One year ago today, the Nebraska football coaches were wrapping up their first-ever class in Lincoln. Despite basically having to start over from scratch on short notice, the class was a good one. This year, Ryan Held and company had a regular amount of time do their work and the results were even better.
Ryan Held's work is consistent
One constant, in both recruiting classes, is that the kids where Held was the lead recruiter were among the best of the class. Husker fans are far from the only ones noticing the job he's doing. The Cornhuskers running back coach was recently named one of the best recruiters in the entire country and the job he's done since coming to Nebraska, both years, was pointed to as a major contributor.
Even with misses such as Greg Bell, the players Held has brought to the Nebraska football program this year should make him a fan favorite, if he isn't already. This year he is known as the lead recruiter of Wandale Robinson, Jamie Nance (who could be a massive boost on special teams as well as at receiver), and Dedrick Mills. He was also instrumental in bringing in the only February signing day pickup in Demariyon Houston.
Rivals point to Ryan Held as being the man who held the recruiting class together last year. He's the man who built it up for the 2019 recruiting class. What he is going to do with yet another encore performance for the 2020 cycle is something Husker fans are excited to see.
2020 class could be the most important for the Nebraska football program
Now that the 2019 class is finished up, one thing has become clear. The Huskers' coaching staff has worked hard to bring more talent to Lincoln in a short amount of time. With the 2020 cycle being the third recruiting class, and the second full cycle Ryan Held and company are going through is going to be important if the program wants to establish itself as coming back.
The 2019 recruiting class is considered among the best in years, both by Rivals and 247Sports. How the team works with that infusion of talent is a big part of how the team is going to be resurgent in 2019. After a 2018 season that saw the program repeat its 4-8 record, there is going to need to be growth in that regard.
Luckily Held has also proven to be a position coach who gets results on the field.
Devine Ozigbo had easily his best year as a Cornhusker. True freshman Maurice Washington had a good first season as well. If Ryan Held can help get the Nebraska football team to the next level, the plaudits are just going to keep coming.