The Nebraska football team is still not shy about trying to fix what ails the defense through the acquisition of Junior College prospects. This was on display on Wednesday night when Scott Frost and company issued a pair of scholarship offers to Nick Figueroa and Victor Viramontes. Not only are Figueroa and Viramontes both playing JUCO football, but they are playing on the same JUCO football team. Figueroa is a strong side defensive end for Riverside Community College. Viramontes plays outside linebacker for the same school. The pair has something else in common.
No matter where they play in 2019, they will be spending time on an FBS power. Riverside has put together a team with plenty of Power 5 offers to go around.
Nebraska football looking for a quick fix
Since Frost and company took over the reins of the Husker program, they have been working hard to address a talent gap between Nebraska and the other top programs in the country. While they have brought in plenty of talented high school prospects like Darien Chase and Javin Wright, they are also recruiting Junior College players harder than any previous Husker administration in the last few decades. It's possible you could say the current staff is pursuing JUCO players at a rate higher than Lincoln has ever seen.
Uncle Stevie is gunna love this one! After a great talk with Coach Dawson, I’m honored to receive a huge offer from The University of Nebraska!!! #GBR ☠️ pic.twitter.com/k0rt6SazEI
— Nick Figueroa 💧 (@nickafigueroa1) November 8, 2018
I appreciate Coach Chinander for giving me the opportunity to play at the University of Nebraska! 🌽 pic.twitter.com/KaBXQcxkXo
— VIC VIRAMONTES (@VicViramontes10) November 8, 2018
On the 2018 version of the Cornhuskers, we've seen JUCO players like Greg Bell and Will Honas start at times.
Bell ended up transferring and Honas is injured but the lesson is the same. When the Huskers recruit a Junior College player, they expect them to contribute. That has to be a big selling point for both Victor Viramontes and Nick Figueroa.
Offering the best of the best in the Junior college ranks
Make no mistake about it, the offers to the two defensive players was a calculated move to attempt to get two of the best players off a very good Riverside C.C.
team. That squad is currently 9-0 thanks in large part to an explosive offense which is averaging 43.9 points per game. Of course, it also has a lockdown defense allowing just 13.2 points per contest. Up front, Nick Figueroa lead a staunch pass rush. Through nine games, the defensive end has already recorded 10.5 sacks this season, to go along with 32 tackles. That includes two sacks in his team's most recent game. The other Nebraska football target on Riverside, Victor Viramontes has 43 tackles so far this year, as well as a sack of his own. Now we just have to see if the Huskers can reel either player in after a very successful October on the recruiting front.