Compton decides to stick with Huskers

LINCOLN -- You think Bo Pelini wanted Will Compton on his team?

Um ... yeah. Or so it’s implied in the fact that every Husker defensive assistant coach paid a visit to the high school senior’s home in Bonne Terre, Mo., on Sunday.

Selling doesn’t stop on a Sunday -- at least not when national signing day is just a couple weeks away.

Husker coaches knew the kid was having a real tough time deciding: Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois. What’s a star linebacker to do?

Wednesday we found out. It’s Nebraska. Still Nebraska.

Compton committed to Nebraska in July, but then there was that dreadful 5-7 season and a coaching change from Bill Callahan to Pelini.

While Compton tried to figure out if he liked the new guy, Missouri and Illinois pushed hard to sway him their directions.

“At times, I thought it was just between Missouri and Illinois, and at times it was just Illinois and Nebraska, and other times it was Nebraska and Missouri,” Compton said. “Nothing against any of those schools. They’re all on the rise, with great coaches who are going to do great things. But the opportunity to play for Coach Pelini was just something I couldn’t pass up.”

What was it about the first-year Husker coach that Compton so liked?

“His staff is phenomenal and his resume speaks for itself,” Compton said. “He’s walked the walk every year. He never puts a defense on the field that’s not ranked in the top 10... He’s down-to-earth, it’s like a friend sitting there talking to you. But he got down to business when he needed to.”

Compton is 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. He was a first-team all-state player as a senior and rated as a four-star talent by Rivals.com and Scout.com.

His commitment keeps the Huskers at 19 commitments for its 2008 recruiting class.

Compton’s just relieved the recruiting ride is over. This decision was especially difficult considering so many locals were trying to get him to go to Missouri.

“There was tons of in-state pressure,” Compton said. “People would put pressure on me to go to Missouri, saying, ‘Jump on the bandwagon while you can.’

“But you got to look past that stuff, and think three or four years down the road what it’s going to be like with Coach Pelini, not just what it’s going to be like your freshman year.”