For the second straight day, there's news of a Husker oral commit, another one from Texas.
Emerson Evans, a defensive end from Houston's Alief Taylor High School, said Wednesday afternoon that he called linebackers coach Mike Ekeler to tell him he wanted to be a Husker.
"He was psyched, too," Evans said of Ekeler.
Ekeler was the primary recruiter of Evans. "He's hilarious," Evans said of the NU assistant. "That's who came the day before our spring game. I talked to him face to face. He's a real cool cat."
Evans is 6-foot-1, 235 pounds and has offers from Ole Miss, Utah and Utep. Some schools expressing interest are Ohio State, LSU and Texas A&M.
"He's a good technician, he plays with good leverage, but his biggest attribute is he's an explosive guy," said Evans' prep coach, Trevor White.
Nebraska now has eight known oral commits, five of them coming from Texas. Offensive lineman Jess Coffey of Denton committed yesterday.
White said coaches in the area have taken note of the attention Husker coaches are giving to Texas.
"Nebraska has done a great job of coming down here and getting some good kids," White said. "They're definitely a presence down here. ... You can tell they've stepped up there recruiting down here, no question."
Though he's yet to visit the campus, Evans said he was drawn to what he's heard and read about Nebraska's tradition, and also that head coach Bo Pelini is defensive-minded.
"That's definitely what I like about it," Evans said. "Most schools, the head coaches really know about the offense, they don't know too much about the defense. And when I thought it, he was a defensive coordinator. I really liked that."
Though his team struggled to a 3-7 mark last season in Class 5A, Evans impressed as a speed rusher.
"I did good my junior year but I still didn't know some things," he said. "This year I'm going to put on a show."
