Consider a few statistics when pondering Nebraska’s recent success recruiting junior college football players in California.

First of all, California has 74 junior college football programs, compared with 65 throughout the rest of the nation. What’s more, each year as many as 250 to 300 California juco players are good enough to attract NCAA Division I-A scholarship offers, according to Brad Hoiseth, junior college recruiting analyst for Rivals.com.

“That’s why I’ve always said that California junior colleges are one of the best-kept secrets among the recruiting gold mines,” he said.

Nebraska has thrived on “the secret” in the last two years. In fact, NU’s recruitment of six California jucos for this year’s class — after landing five in 2005 — provides the impetus for keeping the Huskers in the national top 20 of Rivals.com’s current team rankings.

As of Monday, Nebraska’s 23-player recruiting class was ranked No. 18 by Rivals.com and No. 29 by Scout.com. The Huskers are expected to finish in that range come Feb. 1, the first day recruits can sign binding letters of intent.

Although Nebraska has slipped in the recruiting rankings compared to last year — when it wound up No. 5 (Rivals.com) and No. 10 (Scout.com) — the Huskers have filled some critical needs, many with junior college standouts.

Of Nebraska’s juco recruits from California, five are rated among JCGridiron.com’s top 50 for the state: Cornerback Andre Jones is No. 3; wide receiver Maurice Purify No. 6; offensive lineman Carl Nicks No. 7; safety Ashlee Palmer No. 15; and linebacker Steve Allen No. 18.

“Nebraska started out early in the process making a press for high-profile guys, and the Huskers ended up with probably the best bunch of junior college recruits in the nation,” Hoiseth said.

Nebraska has received a total of eight verbal commitments from junior college players after signing 12 in last year’s class. Of the dozen jucos in NU’s class of 2005, four never played a down, including one who failed to qualify academically.

“When you’re recruiting junior college guys, the question is always: How quickly can you get them on the field?” Hoiseth said.

Nebraska coaches evidently in the last two years have felt a need to bring in players who can play immediately.

“The bottom line is Nebraska’s talent had slipped to the point where they couldn’t wait for underclassmen to develop,” said Allen Wallace, recruiting analyst for Scout.com and longtime publisher of SuperPrep Magazine. “Fans at places like Nebraska aren’t very patient. They want immediate success.”

Nebraska’s class of 2006 has at least a handful of junior college players who figure to make big splashes immediately, said Jeremy Crabtree, an analyst for Rivals.com. He mentioned the following four as potential major contributors in 2006:

* Kenny Wilson, running back from Butler County (Kan.) Community College. “He’s a special, special player,” said Crabtree, noting the 6-foot, 220-pound player’s blazing speed and ability to run inside the tackles. “He’s the kind of guy the old Nebraska staff would’ve loved to have in their system.”

* Jones, a 6-foot, 192-pound defender from Fresno College. “He’s the classic ‘press’ cover corner. He can play physical at the line of scrimmage and also has the hips and athleticism to turn and run with fast receivers.”

* Purify, a 6-4, 210-pound wideout from City College of San Francisco. “He can go up and get the football with anybody.”

* Carl Nicks, a 6-6, 320-pound offensive lineman from Hartnell (Calif.) Community College. “He’ll get dirty and flat get after it. I love that kid.”

Nebraska’s combination of high school and junior college talent in its 2006 class is impressive, said Tom Lemming, who ranked last year’s Husker recruiting class No. 1 nationally. The Huskers are known to still be pursuing two touted players — defensive tackles Charles Deas of Dillard High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Gerard Lee of Scottsdale (Ariz.) City College.

“The Huskers won’t have the abundance of talent that they had in last year’s class, but it’s a real good follow-up class,” Lemming said. “They’ll be ranked somewhere between 10th and 20th when all of the dust settles.”

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.