As my colleague Derek highlighted yesterday, the Huskers currently have the top recruiting class in the Big Ten West, the fifth-best recruiting class in the Big Ten, and the 24th-best recruiting class in the nation.
The 2018 recruiting class is expected to contribute heavily to Scott Frost’s inaugural season, but realistically, the class will make the largest impact during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That’s when the incoming class will be hitting their redshirt sophomore year or junior year.
While the Huskers have the fifth-best overall class in the Big Ten, they only play two teams per year in 2020 and 2021 that are currently ahead of them.
In 2020, the Huskers travel to Ohio State and host Penn State. In 2021, both the Buckeyes and Wolverines come to Memorial Stadium.
Recruiting rankings don’t tell the complete picture. Big Ten teams such as Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Iowa have beaten recent Husker teams with similar or in some cases higher-rated recruiting classes with culture, game-planning, player development, and winning the battle in the trenches.
Let’s also take a look at where the Huskers 2020 and 2021 non-conference opponents sit with regards to recruiting rankings:
| Team | Ranking | Opponent Year |
| Oklahoma Sooners | 7 | 2021 |
| Cincinnati Bearcats | 47 | 2020 |
| Northern Illinois | 80 | 2021 |
| Central Michigan | 104 | 2020 |
| Buffalo | 130 | 2021 |
| South Dakota State | 207 | 2020 |
There remains recruiting to be done, but the effort put forth by Scott Frost and company since being announced as head coach should not be overlooked nor underestimated.
Most certainly, dividends on that effort will start being paid in September and will be yielding a nice return in the upcoming Big Ten battles.
