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LINCOLN — The local kid got his offer. The high-end, out-of-state prospects were impressed. The tours and talks with coaches seemed to have the appropriate effect.

Now we’ll see what kind of recruiting fruit Nebraska’s Junior Day event produces. On-the-spot commits usually aren’t part of the Husker harvest — and they weren’t this year, either.

Translation: NU and coach Bo Pelini don’t want their first impression to be a hard, take-or-leave-it sell. Even to Lincoln Southwest linebacker Josh Banderas, who got his offer Saturday and has Nebraska high on his list.

“At lunch time they pulled me out and we went into Bo's office and he told me that they were going to offer,” the four-star Banderas told Huskers Illustrated, a recruiting partner with The World-Herald. “I had a huge knot in my throat that wanted me to come out and say, ‘Yes,' but I told Pelini that I wanted to go home and talk to my dad and mom and bring it all in.”

Pelini labels himself a “black and white” guy, but he's repeatedly expressed an understanding for the gray of this process. It's a big decision. And Nebraska's a “right fit” kind of place.

“I didn't want to have to make a decision today and not know any of the coaches or have a good relationship with them,” Claremore, Okla., quarterback Brayden Scott told HI. “It was good to agree on something where we can build on a relationship.”

Yeah, it is good. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Scott — who's been to Lincoln twice on his own dime — doesn't yet have an offer. Offensive coordinator Tim Beck isn't yet sure Scott can run the option.

“I just told him that I can,” Scott said. “We'll see that in the spring and the summer. We'll build our relationship and we'll both know what I can and cannot do. Maybe at the end of the day I might be at Nebraska.”

Scott doesn't seem to be NU's top quarterback target yet. Maybe he should be — the throwing ability is there. The option is a great collegiate weapon, but it has to be operated on a high-enough level to avoid blow-up disaster plays. Taylor Martinez isn't even there yet.

Guys I suspect are a notch above Scott: Four-star Dayton (Ohio) product Malik Zaire, whose top three are the Huskers, Ohio State and Pittsburgh, where former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst took over as head coach; and four-star Wichita Falls (Texas) star J.T. Barrett, a more realistic pick now that Texas landed its 2013 quarterback commit in Tyrone Swoopes.

At running back, if St. Louis (Mo.) John Burroughs' Ezekiel Elliott isn't NU's top choice, he's darn close.

“They like the fact that I could be similar to Rex (Burkhead) and I could give them a big back,” the 6-foot, 200-pound Elliott told HI. “The coaches said they had two or three true freshmen that were smaller backs and they needed a big back that could help replace once Rex is gone.”

A few more Junior Day attendees — Sugar Land (Texas) cornerback Maurice Smith and Fenton (Mo.) Rockwood Summit linebacker Eric Beisel — got offers, while several plan for a return trip for Nebraska's spring game, which doubles as a second, more impressive Junior Day.

“The coaches told me that it's been a sold-out event, and I was like, ‘are you serious?' ” said three-star Milton, Wis., defensive end A.J. Natter. “That's crazy to me and I can't wait to come down for that.”

Maybe then, the Huskers will move in for the hard close on some of these guys. NU may have to battle for kids like Elliott or a quarterback signee until the end. But I think, coming out of April, Nebraska can and should be in that eight to 10 commit range to create momentum heading into summer.

You can't build a top-10 class during football season, no matter how strong your game day atmospheres might be.

Recruiting around the Big Ten Conference

Michigan and Ohio State aren't wasting any time on 2013 classes.

The Wolverines have nine commits already, good for first in the Big Ten and third nationally according to 247Sports. The top commit — Warren, Mich., quarterback Shane Morris — has been on board since May 2011, but UM picked up five more pledges on Junior Day.
One, Pickering, Ohio, linebacker Taco Charlton, was an early Nebraska target.

At OSU, Urban Meyer might have found his newest Percy Harvin in five-star Middleton, Ohio, quarterback Jalin Marshall. The six-foot, 190-pounder runs the wingbone in high school, so he'd most likely transition into the running back/wide receiver role that made Harvin so dangerous at Florida.

The Buckeyes have four commits overall, with lanky four-star corners Eli Woodard (6-1/185) and Cameron Burrows (6-2/185) as key pickups. Michigan State has two commits, Wisconsin has one and the Huskers have a commit from Baldwin (La.) West St. Mary athlete Tra'vell Dixon.

All in the Hawkeye football family

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz didn't have to look far for his new offensive line coach. It'll be his son, Brian Ferentz. And it's a good hire.

Brian worked with the New England Patriots for the last four years. In 2011, he coached the NFL's best tight end duo, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. That line on a résumé sounds awful good in a recruit's living room. Iowa's new linebackers coach LaVar Woods has been around the program for years in more administrative roles, though he did coach the defensive line for UI in the Insight Bowl.

The Hawkeyes still need to hire an offensive coordinator. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that Kirk Ferentz talked to Kevin Higgins, head coach at The Citadel and former quarterbacks-wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions, but Higgins turned it down. He would have been an interesting pick, since The Citadel runs the ball 90 percent of the time.

Iowa has to incorporate a mobile quarterback into its offense. It doesn't have to define the offense, but there needs to be a package for involving one. Teams that don't better have a terrific offensive line and an all-conference signal-caller.

Contact the writer:

402-202-9766, sam.mckewon@owh.com

twitter.com/swmckewonOWH

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