Bye week is as good a time as any to do a little recruiting debrief. Feels like we are pretty much wrapped up on the class of 2025 save for a late addition or two, plus already have a head start on 2026. Below I will share my thoughts on available tape for all commitments, our lone (at least to my knowledge) outstanding 2025 offer, and 2026 commitment.
As always, click on the players’ name to get to their tape. Will link directly to highlights when available, otherwise to the player home page with individual games. Highly recommend sorting by “Newest” for home page guys.
Class of 2025
Commitments
QB Marcus Romain — 6 games available and I watched all 6 given position importance. And I’m… torn. On the positive side, the kid has athletic gifts we haven’t had in our QB room probably ever. He can run-run, plus has some subtle shiftiness. Also exciting is that his athleticism translates to some active feet in the pocket as a passer, both in working through his reads and climbing/moving around in the pocket. On the other side, he’s just flat out not asked to do very much in the pass game. Part of it is that his OL gets consistently whipped, but also simply not trying to push the ball downfield much at all. See some glimpses of throwing into windows with some anticipation, but not nearly enough to feel great about it. Put it all together, he’s an exciting athlete but a developmental guy who will likely take at least a couple years to adjust to B1G-level play.
WR Dube Enongene — not much route-running, but is at least quite physical both before and after the catch. Relatively think build, wonder if Lujan imagines using him as a runner as well as pass-catcher.
TE Tyler Kielmeyer — very tall and skinny kid. I’m still not 100% sure what the plan is for his collegiate position, but would seem quite a projection if he were an OT take. As a TE, he’ll have to develop but is a good in-line prospect. Catches the ball decently, active feet as a blocker. Get him in a weight room and see what happens.
DL Mason Mayne — good get-off and very active interior DL. Maybe a touch undersized, I’d be very interested in knowing his arm length/wingspan. Thick build. Solid interior DL prospect.
DL Jonah Hayes — VERY smooth mover for a kid his size/length. Build and effort are very Wootton-esque. Also seems to play with an attitude. Another guy who will likely need a few years to build up his body, but a very interesting EDGE prospect.
LB Josh Veldman — Certainly fits the Mueller mold, aggressive downhill LB that has better play strength and speed than you’d expect. Work to do physically, but seems quick to diagnose and attack (occasionally almost too quick and/or aggressive). Solid WILL prospect.
DB JonJon Stevens — still really like this kid. Plays both ways for a big time HS program, his slightly slender build probably makes him a DB but also has some RB skills. Just a very smooth athlete. Solid DB prospect.
The following guys don’t have enough senior tape available to really tell much:
Offers
OL Hayden Wright — big, long kid that seems to play with an attitude. Decent play balance, don’t see a ton of straight pass drops from LT; kick-step looks a little choppy, makes me wonder if he could stick at LT with cleaned-up technique. Feels a very “Bill O’Boyle”-type OL recruit. Take.
Class of 2026
Commitment
QB Johnny O’Brien — the lefty gets your attention from the first clip, flicking the ball 50+ yards in stride. Little bit of a hitch and low release point with a ball pat that might get cleaned up as he naturally gets stronger; release actually more fluid on the run, when younger guys are often thinking less and simply letting it go. Fascinatingly he’s basically the polar opposite of Romain as a QB, clearly preferring to stand in the pocket and distribute. Certainly a good prospect, hopefully he’s out there trying to recruit so he feels sufficiently tied to NU that he turns down the inevitable NIL offers that are coming down the road.
Thoughts:
- Not enough senior tape out there to really conclude much on 2025, but what we do have is what we thought: under-the-radar, developmental guys that show some traits
- I’m particularly interested in senior tape on DL Jumpp, I remain intrigued and what little tape we do have shows a guy with the right build/traits
- Can’t help but think a combination of our lagging NIL game and Braun still finding his stride dictated 2025. Braun at least recognizes he will have to be a developmental program and doesn’t shy away from it, but… could be some lean years forthcoming
- Hopefully we feel confident in playing the portal game as there’s really not much activity in 2025
- O’Brien is a solid start for 2026, hopefully inactivity in 2025 means we are getting out ahead of 2026
Long story short: hopefully the post-season version of this post is more interesting, as I didn’t realize how little tape was available before starting. Still figured I’d post.
