2024 safety Caleb Benning commits to Nebraska Cornhuskers

Omaha (Neb.) Westside three-star safety Caleb Benning has announced his commitment to the in-state Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Benning is the nation’s No. 732 overall prospect and No. 74 safety in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 7 player in Nebraska.

“I wanted to see them dominate,” told HuskerOnline about his visit to Lincoln in September. It’s been a while since Nebraska has gone out there and dominated a team, and they did. They dominated a pretty good team in NIU. They have been really good the last couple of seasons.”

Benning liked improved defense from NU

Benning also noted the improved defense for the ‘Huskers with the scheme implemented by the new coaching staff.

“I feel like it’s a credit to this staff and the hard work that they put in this off-season,” Benning said. “They had some guys that maybe weren’t connecting with the other coaches, and like I said, that 3-3-5 really plays to a lot of guys’ strengths.

“The 3-3-5 defense really fits the Nebraska personnel better. It plays to a lot of guys’ strengths. NIU had 79 yards going into the fourth quarter. Defensive backs typically aren’t making plays because that defensive line is so good. You can tell they enjoy playing with each other.

“I watched Omar Brown a lot, and he flies around, makes a lot of plays. I know we play different positions, but I watch Malcolm Hartzog. He’s just a dog. I feel like coach Cooper and coach White have those defensive backs right, and how they play directly reflects coach Cooper.”

Benning does not currently have a publicly listed On3 NIL Valuation. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.