Four-star Nash Hutmacher poses with his catch and Nebraska defensive line coach Tony Tuioti

Some recruits come to Lincoln to see the Sea of Red on a Saturday — but what happens if there’s no game to be played?

Turns out the staff just puts a “Gone Fishin’” sign on the football offices when it comes to Nash Hutmacher.

Spring official visits are new for Nebraska. More than a year after the NCAA regulations allowed programs to finally start hosting paid trips to recruits the Huskers finally brought one to campus before the start of the football season.

This weekend the Huskers hosted Hutmacher on campus for parts of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hutmacher, one of the nation’s top prep wrestlers and football players, is being recruited as a defensive tackle. For the lineman it was the fourth time he’d been to Lincoln since Scott Frost and company offered him a year ago.

Since Hutmacher had already seen much of what the university could offer, Nebraska decided to do something different.

The staff took the South Dakota native and his family to the lake and busted out the rod and reel. The unique move was certainly met with praise from Hutmacher, who said they were south of Lincoln by 20 minutes or so and the fish were biting.

“We went fishing with coach Scott Frost, coach Ryan Held, coach Tony Tuioti, and coach Chinander,” he said. “I live right on the Missouri River so I go fishing all the time. It was fun. Everybody caught something. I caught three. I think one of them caught six. Coach Frost got a few. Everyone was catching some.”

Nebraska wants to reel in Hutmacher, but will have to wait until June for a decision. The lineman plans to take an official to Wisconsin and is in talks with Oregon about one as well.

Not every recruit will get the chance to bait a hook with Nebraska, but the opportunity to host recruits early allowed the Huskers to do something entirely different.

Early last week Held, who despite coaching running backs has been heavily involved in Hutmacher’s recruitment, spoke about the importance of getting the chance to use some of the official visits on recruits who are looking to make an early decision.

“It’s nice having those in the bank,” Held said. “We have a few spots left if we even want to use those for this year (2019 roster). Last year we had one left maybe. Coming in we were limited and then we had to hit on an 80 percent success rate. Coming in that puts in you in a bind right there. You can’t really take chances on guys. It’s nice having a few for this year and then if we decide to use some for the next year for the 2020 class. It’s nice.”

Held said because the Huskers have had more than a year to work ahead and that the Huskers have some visits to use it allows them to operate differently in this recruiting cycle and while Nebraska sits with just two commitments, optimism is high that it’s just a matter of time.

“We are so much further ahead in that stand point,” he said. We’re not having to rush. We’re not having to be organized chaos from that end. Even though we don’t have as many commitments right now, we’re not worried about that. We want the guys who want to be here.”

The hook is in the water — now who takes the bait for Nebraska?