Texas 4-star Athlete Roger Gradney commits to the Cornhuskers

While he’s not getting anywhere near Deion Sanders’s fanfare at Colorado, Matt Rhule is quietly rebuilding Nebraska football after taking over as their new head coach in late November.

While it didn’t work out for Rhule with the Carolina Panthers, he has previously built up competitive programs at Temple and Baylor, radically improving both teams in just a couple of years. That college track record raises hopes of a similar turnaround in Lincoln and the work is already well underway.

The first addition for the Cornhuskers’ class of 2024 came yesterday when Rice Consolidated (Texas) four-star Junior Athlete Roger Gradney announced his commitment on Twitter.

After the announcement, Gradney told Nick Harris at Rivals that he loves the energy of the staff and their commitment to development.

“I’m committing to Nebraska because I love the energy the coaches give… I love how they want to build a relationship with the players. They want you for your personality and they want to get to know you. They want to develop you and improve your skills to be successful.”

Gradney has loads of speed, plays all three phases and is considered an “elite” playmaker on special teams, especially as a kickoff and punt returner.

Gradney also had offers on the table from Campbell, Texas Tech and UTSA.

According to the composite rankings, he’s No. 40 in Texas and No. 28 among Athletes in his class.

More football stories

Highlights for latest Tennessee commit Marcus Goree

Highlights for uncommitted 5-star EDGE Colin Simmons

Live-Stream High School Sports: NFHS Network

Story originally appeared on High School Sports