Missouri’s gain or Nebraska’s loss? Don’t blame Matt Rhule for missing on Daniel Kaelin

When three-star quarterback Daniel Kaelin of Bellevue (Neb.) West dedicated to Missouri in mid-March, there could have been the dreaded sentiment of “right here we go once more” from a few of the Nebraska trustworthy.

Kaelin, the No. 514 participant and No. 32 quarterback within the 2024 class within the 247Sports Composite, is among the two greatest pure quarterback prospects to return out of the state of Nebraska in a long time. The opposite was three-star Zane Flores of Gretna Excessive, who signed with Oklahoma State in final yr’s recruiting class after the earlier Nebraska workers botched his recruitment.

Flores and Kaelin have been coaching collectively since center college. It looks like neither will go to Nebraska.

“I’ll let you know this: Zane was such an enormous miss on (Nebraska’s) half,” Kaelin instructed The Athletic final week. “Actually, statistically. He gained state. He’s the perfect QB to return out of the state. That’s positively an enormous miss for them.”

There could also be a second within the subsequent few years when Flores is throwing it all around the area for Oklahoma State and it stings Nebraska that he isn’t a Cornhusker. He may have been, however the earlier workers mistimed his scholarship provide and did not recruit him in a even handed method. Oklahoma State capitalized. Matt Rhule tried to get within the combine after he was employed at Nebraska in November, however it was too late. Flores was loyal to Mike Gundy and signed with the Cowboys.

We don’t know the way Kaelin’s recruitment goes to finish or if sooner or later he’ll be a Heisman Trophy finalist for Mizzou. However his recruitment isn’t the identical as Flores’ — regardless that they’re related prospects. Kaelin isn’t a miss by Nebraska. It’s top-level recruiting by Mizzou. Each may be true on the identical time.

Rhule was employed to show Nebraska’s program round, and there was a once-in-a-lifetime alternative for him proper out of the gate. 5-star quarterback Dylan Raiola of Phoenix Pinnacle — the No. 1 participant within the 2024 class — had decommitted from Ohio State and was on the market for the taking. Raiola has a deep household historical past with Nebraska. His father, Dominic, performed for the Cornhuskers and his uncle Donovan is an assistant coach on Rhule’s workers.

Rhule had no selection however to swing for the fences. Had Raiola not existed, Kaelin would have been a precedence for Nebraska. Heck, Kaelin could very nicely have been in Nebraska’s 2024 class by now. However Raiola was available on the market and within the Cornhuskers.

Think about a world the place Rhule landed Raiola in his first recruiting class at Nebraska. You can make the case that will be probably the most important verbal dedication within the trendy period of school soccer. That storyline, although wanting fairly dim as Georgia has develop into the clear favourite to land the five-star quarterback, continues to be attainable.

Nebraska did the one factor it may have carried out. Rhule did provide Kaelin a scholarship, however he needed to be upfront concerning the reality Raiola is the precedence and the Cornhuskers couldn’t settle for Kaelin’s dedication.

“Everybody is aware of the story with them, that they have been going after Raiola, clearly,” Kaelin stated. “When coach Rhule got here in, I used to be the primary recruit he adopted on Twitter and so they have been on me early. However when the Raiola stuff picked up, the tide modified. No exhausting emotions, although. They will go get who they need. … I requested them about it once I went up there in December. I talked to them about it. They have been open and stated they have been recruiting him. They didn’t essentially cease recruiting me, however I went on to pursue the colleges that had me as their prime precedence.”

That’s the place Mizzou is available in.

Eliah Drinkwitz noticed this 6-foot-2, 200-pound, pro-style quarterback with an enormous arm in a neighboring state. The Tigers pursued Kaelin as their prime prospect, maintained common contact, had him on campus a number of occasions and landed his dedication. Recruiting is a posh recreation, the place geographical parts play an enormous half. However so do preoccupations. Nebraska was (is?) all in on Raiola, so the Missouri coaches discovered a possibility to deal with a quarterback prospect with the love and respect they felt he deserved, and it was sufficient to land him.

Missouri has carried out a stable job with quarterback recruiting beneath Drinkwitz. Within the 2021 class, Drinkwitz discovered a late-riser in Tyler Macon of East St. Louis (Ailing.) Excessive and secured his dedication. Within the 2022 cycle, Missouri signed four-star Sam Horn of Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill, the No. 139 participant within the nation. In January, Mizzou landed Jake Garcia within the switch portal from Miami. Now Drinkwitz has Kaelin within the fold within the Class of 2024.

Macon didn’t pan out — he’s now at Alcorn State — however that doesn’t imply Drinkwitz didn’t have the appropriate thought. He discovered an underappreciated prospect in his recruiting footprint and took a shot on him. And touchdown Horn, who had provides from Florida, Florida State, Michigan State, Tennessee and others, was a coup. Garcia and Horn are the highest two quarterbacks on the Mizzou depth chart.

Mizzou continues to be hoping to hit it huge with one among these quarterbacks. Drinkwitz offered Kaelin on the thought it may very well be him.

“Mizzou was all in on Daniel from the start,” stated John Teigland, a former Division II quarterback who has skilled Flores, Kaelin and lots of Omaha-area gamers by the Warren Academy. “He positively, in the long run, wished to go someplace the place they actually wished him. Mizzou made that very obvious, whether or not which means coach Drink or all of the workers members he’d hear from each week or each different week. They have been probably the most constant, most passionate and had him No. 1 on their board. They actually went after him.”

You may’t fault Rhule for the way this all occurred. Timing is all the pieces.

Might you think about a situation during which Rhule went all in on Kaelin as an alternative of swinging for the fences with Raiola? What sort of message would that ship from a first-year coach taking on a storied program with a passionate fan base? Rhule had no possibility however to go all in on the five-star — even when he finally ends up with out his perfect quarterback selection on this class.

Nebraska may nonetheless revisit Kaelin the way in which it did with Flores. Recruiting is bizarre, and the seven-plus months between now and December could as nicely be an eternity within the school soccer world. The Cornhuskers are additionally recruiting four-star quarterback and South Carolina dedication Dante Reno of Fiskdale (Mass.) Cheshire Academy.

For now, Missouri discovered a gap and took it. And it bought a gem.

“Missouri was simply, total, the toughest after me,” Kaelin stated. “Simply from after they first provided me to once I dedicated, the love they confirmed was unimaginable. There wasn’t a coach I used to be involved with almost as a lot as I used to be with coach Drink and simply how personable he was. He did a extremely good job recruiting me. And (newly employed offensive coordinator Kirby Moore), I developed a great relationship with him, and I’m actually assured within the system he’s bringing over from Fresno State and what he did for Jake Haener.

“The love means quite a bit. Proper as coach Moore and coach Drink noticed me throw, I used to be their prime precedence from begin to end. Meaning one thing.”

In a number of years, Nebraska followers could curse the previous Cornhuskers workers for flubbing the Flores dedication.

But when Kaelin does the identical factor and finally ends up a star at Mizzou, that’s not on Rhule.

That’s simply unfortunate timing.

(Photograph courtesy of Daniel Kaelin)