Although Maurice Purify was recruited by several universities, none put forth as much effort during the process as Nebraska, he said.

Purify rewarded Husker coaches Wednesday for their diligence, becoming the second wide receiver to verbally commit to  NU’s 2006 recruiting class. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound standout at City College of San Francisco became the 21st player overall — and ninth junior college athlete — known to have pledged to join the Huskers next season.

“I like that I can go in and play right away,” he said. “But I know I’m not going to get it for free. I’ll have to work.”

Purify, a native of Eureka, Calif., drew a five-star rating (out of five possible) from Scout.com and a four-star ranking from Rivals.com. He’ll have three seasons to play two at Nebraska.

“Nebraska’s getting a guy who — unless something odd happens — you’ll be paying to see play on Sundays (in the NFL),” said John Balano, an assistant coach and head strength and conditioning coach at City College of San Francisco. “He’s a big receiver who runs aggressive routes. He’s long and rangy and deceptively fast.”

City College of San Francisco, a traditional junior college power, recently completed a 10-2 season with a 41-38 loss to Grossmont College in the California state juco championship game. Purify finished the season with 56 receptions for 1,200 yards and 19 touchdowns after recording 11 touchdowns in 2004.

“We had some problems at quarterback this season, and Maurice adjusted to running a lot of possession-type routes,” Balano said. “He ran whatever route he needed to run to help the team.”

A two-year starter for the Rams, Purify also had scholarship offers from Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon State and Washington. He’s rated as the nation’s No. 12 junior college player by Rivals.com. He visited Lincoln the weekend of Oct. 8, when Nebraska lost a 34-31 decision to Texas Tech in the final seconds.

“It’s an NFL style offense,” Purify said of Nebraska coach Bill Callahan’s West Coast system. “It’s all about getting a lot of different receivers the ball with a lot of room to run. I like it.”

Purify is an uncle of former Colorado tailback Bobby Purify (Maurice’s brother, in his 40s, is Bobby’s dad).

Nebraska’s list of commitments for 2006 also includes Menelik Holt, a 6-3, 210-pound prep wide receiver from San Diego.

In Purify, Balano said, Nebraska is getting a wideout who’s been tested for two years in a difficult juco conference. Purify wasn’t recruited by any Division I-A schools coming out of high school.

“We probably play in the toughest conference in California,” Balano said. “Week in and week out, we’re playing Division I-A talent. He’s going to thrive in Nebraska’s environment.”

Purify plans to graduate from City College in May and move to Lincoln shortly thereafter.

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