In recruiting, there are certain molds that prospects are cast in. There are the 5-stars, the blue-chippers, and the projected role players. But there are also those deemed “sleepers.”
But what is a sleeper, really? In the scouting world, they are the unheralded – the kids who arrive without the fanfare of a national press conference or the blessing of a four-star ranking. They stand as a counterpart to the otherwise ballyhooed recruits that strut into Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska has long had a reputation for polishing diamonds in the rough. Joe Terranova, the original recruiting guru, said in 1984, “(Nebraska) will have kids you’ve never heard of wind up being all-Big Eight.” He was right. In 1997, PrepStar Magazine observed that “the greatest asset of the Nebraska program is that it continually takes its share of marginally rated, or sleeper-type prospects, and develops them into college All-Americans.” Investing in guys others scoffed at was part of the Big Red formula…