Brendan Radley-Hiles gives Nebraska highest-rated commit of Mike Riley era
There have been no shortage of top-flight California recruits to commit to Mike Riley at Nebraska.
The likes of Tristan Gebbia, Lamar Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson Jr., Tyjon Lindsey and Eric Fuller were just a few of the blue-chip recruits with California roots that Riley got commitments from. The Calibraska movement has been well-documented.
And based on Riley’s latest California commitment, it isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
Nebraska landed a verbal pledge from four-star cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles (AKA Bookie), who announced this commitment to the Huskers in this emotional video that he dedicated to his late brother:
I know I have my angel watching me, just chase my dream..
Rest In Peace Cisco, XLIV Forever.#Committed pic.twitter.com/wJaT4aVatT— XLIV…🏴 (@Bookie_44) April 15, 2017
How big of a commitment was Radley-Hiles? The Los Angeles native and current IMG Academy cornerback is the highest-rated recruit to commit to Nebraska during the Riley era.
Radley-Hiles is rated the No. 5 cornerback and No. 36 player overall in the 247sports composite rankings. On top of that, the U.S. Army All-American has an overall ranking of .9774, which puts him No. 6 on Nebraska’s all-time recruiting rankings (assuming he stays committed).
In fact, Radley-Hiles is Nebraska’s top-rated recruit since Aaron Green in 2011.
There, of course, will be pressure on Nebraska to keep Radley-Hiles committed.
Though he’s been considered a strong Nebraska lean for a while because of his relationships with the incoming 2017 class — Lindsey is his cousin and he played with Johnson at Calabasas High — and the coaching staff, Radley-Hiles still has some big-time offers sitting on the table. He has offers from Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, USC and basically every other big-time program.
Riley recently missed out on a pair of big-time recruits to USC, but all signs point to Radley-Hiles sticking by his commitment. He told the Lincoln Journal Star that knowing Nebraska cornerbacks coach Donte Williams since he was 8 made his connection that much stronger.
With Radley-Hiles’ commitment, Nebraska moved all the way up to No. 17 overall in the 247sports class rankings. Radley-Hiles is one of more than 40 recruits who will be at Nebraska’s spring game on Saturday.
No matter how Saturday plays out, Riley’s weekend was already a victory.