Nebraska made 4-star EDGE Cameron Lenhardt a top priority

Staten Island (N.Y.) IMG Academy EDGE Cameron Lenhardt was a regular at Penn State by recruiting standards. He had visited the Nittany Lions four times, and the program was the closest to him of any of his finalists.

But one trip to Nebraska sealed the deal for Scott Frost and Co. The No. 33 EDGE in the On3 Consensus has committed to the Cornhuskers over Penn State and Michigan State.

“My official visit to Nebraska sealed the deal,” Lenhardt told On3. “I had not visited Nebraska before, but going into the visit, I had them on top. Then the visit went so well that I left feeling good about them. They had been pushing so hard for me, that meant a lot, and they made me feel like a top priority.”

Cameron Lenhardt was surprised by how much he liked Nebraska

Leading into his official visit last month, Lenhardt had never been to Lincoln. Frost and his staff had been recruiting him hard for almost a year, and they pushed him hard to come to campus. From there, Lenhardt says, he was taken by surprise as to how much he liked it.

“It was my first visit there and I loved it,” Lenhardt said. “All I thought heading into the visit was cornfields and nothing there, but it was different. I flew into Omaha and that was a great city. Then I loved it in Lincoln. People at the airport talked to me about Nebraska and everything is about Nebraska out here. It is just a great place to be.

“…Nebraska checks all of the boxes for me. They have great fans and a crazy atmosphere. They have no professional team, so everyone loves Nebraska. Nebraska football is everything. The coaching staff is great. Everything about Nebraska checks the boxes for me. “

Relationship with assistant coaches made him feel like a priority

Since Sept. 1 of his junior season, the first time coaches could contact him directly, Lenhardt has been hearing from NU assistants Mike Dawson and Erik Chinander. He talked with them more consistently than anyone else, and that made a big impact on him.

“They have been talking with me every week, telling me about Nebraska, and how they need me,” he said. “They are great guys, smart coaches, and when meeting them on the visit, things went really well. I like how genuine they are, how they recruited me, and how they made me feel. How they recruited me really made an impact. At the end of the day, you have to go where you are needed, not wanted.

“…I thought early on that I would even end up at Penn State because of how hard they recruited me. Nebraska just came on strong. They turned it up, they made a big impression on me, and that visit pushed them to the top. The decision to go to Nebraska feels great.”