When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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RELATED: How much does Malachi Coleman's decommitment sting Nebraska?
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THE STORYLINE
The relationship between Omarion Miller and Mickey Joseph has been super strong throughout his recruitment.
So when Nebraska announced the hiring of Matt Rhule and then shortly after Joseph was shockingly arrested - it’s hard to believe he would now be retained on the new Huskers’ staff - Miller reopened his recruitment.
An early commitment to LSU lasted nearly a year but when Joseph went to Nebraska the Huskers along with the Tigers and Arkansas emerged as the front-runners in his recruitment.
Because the two are so close, the Vivian (La.) North Caddo four-star receiver committed to Nebraska in the summer and stuck with the Huskers through a struggling season.
The four-star receiver had a huge senior season with 49 catches for 1,183 yards and 15 touchdowns but it doesn’t look like he’ll be bringing those abilities to Lincoln.
Instead, Miller said he’s now been hearing most from Arkansas, LSU, Auburn and Oklahoma and it looks like one of those four could be best positioned to land his pledge.
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LOCAL REACTION
The Huskers top-two commits for the 2023 recruiting class have left in back-to-back days. Nebraska’s four-star wide receiver commit Omarion Miller left the class on Friday. The 6-2, 195-pound wideout from Louisiana committed to the Huskers back in July.
This was a very expected move once former interim coach Mickey Joseph was not named the full-time head coach. Despite the circumstances surrounding Joseph now following an arrest this week it was going to be difficult to keep Miller in the fold. Miller was almost exclusively interested in Nebraska because of his ties to Joseph and the history Joseph had developing wide receivers into NFL Draft picks.
Miller had 49 catches for 1,183 yards and 15 touchdowns during his senior season so his production did match his lofty rating. The pass catcher has the potential to be a future NFL player and Nebraska does need a lot more of those on the roster. Still, it is tough to have too high of a sting factor here because it was so expected. New coach Matt Rhule and his staff saw this one coming even if Miller is talented. - Greg Smith, InsideNebraska.com
Sting factor: 7
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NATIONAL REACTION
Even when something is expected - like a punch to the gut - it hurts and this one definitely hurts as well. To rebuild the Nebraska program, a commitment needs to mean more than one coach or one situation and that was the case here as Miller’s relationship with Joseph could not be overlooked. Another uber-talented player is gone though and while Nebraska has a shot at getting Malachi Coleman back in the class it looks like the ship has sailed on Miller as four other schools have come into focus. A receiver of his caliber could have been a game-changer for the Huskers as they look to rebuild under Rhule. If Joseph was on staff, there was a good shot to keep him. Now with that not being a possibility, it was expected but still hurts. - Adam Gorney, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 8
