Nebraska now trending for 4-star DL Kade Pietrzak

Amidst official visit season, Oklahoma began trending for West Fargo (N.D.) Sheyenne four-star defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

The Sooners looked to be closing in on the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder, but he remains on the board heading into the back half of July. Oklahoma had Pietrzak on campus last month for an OV, but so did Nebraska.

Now, momentum is pointing toward Lincoln in the On3 RPM, as a pair of predictions were logged in favor of the Cornhuskers landing the blue-chipper on Thursday. Kansas State insider Derek Young and Nebraska insider Bryan Munson each pegged Matt Rhule’s program as the team to beat, giving the Big Ten program the edge over the Sooners.

Pietrzak has taken three visits to Nebraska this year alone, making trips in January and March before returning for a June 14 official visit. While the coveted lineman has kept his cards close to the vest throughout his recruitment, it’s clear that there’s plenty of mutual interest between the Huskers and himself.

“The Huskers have to like where things are between them and the four-star defensive lineman. Pietrzak has been that one consistent target for the Huskers on the defensive line,” Munson wrote ahead of Pietrzak’s June 14 OV.

Huskers gunning for another Top-25 recruiting class

The top of Nebraska’s 2025 class currently features a four-star defensive lineman in Malcolm Simpson, a top-300 prospect out of Galveston (Texas) Hitchcock. He pledged last month and is currently one of two D-linemen in the mix, alongside Omaha North three-star DL Tyson Terry.

Pietrzak would become the top-ranked prospect in the Huskers’ class if he were to commit, according to the 2025 On300. Despite being just the No. 319 prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking, the four-star is On3’s No. 177 prospect and No. 17 DL in the nation.

Nebraska’s class currently ranks No. 28 in the nation and No. 9 in the Big Ten, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. Just three blue-chip prospects are in the class: Simpson, Saint Louis Cardinal Ritter four-star running back Jamarion Parker and Orange (Calif.) Lutheran four-star quarterback TJ Lateef.

Both Parker and Lateef rank No. 27 at their respective positions in the On3 Industry Ranking. Lateef joined the class on May 12 in a big recruiting win under center for the Huskers staff.

“Nebraska made me feel wanted,” Lateef told On3. “The communication was heavy with the coaches since they offered me and they were very consistent. My biggest thing was always to go where I was wanted, and before the official visit they made me feel wanted, then on the official visit, they checked all of the boxes.”