost it needed with a dominant fourth quarter as the momentum swung its way on the 27-point run. This showed that the offense can get shut down, shut out, and stopped cold, and with a few key plays and the help of a defense that didn't allow the Tigers to move the ball at all in the second half. There were 12 penalties, the long snapping needs a ton of work, and the offense couldn't seem to handle the rough weather, but it was a huge win that makes Nebraska the leader in the race for the Big 12 North. 

Sept. 26
at Nebraska 55 … Louisiana-Lafayette 0
In a throwback day for the Nebraska program, the Huskers rolled with ease with Roy Helu running for two, two-yard scores and Cody Green running for a 24-yard score and throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Rex Burkhead in the fourth. The defense forced three turnovers and scored on a Larry Asante 74-yrad interception return for a score.
Player of the Game: Nebraska QB Zac Lee completed 15-of-18 passes for 238 yards and a score.
Louisiana-Lafayette: Passing: Chris Masson, 13-22, 102 yds
Rushing: Undre Sails, 10-41, Receiving: Ladarius Green, 5-68
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 15-18, 238 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Roy Helu, 15-83, 2 TD, Receiving: Rex Burkhead, 4-26, 1 TD
What It All Means: Nebraska came back from the Virginia Tech loss without a problem. Zac Lee was nearly perfect, and the offense scored touchdowns after last week it could only generate field goals. The defense did its part by stopping the Ragin’ Cajuns time and again and not letting the game ever be interesting. This was the bounceback needed before the showdown at Missouri next Thursday. The defense has been dominant this year outside of the one late drive by Virginia Tech, and now the Huskers are allowing just 28 points after four games. Mizzou will have to work to keep the Husker defensive front in check. 

Sept. 19
at Virginia Tech 16 … Nebraska 15
Deep in his own territory and down five, Tyrod Taylor found Danny Coale for an 81-yard pass. Taylor gave the Hokies the win with a scrambling 11-yard touchdown pass to Dyrell Roberts with 21 seconds to paly to get the comeback victory. Nebraska outgained Virginia Tech 343 yards to 278, but only managed five Alex Henery field goals.
Player of the Game: Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor completed 12-of-27 passes for 192 yards and a score
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 11-30, 136 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Roy Helo, 28-169, Receiving: Roy Helu, 4-33
Virginia Tech: Passing: Tyrod Taylor, 12-27, 192 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Ryan Williams, 21-107, 1 TD, Receiving: Jarrett Boykin, 4-43
What It All Means: This isn’t a game Nebraska would lose twice, and it’s not a game the coaching staff would blow twice. Call it a learning experience for Bo Pelini. The offense couldn’t put the game away after being tentative late, and it blew the coverage leading to the 81-yard pass to finish the Tech drive with the game-winning touchdown. Roy Helu did a little of everything to carry the Husker offense, but to make any real noise in the Big 12, Zac Lee can’t go 11-of-30 with two interceptions.

Sept. 12
at Nebraska 38 ... Arkansas State 9
Nebraska held the high-powered Arkansas State offense to 274 yards, while the Husker offense had few problems getting ahead and staying there. Zac Lee threw four touchdown passes including two in the first quarter, and Niles Paul ran for a 30-yard score for a 21-0 lead. ASU got into the end zone on a Reggie Arnold one-yard run, but never threatened throughout. Mike McNeill caught touchdown passes from 13 and 32 yards out, while Paul put an end to the scoring with a two-yard touchdown grab.
Player of the Game: Nebraska QB Zac Lee completed 27-of-35 passes for 340 yards and four touchdowns, and hr ran for 11 yards.
Arkansas State: Passing: Corey Leonard, 11-20, 131 yds
Rushing: Reggie Arnold, 14-83, 1 TD, Receiving: J. McLennan, 7-69
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 27-35, 340 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Roy Helu, 14-60, Receiving: Nile Paul, 6-69, 1 TD
What It All Means: After a ho-hum debut, Zac Lee threw the ball extremely well against Arkansas State doing a better job of spreading it around and keeping the Red Wolves on their heels. The defense never let the dangerous ASU offense breathe with a nice performance from the line and several plays in the backfield. This was a great warm-up for Virginia Tech and its running game. The Hokies are going to have to throw to win, while Lee and the Husker offense has to be mistake-free on the road. It's been nearly perfect so far.

Sept. 5
at Nebraska 49 ... Florida Atlantic 3
It took a little while to get going, but the Nebraska offense eventually took over with Roy Helu, Jr. busting open a 14-7 game with three straight touchdowns scoring from one, seven, and 44 yards out to kick off a run of 35 unanswered points. Florida Atlantic was kept under wraps managing only a 21-yard Ross Gornall field goal while being held to 358 yards. The two teams combined for 20 penalties.
Player of the Game: Nebraska RB Roy Helu, Jr. ran 16 times for 152 yards and three touchdowns.
Florida Atlantic: Passing: Rusty Smith, 15-31, 164 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Alfred Morris, 18-85, Receiving: Cortez Gent, 5-58
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 15-22, 213 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
What It All Means: Zac Lee might not have been perfect in his debut, but he was solid enough to keep the Florida Atlantic defense from teeing off on the ground game. Once the offensive line got into a lather, Roy Helu and the ground game got rolling and the game was over. It doesn't matter that it was just against FAU; averaging 8.1 yards per carry is impressive. With Arkansas State up next, the Huskers have to work a bit more on the passing game and make it a little bit crisper before dealing with Virginia Tech.