Steven Sipple: Why Conor Booth thinks he can make both football and baseball work for Nebraska; and Jackson Carpenter down to two — Leipold and Rhule

Things I know, and things I think I know: Monday was a ridiculously gorgeous day in Nebraska — sunshine and temperatures in the 70s in February — and my thoughts drifted to Husker football recruit Conor Booth.

That’s because Booth took part in the first day of high school baseball season.

A standout running back for Bishop Neumann in Wahoo (Nebraska), Booth also stars as an outfielder for the Cavaliers and plans to play both sports for the Huskers.

That is a challenge to pull off.

“I’m not really for sure how it’ll all work,” Booth said Sunday as his school made a stop at HuskerOnline’s In-State Tour in Lincoln. “But (Nebraska football coaches) are pretty open to it because they have track athletes right now.”

The 6-foot-1 1/2, 212-pound Booth said Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule “was pretty open with me in saying, ‘We can make this work.’”

Bottom line, Booth thoroughly enjoys both sports.

“It was one of those things where I didn’t want to give up either one because I love them both,” he said.

Booth says he has support of Husker RBs coach

Some college football coaches are more receptive to the football-baseball double than others. Former Nebraska receivers coach Ted Gilmore did little to hide his misgivings about ex-Husker receiver Khiry Cooper playing both sports for the Huskers 15 years ago.

Flash back to August 2010, when Gilmore told reporters that Cooper was lagging behind in picking up Nebraska’s offensive system.

“Because, obviously, when he’s hitting that little ball, he’s missing a lot of work in the spring,” Gilmore said.

All-time Husker running back great Ahman Green wanted to play both baseball and football for Nebraska. An all-around athlete for Omaha Central, he batted .400 while playing center field in high school. Then-Husker head coach Tom Osborne and running backs coach Frank Solich weren’t exactly keen on Green playing baseball for Big Red, and it ultimately didn’t happen.

As for Booth, he seems to have genuine support from Rhule and from his future collegiate position coach, E.J. Barthel.

“I think he’s cool with it,” said Booth, who verbally committed to Nebraska’s class of 2025 last August. “Obviously, you know, football is the priority when I get down there (to Nebraska). As long as I’m contributing on the baseball side of things, they were good with it.”

In other words, if Booth were to ride the pine for Will Bolt’s club, there would be no use in expending energy for baseball while missing valuable developmental time for Rhule’s squad.

Booth is certainly an intriguing athlete. As a baseball player, he’s been recruited by both Wichita State and Oral Roberts, among others. Oral Roberts reached the CWS last year, and Wichita State was a national powerhouse program for years.

Last spring, Booth hit .415 for Wahoo Neumann, with six home runs. It’s also notable that he’s run the 60-yard dash — a key in baseball — in 6.6 seconds. That’s legit speed.

Following spring baseball, Booth will turn much of his attention to football development. He’ll play American Legion baseball but, unlike last summer, he won’t travel the nation with the Nebraska Prospects squad for elite players.

“We’ll be out of town a lot playing legion games,” Booth said. “But I won’t be going out of state. I should be home a lot more this summer, so I’ll have more time to work on football.”

Gilmore surely would appreciate those words.

Lincoln Southwest star down to Nebraska, Kansas

Jackson Carpenter — a class of 2025 receiver prospect who was among the Lincoln Southwest contingent at Sunday’s In-State Tour stop — would be an excellent poker player. He doesn’t tip his hand at all as to where he’ll play in college.

But it’ll be for either Kansas or Nebraska. That much is clear.

This is one to watch closely.

His father, Tim Carpenter, is a Columbus native and former Husker tight end with three national championship rings (1994, 1995, and 1997). His mother, Amy Carpenter, is an ardent Big Red fan.

Jackson Carpenter makes it clear that his dad isn’t trying to influence his decision.

“They’re both pretty similar,” he said of the Jayhawks and Huskers. “It’s going to be a tough choice.”

Lance Leipold has done a borderline miraculous job of building Kansas’ program in his three seasons there, culminating with a 9-4 record (5-4 Big 12) in 2023.

Rhule was 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten) in 2023 in his first season in Lincoln, but he stirs optimism in part because he’s a walking bastion of optimism.

“I think they’re both headed in the right direction,” Carpenter said flatly.

This is also a battle of receivers coaches — KU’s Terrence Samuel versus NU’s Garret McGuire.

Good luck trying to predict Carpenter’s final choice.

Tell me you’re not intrigued.

How far can Fred’s hoops crew go?

Speaking of intriguing, the Nebraska men’s basketball team is dangerous right now. I’ve been saying it for a few weeks. That doesn’t mean Fred Hoiberg’s crew is without flaws. But it’s clearly a team that can win games — yes, multiple games — in the Big Dance.

Nebraska has sprinted away from four straight Big Ten teams, beating Michigan by 20, Penn State by 19, Indiana by 15 (on the road), and Minnesota by 18.

When the Huskers find themselves in close games, it helps immensely that they can put five players on the floor who shoot better than 75% from the free-throw line: Keisei Tominaga (90.6), Brice Williams (84.5), Rienk Mast (82.8), C.J. Wilcher (93.8), and Jamarques Lawrence (75.7).

This is a team of excellent shooters, the best collection we’ve seen for Nebraska in some time — I mean, we’re talking about 30 years.

That’s a far, far cry from Nebraska’s 8-for-30 free-throw performance against Northwestern in 2020. Yes, that happened.

Fred’s program has come a long way in more ways than one.

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The post Steven Sipple: Why Conor Booth thinks he can make both football and baseball work for Nebraska; and Jackson Carpenter down to two — Leipold and Rhule appeared first on On3.