Nebraska recruiting: More on the addition of Malachi Coleman and what it means moving forward
Nebraska added their 14th commitment on Saturday from On3 Top 100 consensus prospect Malachi Coleman.
Here are three takeaways from Coleman’s announcement on Saturday.
Malachi Coleman commitment: What does it mean for Nebraska?
Coleman gave a strong endorsement Joseph will be here in 2023
Nobody knows what the future holds for Nebraska regarding who will be the next head football coach.
That didn’t stop Coleman though from making his decision on Saturday. Coleman said he’s very confident interim head coach Mickey Joseph will be a part of the staff no matter what.
“Mickey is going to be there, and I know that,” Coleman said on Saturday. “That’s why I’m here.”
Coleman also made no bones about it when talking about Joseph’s impact on his overall decision.
“He changed everything for me,” Coleman said. “About six or seven months ago I was not coming here.”
The average distance for Nebraska’s 2023 class is 467 miles
With the addition of Coleman to Nebraska’s 2023 signing class, the average commit distance now for the Huskers is 467 miles. That is the lowest it’s ever been since the On3 database began tracking the data dating back to 1999.
The only other time that number has been below 500 miles came back in 2003 when the average commit distance was 476 miles. Three times it fell in the 500-mile range – 2004 (547), 2010 (570) and 2008 (577).
Coleman became the sixth in-state prospect to join the Huskers class of 2023. There’s still a chance Gretna lineman Mason Goldman could commit to Nebraska as well.
In today’s era of the transfer portal, Nebraska is doing its best to emphasize the 500-mile radius even more. The closer they are to home, the better fit they will probably be at Nebraska.
Coleman sticking with his plan to finish his senior year
Coleman will play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 7. He’s the first in-state player to participate in the game since linebacker Josh Banderas in 2013.
However, unlike many top recruits around the country, Coleman will not enroll early at Nebraska after the All-American Bowl.
Instead, Coleman plans to rejoin his Lincoln East teammates to participate in track and field this spring. He still does not know if he’ll play basketball this winter.
“I lost at state track, so I have to come back,” Coleman said. “I’m super competitive. I can’t lose like that.”
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