3 thoughts on commitments of Jackson Carpenter and Bryson Hayes to Nebraska football

It’s been a busy couple of days for Nebraska football on the recruiting trail. Not only were some highly-touted prospects on campus this weekend, but the Huskers have landed two commitments in as many days.

On Saturday, it was in-state wide receiver Jackson Carpenter who announced his pledge to the Huskers. / is 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and ranked No.885 overall according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings. He’s a dynamic athlete and could easily play defensive back too.

Kansas was making a strong push for Carpenter. It was a two-team race at one point. Yet, the Huskers were able to land the commitment and they now have three of the top seven in-state prospects locked up in 2025.

One day after that, Bryson Hayes, another three-star wideout, committed to Nebraska football. Kansas and Kansas State were the other top contenders, but Hayes, who is ranked No. 886 overall in the 2025 class, committed to the Big Red. Here are three thoughts on these two commitments.

Another solid in-state win

Programs always want to keep top talent close to home and Nebraska football did that here. Not only did they land a top player in the state, but they also landed a top-10 player in Kansas. Hayes is out of Maize and ranked as the No. 9 player in Kansas. There are some talented prospects there and if Nebraska can lock down its own state, plus Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, it will have a stellar recruiting pipeline.

Rhule has landed players from all of those areas. But this was a reminder that Rhule is tough to beat for Nebraska players if he really wants one. There have been times when Nebraska didn’t offer as early or recruit some kids are hard as other programs, but when the Huskers go all out, they tend to win those recruiting battles.

That’s something to keep in mind with Chase Loftin and Christian Jones.

Two more pass-catchers with upside

The Huskers are loaded with wide receiver talent on the current roster but you can never have enough dudes. Plus, you generally want to get 2-3 wide receivers with each cycle.

Hayes caught 60 passes last season for 962 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He also runs the 100-meter dash in 10.65 seconds. Carpenter also runs a 10.68. We have seen that formula work with another wideout such as Jaylen Lloyd. He was not highly ranked as a recruit but produced three 50-yard touchdowns last season as a freshman. Marvin Harrison Jr. was the only other Big Ten receiver to do that.

With a talented quarterback room, you wanted to add wideouts with upside and the Huskers did that. Now, that they have two pass catchers in the fold, the Huskers can shoot their shot with Cortez Mills. Three feels like the number for wideouts in this class but the Huskers won’t turn their back on talent, so you never know.

Garret McGuire is a star

I said when he was hired that Garret McGuire would kill it on the recruiting trail, but I didn’t even realize he would do as well as he has. Last cycle, he got Jacory Barney, Isaiah McMorris, and Dae’Vonn Hall. Quinn Clark is another exciting player.

Matt Rhule has talked about building a track team and man, he could certainly do that at wide receiver. It’s basically a requirement to run a sub-11 in the 100 to even be in that room.

Back to McGuire, he’s been a stellar hire. His young wideouts produced last season and it feels like only a matter of time before he’s being talked about for a promotion. He feels like a future offensive coordinator/head coach and maybe someday, he’ll be the guy calling plays at Nebraska.

Either way, he’s a rising star.