LINCOLN — The pleasantries, apparently, are over. It's almost time for a decision.

Star defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa met with Bo Pelini on Thursday night as the Nebraska coach made the last of three visits this week from college recruiters to Odighizuwa's home in Portland, Ore.

The meeting included defensive coordinator Carl Pelini and defensive ends coach John Papuchis, who has cultivated the Huskers' relationship with Odighizuwa for several months.

By all accounts, the encounter went well, in particular with Odighizuwa's mother, A.B.

“Actually,” said Dan Wood, Odighizuwa's coach at David Douglas High School, “Owa said it went really, really well.”

So what now for the top uncommitted prospect among a limited pool of remaining candidates to join the Huskers' recruiting class?

“I think he's getting to the point where he's starting to prioritize some things,” Wood said Friday. “He and his mother, myself and my defensive line coach are going to sit down. We're going to create a worksheet with different categories to consider, how we might approach each school and rank them in each category.

“But it's still going to come down to the gut feeling of an 18-year-old kid.”

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Odighizuwa, a five-star prospect as rated by rivals.com, ranks as the No. 1 high school player in Oregon and No. 2 nationally at his position.

Nebraska remains under consideration with UCLA and Oregon.

The Huskers, to reach this final stage with Odighizuwa, have already beaten the odds, according to many observers. Not Wood, though.

“Absolutely not a surprise at all,” the coach said. “From the first time he got a letter from Nebraska, he was very interested because of the track record of Coach Pelini and John Papuchis. And that was before he knew any more about them than just what you read and see on TV.”

Wood met at the high school with NU coaches before they visited Odighizuwa's house in the evening. The coach was also impressed with Nebraska's presentation, a factor that could loom large as Odighizuwa picks a school.

“They were extremely well prepared,” Wood said. “They were very honest and straightforward, no-nonsense. I appreciate that, and I know Owa appreciates that approach. We had enough time that we were able to visit about different things, not just Owa's situation.

“I enjoyed our time and thought they were very informative. They were extremely personable. It just all went down really, really well.”

The NU class of expected signees includes 18 players. As the Feb. 3 signing date approaches, the Huskers have zeroed in on Odighizuwa, safety Corey Cooper of Maywood, Ill., and quarterback Brion Carnes of Bradenton, Fla., among a few others.

Cooper and Odighizuwa visited Lincoln during the football season. Carnes is headed north on Saturday. He'll catch a flight this afternoon, Manatee High School quarterbacks coach Chris Conboy said, after taking the SAT this morning.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Carnes started 51 games over four years at Manatee, the school that sent All-American Tommie Frazier to Lincoln in 1992. Carnes and Frazier, in fact, are cousins, and Tommie's brother, Rod, coaches the running backs at Manatee.

Nebraska showed some early recruiting interest in Carnes, rated as a four-star prospect by rivals and the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback. They lost contact when Carnes committed to South Florida and the Huskers accepted a pledge from Tyler Gabbert of Ballwin, Mo.

Gabbert later defected to Missouri, and Carnes backed away from South Florida when coach Jim Leavitt was fired this month. The QB visited USF last week, but it looks like he'll play elsewhere in college, Conboy said.

“It's not the same,” the coach said. “They've got a pretty big hill to climb to get back into it.”

As for the Huskers, running backs coach Tim Beck made the original contact with Carnes, but offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has taken over of late.

Watson visited Carnes this week in Florida.

“I think Brion likes him a lot,” Conboy said. “They're developing a pretty good rapport. I think he's going to be pretty impressed by Nebraska when he gets up there.”

Contact the writer:

402-444-1031, mitch.sherman@owh.com

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