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Click here for complete coverage of 2012 Husker signing day

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LINCOLN — Two years, two Peats ... and almost too much drama.

The only difference was that this one didn't go Nebraska's way.

Touted offensive tackle Andrus Peat went relatively deep into national signing day before picking Stanford over the Huskers. The added punch in the gut was that the Nebraska staff basically found out along with those watching his announcement on ESPNU.

"From what I understand," NU head coach Bo Pelini said, "it went down to a few seconds before."

Nebraska did score three signees Wednesday to complete a class of 17. But Peat was one that could have really punctuated it for Pelini.

Instead, the 6-foot-7, 305-pound prospect from Tempe, Ariz., reached under a table and pulled out a Cardinal baseball cap.

"I really have a lot of respect for Coach Pelini and what they're doing over there," Peat said. "I just thought Stanford was the best fit for me, though, as a person and in the classroom and on the field as well."

If it seemed as if the Peat story was some sort of rerun, well, it kind of was. Just with a different ending.

Older brother Todd Peat took it all the way to signing day a year ago before saying he would become a Husker. The defensive tackle, who redshirted last season at NU, made his declaration live on Fox Sports Arizona, shunning Arizona State and Oregon State.

Passing up the chance to be reunited with his brother, Andrus Peat said, made his decision even tougher.

"I talked to him this morning and he told me he would be proud of me wherever I went," Peat said. "He thinks it's a great opportunity at Stanford and he's going to support me 100 percent."

The Peat brothers are the sons of Todd Peat Sr., a former lineman who played six NFL seasons with the Cardinals and Raiders. Also, Andrus Peat is the cousin of Corona del Sol High teammate Avery Moss, a 6-4, 245-pound defensive end who signed with Nebraska on Wednesday.

The ties just weren't enough to land the lineman that 247Sports ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 4 offensive tackle and the No. 2 player in Arizona. Several recruiting services listed him even higher, including Rivals.com placing Peat as the No. 32 prospect overall.

"The only thing up in the air for us was what Peat was going to do," Pelini said. "It didn't go our way, but I feel good about the guys we got."

The Wednesday pickups for Nebraska were versatile athlete Alonzo Moore and defensive tackles Aaron Curry and Vincent Valentine. Combined with the Peat decision, it provided signing-day drama to rival 2010, when NU snagged quarterback Brion Carnes and safety Corey Cooper but lost out on defensive end Owa Odighizuwa to UCLA in a nationally televised announcement.

Curry, from Fossil Ridge High in Keller, Texas, said he decided on Sunday and called Pelini, defensive coordinator John Papuchis and assistant coach Rick Kaczenski on Sunday night. And it was Kaczenski who might have played the biggest part in the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder becoming a Husker.

Curry was being recruited by Kaczenski when he was the defensive line coach at Iowa. Kaczenski then was hired to fill the same position at Nebraska in December when Papuchis was elevated to defensive coordinator.

"It just worked out that Coach K left and I had a good relationship with Coach K," Curry said. "I visited Nebraska and I was sold."

Curry made 59 tackles, including three sacks, during his senior season at Fossil Ridge. He is a three-star prospect according to 247Sports, which also ranks him as the No. 57 defensive tackle and the No. 127 player out of Texas.

But Curry also believes he can be a sleeper in this NU class.

"I'm good with my quickness and feet, and just attacking the quarterback and running down backs," Curry told The World-Herald. "I know Coach K and Coach Pelini and Coach J.P. can bring the best out of me."

Curry also was considering TCU and Missouri. Along with quarterback Tommy Armstrong, it marks the 12th straight year that Nebraska has signed at least one player out of Texas.

Valentine's decision came down to NU, Illinois and Florida. The 6-3, 300-pounder from Edwardsville, Ill., is ranked as the No. 49 defensive tackle by 247Sports and the No. 13 prospect in Illinois.

"Nebraska is consistently winning nine games, 10 games a year," Valentine told 247Sports. "Illinois is up and down, and that's what pulled away for Nebraska."

Moore is a 6-2, 170-pounder from Winnfield, La., who can play cornerback, safety, receiver and quarterback. He is ranked as the No. 50 receiver and No. 16 prospect in Louisiana by 247Sports, although Pelini said Wednesday that Moore likely would be tried first at cornerback.

Moore ran for 1,347 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior, when he started at quarterback but also returned kicks for Winnfield High.

Among others that still remained on NU's board Wednesday, four-star cornerback Devian Shelton of Inglewood, Calif., picked Southern Cal.

Contact the writer:

rich.kaipust@owh.com

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