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00:00 Welcome to the Gary Cricket Chronicles, the people's show.
00:11 Checking the pulse of Husker Nation, ladies and gentlemen, I'm joined by a special guest
00:14 today.
00:15 He committed to Nebraska on signing day, the most recent signing to Nebraska's scholarship
00:20 2024 class.
00:21 He's a defensive end, edge player, okay, out of Arizona.
00:27 6'5", 240 pounds, had 60 tackles last year as a senior, 18.5 TFLs with 6 sacks.
00:33 And honestly, one of the most coveted players on the West Coast, 4-star and 24th edge player
00:38 in the country, one of the top 15 players out of Arizona as well, Mr. Keona Wilhite.
00:43 How you doing, my friend?
00:44 I'm great, thanks for having me.
00:47 I appreciate you joining me.
00:49 Ladies and gentlemen, real quick, if you're excited to see what Keona, his entire class,
00:53 31 players, like I mentioned.
00:55 Okay, no other class in the country even has 30, and don't worry, Matt Ruhle's going to
00:59 figure out the whole scholarship limit thing.
01:01 You don't need to stop him on the street and ask him questions.
01:04 Alright, but if you're excited to see what Keona can do in this unique recruiting class,
01:09 what they're going to do here at Nebraska, smash the like button.
01:11 So my first question for you, my friend, what made you pick Nebraska, and what excites you
01:17 the most about playing for the Big Red?
01:19 I picked Nebraska because I had a better situation.
01:25 I got Coach Ryan, who was in the league, I brought in Shane and Kyle, Coach White, who
01:27 has a great defense.
01:28 I'm very excited to be able to get on the field there soon, be able to work and get
01:34 better, to be able to progress my skills.
01:36 I like it.
01:37 And this next question was by far my least favorite question to write down, but I gotta
01:42 ask it, because I always ask all the questions I think are pertinent here.
01:48 At the time we're recording this, there's rumors and things of that nature, we'll see
01:51 what happens.
01:52 I hope he stays, but I gotta ask.
01:55 Tony White is rumored to possibly be, well he is in that UCLA head coaching mix.
02:00 What are your thoughts and reactions when you hear something like that?
02:03 I'm good.
02:04 If he does get a job early, I'd be really happy for him because that's a big promotion.
02:09 I would stay, if that's what you're wondering, if he were to be Nebraska I see at a school
02:13 contending for championships either way.
02:15 I like it.
02:16 I felt like I had to ask, but yeah, you're committed to Nebraska, I'm sure Husker fans,
02:21 they're gonna love that.
02:22 Alright, now you are listed as a DN and you mentioned Coach Knighton.
02:28 So you're a guy who's kind of an edge player, an edge rusher in this 3-3-5 defense.
02:32 There's a potential of moving you around to different spots, but it sounds like your intent
02:36 is to play as a defensive lineman here in the 3-3-5 defense at Nebraska, is that correct?
02:41 Yes sir.
02:42 What do you like the most about playing in a 3-3-5 style of defense?
02:45 I like the most about it.
02:46 You can do a lot with it.
02:47 You can switch to a four man or you can have blitzes come in.
02:51 But what I like most about it is that I'm really comfortable with it because it's the
02:55 same defense I ran in high school with my coaches.
02:58 Do you have a preference?
03:00 Like me, I love to get on the edge and just rush the quarterback.
03:03 I mean, that was by far my favorite thing to do.
03:06 But do you have a preference if you're standing in a two point and you get a blitz, if you
03:10 got your hand in the dirt and you're rushing?
03:12 Do you sometimes like stunting inside?
03:15 What's your favorite thing to do on defense?
03:17 Some guys actually like dropping into pass coverage sometimes.
03:20 You probably won't do that much at Nebraska I wouldn't imagine, but what's your favorite
03:24 thing to do on defense?
03:26 I just have my hand in the dirt, run straight to the quarterback, I like that the most.
03:32 Pretty much what I like to do as well, get wide, get after the quarterback, I can relate
03:36 to that.
03:37 What is your, if you were to self-evaluate yourself, because we all have things that
03:41 we do well, we all have things that we need to improve on, what's the thing that you would
03:46 consider your greatest strength as a player and what's the area you'd like to improve
03:50 the most on when it comes to your game?
03:52 My greatest strength would be my motor, powerlessness, and what I need to work on would be my pass
03:59 throw skills.
04:00 It was interesting because I watched tape of you this morning right before this interview,
04:03 I watched a little bit more, and that was the one thing I noticed, was you hustle sideline
04:07 to sideline, you are all over the field making plays.
04:11 And that is the thing that stood out to me the most.
04:14 Not everybody does that.
04:16 So what drives you to have that type of motor?
04:18 What motivates you to have that type of motor?
04:21 I don't want to lose, so I give everything my all.
04:25 I love that answer.
04:27 Are you an early enrollee or are you going to be arriving, like when will you be arriving
04:31 on campus?
04:32 Will it be this summer?
04:33 Yes sir, it will be this summer.
04:34 When you'd watch, and I'm sure you watched some Husker games last fall, when you watched
04:38 Nebraska play this past year, what stood out the most to you about the team in year one
04:45 under Matt Rule?
04:46 They were relentless.
04:47 They would mess up, but they'd still go out for the ball either way.
04:50 I really liked that.
04:51 What sticks out the most to you about Nebraska fans, because a lot of people will come here,
04:57 and they're just kind of almost in awe of Husker Nation.
05:00 I know the coaches use it as a major recruiting tool for obvious reasons.
05:04 Husker Nation truly is unique.
05:07 What is the thing that sticks out the most to you about Husker fans?
05:11 Their support from school, really.
