As college teams begin evaluating the talent on their rosters, they are keeping an eye on potential additions for their next recruiting class. Nebraska’s coaching staff is continually scouting potential players to add to its team as it looks to build towards contention. The Huskers are currently monitoring Derek Wilkins, a defensive linebacker from Rancho Santa Margarita Catholic High School in California.

Wilkins has already visited Nebraska

Wilkins is a 6-foot-4, 250-pound strong-side defensive end who has impressed scouts with his athleticism.

He can play both inside and outside on defense and his strong lateral movement makes him a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen. Wilkins can also make plays in the backfield and keep up with wide receivers and tight ends on passing plays. The young defensive player would be a great fit for Nebraska’s 3-4 defensive scheme. He visited the Husker’s in January and was impressed with the program. In an interview after the visit, Wilkins said the team had left a strong impression on him. “I’ve never been to Nebraska. I didn’t know too much about it but seeing everything compared to these Pac-12 schools, it’s a little bit eye-opening. Everything is a lot bigger, that kind of caught me off guard, and the amount of money they put into the program is impressive,” reports 247 Sports.

Recruiting edge over other schools

Nebraska Huskers will hope that the positive review the got from Wilkins can give them the recruiting edge over other schools. The Huskers have invested heavily in their program and are working on completing some new state of the art facilities. Nebraska will have to beat out competition from USC, Stanford, Oregon, and Stanford in order to sign Wilkins.

If he joins the Huskers, the team will have some depth at the defensive linebacker position. The team added Marquis Rogers and Nash Hutmacher this season. They also have Mosai Newsom, Ty Robinson, Casey Rogers, and Tate Wildeman at the position. However, none of them has been proven at the position and defensive line coach, Tony Tuati, will have to figure out which players have the potential to be a consistent contributor at the position.

Khalil Davis, the Husker’s best defensive lineman over the last two seasons will probably move on to the NFL after a strong showing at the Scouting Combine. Davis had the second most reps on the bench press for defensive linemen before running for 4.75 seconds during his 40-yard run. The 308-pound defensive player increased his draft stock and could go as early as the first round during the NFL draft next month. Let us know what you think about Derek Wilkins, put your comment in the comment section. Stay tuned for more updates on Nebraska Huskers.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED