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Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

College football recruiting has always been interesting, so when Nebraska offensive tackle Nick Gates and Husker quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. acknowledged Monday that both received scholarship offers from Saturday opponent Oregon, it was more intriguing than interesting.

Oregon ranked in both Husker players’ top five schools. Both visited Eugene but are glad they landed in Lincoln. “I liked the school and all the coaches. It just wasn’t a fit for me,” Gates said.

“It was more a distance thing for me and my parents,” Armstrong said. “The opportunity to be a part of this program and this atmosphere helped me make a better decision.”

Can Scholarship Money Move from No. 10 to the Biggest Factor in College Recruiting?

The quick responses describe how well Nebraska scores with the highest level recruits who weigh in on what some call the 10 biggest factors in college athletic recruiting: 1) coaches; 2) location; 3) playing time; 4) academics; 5) program’s success; 6) players; 7) weather; 8) a home-like feeling; 9) fan base; and 10) scholarship money.

Talk about intrigue. Point No. 10 just might leapfrog all major motivators and, perhaps, become the most influential part of the decision-making process sooner than expected. That’s especially true when prospects and their parents learn how Nebraska is approaching the Student-Athlete Experience with a $23 million annual investment on top of the $13 million in scholarships that Nebraska’s Department of Athletics pays in tuition, fees, room and board and textbooks.

Read the link above and you’ll understand how Nebraska has been innovative in optimizing an overall scholarship package described as a “golden ticket” in the fast and vast world of recruiting.

Regarded as the top recruit in the state of Nevada, Gates chose to visit Nebraska and Texas A&M, but had other offers from Alabama, Oklahoma and UCLA, plus scholarships from at least eight other Power Five conference schools.

Regarded as the No. 5 quarterback in the country, Armstrong Jr. had nine scholarship offers. Once he visited Nebraska, he was sold.

Westerkamp, Moore, Williams, Gates, Armstrong Share Their Thoughts about Oregon

Saturday’s game against Oregon will mark the 350th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium. Here are some highlight thoughts from five Husker players who met the press Monday:

Jordan Westerkamp: “Oregon is a big game. Everything is a big game. We’re just going to have to do what we do normally and work our tails off during the week. Obviously they’re a ranked opponent, so it would be awesome for us as a program to be able to beat them and put our name out there nationally and get into those rankings. As the days get closer, it’ll feel more and more. Yeah, definitely the sense of urgency is a little higher and what we've got to do. We’re not going to change anything or go out of the way or start doing things we haven’t before. We've just got to stick to what we’ve been doing and prepare like normal and get ready to go."

Alonzo Moore: On his big plays: “I feel good, it’s contributing to the team so that’s what makes me feel real good. I can play a role on the team and execute when my name is called.” On Oregon having the country’s best wide receivers: “It’s real exciting, and I guess I’ll say on that little comment, we’ll find out on Saturday.” On if this is a statement game for Nebraska: “No, I look at it as just another game on the schedule. We’re not going to treat them any different than we’ll treat the next team.”

Kieron Williams: On Oregon’s new starting quarterback: “That guy’s a leader. I see that. When he makes a big play, they get right back on the ball. He’s just there leading his team and it looks like he’s been there. It doesn’t look like he just got there. It doesn’t look like it was his second game. The guy looks like a great player, and I bet he is a great player.”On Saturday’s game resembling a basketball pick-up game: “Yeah, like it’s full of speed. It’ll probably be like playing the 2010 Heat when LeBron first got there.”

Nick Gates: On the difference between having offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh on the sideline after the spending season-opener in the press box: "Getting yelled at a lot more, getting a couple spit balls in the face, but it’s definitely nice for him to be back down there. He tells you exactly what to do instead of talking on the headphones. You can take the headphones off."

Tommy Armstrong Jr.: From what I’ve seen, they’re fast. They’re known for their speed. They’re going to play physical. We've got to play smart, take care of the football, take advantage of every time we get the ball. Those guys are going to run to the ball, and that’s what you see out of the past two games. They’ve thrown a lot out defensive-wise, so we don’t really know exactly what they’re going to throw at us because they’ve played a vast variety of different defenses these last couple weeks. We've just got to make sure we game plan in the right way and put ourselves in the right position to win."

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