05:14 When I committed, my phone was blowing up all day, and then like a week later, it was
05:19 still blowing up.
05:20 So I found that really cool to see how much support Nebraska has.
05:25 That is pretty cool, and it's very unique.
05:27 If you were to give a message to Husker Nation or Nebraska fans listening to this interview,
05:34 what would your message to them be?
05:37 I promise to keep my own in the field, and to make sure that your support isn't wasted.
05:42 I like it.
05:43 Alright, ladies and gentlemen, real quick, if you are a diesel mechanic, CDL driver,
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06:00 I know the backstory to how he started the company.
06:02 I know things that he had to endure and overcome.
06:06 And honestly, we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel last football season, and I learned
06:11 some things from him.
06:13 Some of the things that he had to endure weren't some of the most easy things, and that's why
06:16 when I talk about him, I talk about him as an owner.
06:19 I talk about the type of work that he wants his employees to do.
06:24 That's why I speak so highly of him, because I can speak to that on a personal level.
06:28 So DPS Concrete Construction, check them out.
06:32 DPSconstruction.net.
06:33 Now, I've never asked a future Nebraska football player this next question, but it just kind
06:40 of popped into my mind while I was sitting down and prepping for this interview.
06:44 Do you happen to know, and I have no idea what they are, I'm just kind of curious, what
06:48 your bench, squat, and clean maxes are at all?
06:51 Oh, sir.
06:52 I have a maxed out on any of those here.
06:55 Do you have a guess as to what they'd be?
06:57 To guess?
06:58 I think I can bench 315.
07:01 My squat, 425.
07:03 What was the other one you asked me?
07:07 Clean.
07:08 Clean.
07:09 I think I'd get 300 now.
07:10 I'll be honest with you.
07:11 The first day I walked in the weight room, I got there in June, going into my freshman
07:15 year, and there was another defensive end.
07:18 There was other defensive ends that came in my class, but one of them was there, and he
07:21 was benching 315 for reps that day, and I got buried under 275.
07:27 Like I couldn't get 275.
07:29 And I remember thinking, I'm going to be backing up that guy for the next four years.
07:33 Now, he was a good player, but it's interesting because once you get to college, the amount
07:38 of work that you put in makes such a huge difference, regardless of where you're starting
07:42 at.
07:43 My point is, I think you're stronger than I was when I was going into college, and I
07:47 weighed just a little bit more.
07:48 So man, kudos to you on a great head start there.
07:52 Now real quick, Husker fans, I came across a couple of interesting things.
07:57 Okay, now Nebraska, you know the past 10 years, it was what it was, but the last 50 years,
08:03 Nebraska still has the 6th most amount of wins of any team in college football.
08:09 Okay, 441 wins from 1974 to 2023, and obviously that even excludes the championship years
08:18 of '70 and '71, so we'd be even higher on that list if they went all the way back to
08:23 1970 or the past 55 years or so.
08:27 And then these are some other stats that I noticed.
08:29 A lot has changed since Matt Ruhle was named Nebraska's head coach 14 months ago.
08:32 For example, over 75 names on the roster are different of the Huskers' current roster,
08:37 17% are seniors, 24% are juniors, 17% are sophomores, and 42% are freshmen.
08:44 That being said, of course offseason Kool-Aid tastes good, but it's hard not to look at
08:48 what Ruhle has done so far this offseason and not legitimately feel like we're headed
08:54 in the right direction.
08:56 And then this next one leads to a question for you specifically, Kiona, because Nebraska
09:02 has the most amount of returning production of any team in the Big Ten.
09:06 Actually Northwestern is #2, and they surprised everybody last year with 76% returning.
09:12 Nebraska's got 77% of their production returning from last year.
09:17 When you hear something like that, what crosses your mind and how does that excite you when
09:23 you know that you're going to be coming to Nebraska and arriving on campus soon?
09:26 I'm excited, really, especially to have all those people coming back from being 15.
09:31 But to me what comes across my mind is that's more competition for me to get on the line,
09:38 which that excites me too because that means I'll get better.
09:41 Alright man, is there something about you that maybe people don't know, they'd find
09:46 interesting that you're comfortable sharing with the fine folks at home?
09:49 My favorite dog is a Pitbull.
09:52 Alright, that's interesting.
09:53 Have you ever tried to trade a Pitbull?
09:56 Yes sir.
09:57 They're actually pretty smart, I think.
09:58 And you've had an interesting recruiting journey.
10:00 I wanted to ask you this question.
10:01 Is there a specific memory that sticks out to you from your recruiting journey that led
10:05 you to Nebraska here, but something throughout that journey that kind of sticks out to you
10:09 as a memory?
10:10 My dog reacted to the coaches.
10:11 There was a lot of things all over him.
10:12 Some of them he would be more excited than others, but I found it interesting.
10:19 Alright man.
10:20 Okay, I've got some questions for you fine folks at home.
10:22 Hit me up in the comments below.
10:24 Number one, if you just want to show Keona some love in the comments below, Facebook,
10:27 Twitter, YouTube, show him some love in those comments.
10:31 Number two, 31 guys on scholarship coming in.
10:33 Is that too many?
10:34 I'm going to answer that question.
10:35 I'm going to say no.
10:36 I say I love it because that's how Matt Ruhl wants to build the program.
10:39 But let me know in the comments below your thoughts.
10:41 Also, how good with 10 potential returning starters coming back can Nebraska's defense
10:46 be next year?
10:47 Hit me up on Twitter and Facebook if you've got nothing else to do with your time.
10:51 And thank you for joining me Keona.
10:52 I appreciate it.
10:53 Until next time, Husker Nation, Go Big Red.
10:56 And always remember to THROW THE BONES!
10:57 (sighs)