As the 2019 recruiting class wraps up, the Nebraska football team has turned most of its attention to the 2020 class. That includes some of the best players the next class up has to offer. Ayden Hector certainly fits that bill. The 4-star defensive back was offered by the Huskers over the weekend and the offer shows the Cornhuskers are looking to be in on the best of the best, even if they might rate as long shots.

Nebraska football the uphill climb for Ayden Hector

The Huskers were far from the first team to offer the 4-star defensive back out of California.

They were, as a matter of fact, about the 17th team to come and offer him a chance to play for them. That, in and of itself is a bit different than what we've seen from the Cornhuskers since Scott Frost and company have come to Lincoln.

Ayden Hector has been getting almost all the teams from the Pac 12 coming after him, but he's also garnered a few offers from other parts of the country. Florida and Vanderbilt have shown interest from the SEC. Northwestern and Wisconsin both beat the Nebraska football team to the chase.

That might be bad news in the long run. The Cornhuskers were definitely late to the game.

The team that was first to offer doesn't always mean it is the one that is going to get special attention. The Huskers learned that the hard way on Monday afternoon when they lost out on Dylan Jordan to TCU. Jordan had one FBS offer before the Huskers came calling.

When the smoke cleared, Nebraska being the first in the door for that prospect didn't pay off at all.

Defensive backfield still a focus

While the Huskers lost out on Dylan Jordan on Monday, it's clear the staff is going hard after defensive stars and potential stars. That's paid off when it came to reeling in Noa Pola-Gates.

Gates is another 4-star defensive back out of Pac-12 country. While the two players are from different states, it makes a bit of sense that he might be used by the staff to recruit Hector now that Gates is signed, sealed and delivered.

While pass rushers have been the main focus for the second half of the 2019 recruiting class, it's clear the Cornhuskers are going to need to stockpile talent in the defensive backfield as well. That's going to be a tall order when talking about someone like Ayden Hector. Of course, around this time last year, there were few people who thought the Nebraska football team would be able to pry Gates away from a team like the Alabama Crimson Tide.
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