NU gains commitment from big receiver
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By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Ted Gilmore has spoken this season about the need to find big, physical wide receivers — the kind of players who can dish out as much damage as they receive.
No doubt Husker coaches hope they have found that in the latest commitment. Brandon Kinnie, 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, has told coaches he’s on board.
He is the first wide receiver commit of this Husker class and also the first from a junior college. Kinnie is currently at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas.
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Nick Ash, OL, 6-5, 265, Keller, Texas (Keller)
Shawn Bodtmann, LB, 6-0, 205, Scranton, Pa. (West Scranton)
DeAndre Byrd, CB, 5-10, 170, Tallahassee, Fla. (Lincoln)
Jess Coffey, OL, 6-7, 290, Denton, Texas (Guyer)
Emerson Evans, DE, 6-1, 235, Houston, Texas (Alief Taylor)
Cody Green, QB, 6-4, 220, Dayton, Texas (Dayton)
J.T. Kerr, TE, 6-4, 230, San Diego (Scripps Ranch)
Brandon Kinnie, WR, 6-3, 215. Fort Scott (Kan.) CC
Taylor Martinez, S/QB, 6-1, 185. Corona, Calif. (Centennial)
Earnest Norman, LB, 5-11, 220, Euless, Texas (Trinity)
Cole Pensick, DT, 6-2, 255, Lincoln Northeast
Brent Qvale, OL, 6-7, 300, Williston, N.D. (Williston)
Thaddeus Randle DT, 6-1, 260, Galena Park, Texas (North Shore)
Dontrayevous Robinson, RB, 6-1, 215, Euless, Texas (Trinity)
Jeremiah Sirles OL, 6-8, 300, Lakewood, Colo. (Bear Creek)
Dijon Washington, DB, 6-0, 175, Lawndale, Calif. (Leuzinger)
Chris Williams, LB, 6-0, 230, Abilene, Texas (Abilene)
Kevin Young, DE, 6-4, 225, Olathe, Kan. (North)
C.J. Zimmerer, FB, 6-1, 215, Omaha Gross
“It helped my stock a lot with recruiting,” Kinnie said of his size. “A lot of teams want big wideouts now to line up against a little corner, that’s very intimidating.”
Kinnie is from the Kansas City, Mo., area and committed to Kansas State out of high school. But his ACT scores weren’t enough, so community college came into play.
He plans to graduate in May and have three years to play in Lincoln.
“It’s very exciting just to know you’re going to a town that loves football,” Kinnie said. “That’s the only thing there, the main attraction. I can’t wait to get there and show what I can do.”
Also offered scholarships by Arkansas and Kansas, Kinnie especially connected with Gilmore, the wide receivers coach, saying, “Coaches were just genuine with me.”
It was after his visit to Lincoln the first week of September that he knew Nebraska would be tough to top.
“It just hit me at every level when I went there for my visit,” said Kinnie, who has been clocked in the 40 at 4.37 seconds. “They set the bar pretty high with facilities, how they treated me, how the fans treated me.”
With signing day still two months away, Nebraska’s class seems to be rounding into shape. It’s believed NU would take a class of about 22 to 23 players this time around, with room still open to perhaps target a running back, a defensive back, a defensive tackle and a cornerback/athlete.
There is some concern about the academic status of Houston defensive end Emerson Evans, who committed to Nebraska in July and recently told Scout.com he has some catch-up work to do with classes.
Counting Evans, NU has 19 known commitments. That’s obviously much better position than last December, when a coaching change caused a rash of de-commitments.
Husker coaches have been on the recruiting trail this week. Practice for the bowl game begins today, though head coach Bo Pelini will still be out recruiting.
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or
bchristopherson@journalstar.com
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