Marques Buford Jr is making his commitment announcement on Saturday and the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers are hoping they’ll be adding another receiver prospect to their 2021 class. Buford announced his plan to commit on Twitter. While some players will give a specific day — or even a range of days — they’re going to make such an announcement, the prospect did them all one better.
He not only gave a day for his announcement, he detailed the exact time. The player — who projects as either a wideout or a defensive back at the college level — said he’s committing on July 18 at 3:16 p.m. central time.
Buford boasts 22 total scholarship offers as a member of Trinity Christian Prep in Cedar Hill, Texas. Despite hailing from the Lone Star State, 247Sports doesn’t have a Texas college listed as one of his top potential landing spots. The website’s recruiting analysts believe the Cornhuskers are the front runner, ahead of the California Golden Bears and the Iowa State Cyclones, and have predicted Buford will surely pick Nebraska.
Buford would be a great addition to the Huskers roster. Evan Bland of the Omaha World-Herald wrote about the young player’s versatility on the football field, saying that he can play almost anywhere.
The writer spoke to Buford’s high school coach, Andre Hart, who said the athlete earned the nickname “Swiss Army Knife” at Trinity. On defense, Buford regularly matched up with the opposing squad’s best receiver. His efforts helped the school win back-to-back state titles in their level of play.
That didn’t mean Buford only played defensive back, however. He was comfortable playing any position opposite the other team’s best playmaker. If that was a running back, he’d line up at linebacker. If the offense was running an empty backfield setup, Buford would take on the safety spot.
The commitment… Coming Saturday at 3:16pm central? pic.twitter.com/zQr66dlotl
— Marques Buford Jr? (@marques_buford) July 16, 2020
“He’s what the old-school coaches call a true football player,” Hart said. “You can put him on the field anywhere and you’ll have success.”
Should he pick Nebraska, it’s thought the Huskers coaching staff wants him in their defensive backfield. He’d be the second commit for the team in the 2021 cycle at his position.
Landing players in that position group became a bit more important on Friday when Nebraska learned a signee from 2020, Jaiden Francois, reportedly entered his name into the NCAA football transfer portal.
Buford was originally a three-star prospect in the 2020 class but didn’t get any offers from Power Five schools. He decided to reclassify to the 2021 class and racked up 12 Power Five offers this cycle.
