Coaches confident in next Husker recruiting class

Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini has no interest in talking about the individuals that make up his second recruiting class as the Cornhuskers' coach.


"It's a team," Pelini said bluntly at Wednesday's Signing Day press conference. "We're going to bring them in and develop them, and until I see them line up for us and start competing, that's when we'll start talking about them."


On Wednesday, NU formally announced that 21 scholarship athletes had signed on the dotted line and faxed their letters of intent to become members of the 2009 recruiting class.


The team also released a list of 11 prospects who plan to walk on. Pelini said that number would be closer to 20 by the time fall camp starts.


Though the class isn't brimming with four- and five-star rated prospects, as designated by the various recruiting Web sites, Pelini emphasized that the Internet hype meant little to him or his staff.


"To me, it's just projections," Pelini said. "We evaluated these kids and we think they're good football players. I feel good about what we got."


The class contains eight players from the state of Texas and six from California, two states Pelini said he and his staff concentrated on from day one and felt were key to finding the best players for their program.


"We believe those are two states that are going to be very important to us not only this year but next year," Pelini said. "There are a lot of players down there, and we've had good reception there. We were able to get something done this year and hopefully that's a sign of things to come."


Pelini said he was pleased with the composition of the group and felt there weren't any needs that weren't addressed.


He acknowledged that defensive backs were a position of need. Nebraska was able to land four in their 2009 class: Dejon Gomes, Andrew Green, Lazarri Middleton and Dijon Washington.


"We were a little thin going into last year, and when we came in here the numbers were down, especially at the cornerback position," Pelini said. "Next year we're going to lose four safeties. It was an area we needed to address, and we believe we have a couple of guys that can swing either way. It just provides us with more depth and more versatility as we move along."


Linebackers coach Mike Ekeler said he was pleased with the class they were able to haul in, particularly on defense, agreeing that the program's needs were met.


"(Offensive line coach) Barney (Cotton) and (defensive coordinator) Carl (Pelini) recruited some of the best linebackers in the country, and I feel great about the corners we brought in. All in all, I think you look at what your needs are, and I think for the most part we succeeded at getting what we needed," Ekeler said.


The Signing Day itself was a rather uneventful one for the Huskers. The program gained no new commitments and was forced to part ways with one commit, cornerback DeAndre Byrd.


The Tallahassee, Fla., defensive back had been committed to NU since August, but will not academically qualify. He must attend a junior college but could return to Nebraska in two years.


Nebraska was also surprised by Myles Wade's abrupt decision. The junior college defensive tackle from Arizona Western Community College received some late attention and a scholarship offer from Nebraska last week, despite being committed to Texas Tech.


On Tuesday night, he told the recruiting Web site Rivals.com he would delay signing with Tech and take a visit to Lincoln this weekend. Wednesday morning, Wade had a change of heart and signed his letter of intent to become a Red Raider.


NU brought in only one new commitment in the final month of recruiting: Moreno Valley, Cali., linebacker Eric Martin.


Pelini said being selective in the final months was an intentional move.


"If you're not careful, you could start reaching and grab somebody who came onto the scene real late. You have to make sure you do your homework and evaluate and don't make spur-of-the-moment decisions without knowing what you're getting," Pelini said.


Pelini did briefly acknowledge the recent criticism his staff has received from some for withdrawing their scholarship offer to longtime commit Shawn Bodtmann, a linebacker from Scranton, Pa.


Pelini defended the decision and was adamant that the move was necessary and proper.


"The evaluation process, in my eyes, is ongoing," Pelini said. "It continues from beginning until end, and if things aren't going right and somebody isn't right for our program, we move on.


"I'm not going to get into a he-said, she-said or anything like that. Everybody has their opinion, and they can have their opinion," Pelini said. "But at the end of the day, my job was to bring in the best young men for our program. Period. End of story. Sometimes hard decisions are going to be made, and it's not going to be the last time that happens in a recruiting process."


maxolson@dailynebraskan.com