Listening to people who have already taken up a locker room stall provides some of the most crucial recruitment information for any guest.
Matt Rhule has given a number of speeches on this topic. Your best recruiting often occurs when people who are already in the uniform give prospects their seal of approval for the work that is being done.
Or, you know, they might not in some locations.
Thus, Husker offensive lineman signee Jake Peters made the smart decision to visit Lincoln during the previous recruiting cycle and ask player host Ethan Piper about his true thoughts on playing under O-line coach Donovan Raiola.
Peters stated on the Husker signing day broadcast, “And the first thing he told me was he’s a father figure, and just how he takes those guys under his wings.” “And he really preaches that he wants his offensive line room to be a family, and how he wants his guys to always be hanging out with each other.”
Peters also noted that Raiola had expressed to him the desire for his players to view him not only as a coach but also as a regular guy off the field.
The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native made the decision to attend Nebraska after impressing NU personnel at a camp in June and receiving an offer there, so it’s clear that it had an influence. In addition to liking how quick and agile Peters was when running, Raiola also thought that the 6-3, 260-pounder would benefit from NU’s strength and nutrition program because of the good weight.
The NU coaches want Peters at center, which is a new position for him, he stated on the signing day broadcast. He is therefore practicing certain drills related to what he and Raiola have discussed. Before moving to Lincoln at the end of the spring semester, he is also a competitive shot putter and basketball player.
It’s important to note that Keith Williams, the director of player personnel for the Huskers, had seen Peters’ film and had spoken with the O-lineman before his camping trip. Williams, who was recently given that additional title, has undoubtedly come up frequently when recruiting.
Peters also benefits from the knowledge that his father, a former South Dakota defensive lineman, possesses. Despite coming from a tiny village and being at the bottom of the USD depth chart, his dad persevered and worked hard to become one of the program’s top players.
He had a significant influence on who I am now. “The person I am today, not the football player I am on the field,” Peters remarked. “Every day, I admired him. You would never know it, but he’s simply a modest guy who accomplished a lot as a football player.”
Jake undoubtedly been encouraged to become a college football player by his father’s accomplishments. Hearing those anecdotes from his dad about those relationships with the squad off the field was quite interesting. This relates to the reason Peters may have finally felt that Nebraska was the ideal place.
The aspect of friendship is essential as a class comes together. The Husker staff will undoubtedly hope that the 2025 class discovers that, as the 2024 class seems to have.
“I sense it already. After a football game, they made us go to one of the volleyball matches, when I met Ben Scott and Nouri Nouili. I immediately struck up a conversation with them as though I had known them for a long time. I just love every minute I get to talk with those guys, they’re amazing,” Peters remarked. “And also you can see the family aspect just with the commits right now.”
Peters claimed that his chats with the other 2024 recruits would continue exactly where they left off when he visited home games.
If you choose, you can interpret that as the sugarcoated concoction that comes with recruiting tales, but Eric Ingwerson also mentioned in an uninvited interview with Husker247 that he felt like he had known the boys in this class for a very long time even though he had only recently met them.
Thus, a 2024 crew with some bonding already in place will begin to arrive in Lincoln, with some already enrolled as early enrollees.
“I think we’re probably one of the tightest classes in the country,” Peters stated. “And I believe that the close-knit nature of people is really appealing to outside observers. since people want to be a part of that. They desire to be included in a family.”
