ESPN College Football

Nebraska boasts arguably the Big Ten's deepest running back corps, but the group just got a bit thinner.

Sophomore Aaron Green has decided to transfer, his father told multiple media outlets Sunday night. Green, a San Antonio native, likely will move closer to home and select a Big 12 program. Oklahoma and TCU are among his potential transfer destinations, according to his father, Tony.

From the Omaha World-Herald:

"He wasn't happy," Tony Green said. "He didn't feel that he fit into the system. He wants to get closer to home."

Green had 24 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman in 2011, playing behind Nebraska's All-Big Ten back Rex Burkhead. Green seemed frustrated with his limited role, but he and classmate Ameer Abdullah logged most of the running back reps this spring as they competed to back up Burkhead in the fall. Both players drew praise from the coaching staff and likely would have received most of the carries in Nebraska's spring game, which was canceled because of bad weather.

"Aaron Green and Ameer Abdullah have had really good springs," Huskers offensive coordinator Tim Beck told me this month. "They were just true freshmen last year, so they're another part of the recipe."

The recipe apparently left a sour taste for Green, who made his decision to transfer during spring practice, according to his father.

Green arrived at Nebraska as the Big Ten's highest-rated recruit in the 2011 class, ranked as the nation's No. 11 overall player in the ESPN 150. While he wouldn't have played ahead of Burkhead this fall, he and Abdullah seemed positioned to compete for the top job heading into 2013.

Green's older brother, Andrew, is a cornerback for the Huskers.

Nebraska still has decent depth at running back, although it moved Braylon Heard, who had 25 carries last season, to cornerback this spring. Heralded recruit Imani Cross joins the Huskers this summer, and fullback Mike Marrow, a transfer from Eastern Michigan, drew strong reviews this spring.

John Papuchis' first phone call came from the tarmac in Phoenix. The next came several hours later from Omaha.

Like most college football assistants, Papuchis, Nebraska's defensive coordinator, is racking up plenty of frequent-flyer miles right now. National signing day arrives Wednesday, and Nebraska, which has 14 verbal commits after Imani Cross' pledge, hopes for a strong closing kick.

"There's certainly some kids that we're after who I think we have a good chance of getting," Papuchis told ESPN.com on Thursday. "If they end up coming, it's going to take our class from being very solid and what I feel like is a good class, to being a great class. The next week is going to tell the tale."

Last February, Nebraska signed its first class of recruits who would play their entire careers in the Big Ten. Nebraska since has become a full Big Ten member (July 1) and played a season in its new conference.

How has Big Ten membership impacted Nebraska's recruiting? The changes are more subtle than dramatic, according to Papuchis, who served as the teams recruiting coordinator in 2011.

"A lot of recruiting is relationship-based, and we weren't going to scrap all of the relationships that we had worked so hard over the years to develop, whether it was in Texas or California or Arizona or anywhere else," Papuchis said. "We just expanded the pie a little bit as opposed to restructuring it."

Nebraska continues to recruit nationally, and its 14 verbal commits hail from 10 different states. But Papuchis has seen a difference in the Midwest and northeast, where the Big Ten name carries weight.

The Huskers also have placed a greater emphasis on states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, assigning coaches to individual states rather than to the region, as they had before.

"Although the kids always respected what the Big 12 had to offer, I don't think it was received quite as well as when we made the move into the Big Ten," he said. "All those kids, they could see themselves being able to play close to home, and play teams they grew up watching."

Nebraska's challenge is two-fold: increase the presence in the Big Ten footprint while maintaining ties to states like Texas and California that have funneled talent to Lincoln.

Last year the Huskers signed five Texans and one Californian. This year's list of verbals includes three Californians and a Texan.

Although the Big Ten move prevents Nebraska from playing league games in Texas, the distance from Lincoln to the Lone Star State hasn't changed. Nebraska's sales pitch remains more or less the same.

"For the Texas kids, we were the [Big 12] school that was farthest from home, the most north school," Papuchis said. "Those kids were predominantly coming because they enjoyed and respected the tradition and what we had to offer. Even in a different conference, they realized that part of it wasn't going to be any different."

The Big Ten move hasn't impacted the types of players Nebraska recruits, with one notable exception: linebacker. Nebraska didn't need as many traditional linebackers in the Big 12, a league filled with spread offenses, and could get away with safety-linebacker hybrids. The Huskers faced more power-type offenses in the Big Ten this past season, which exposed some issues with size and depth.

Nebraska has four linebacker recruits committed for 2012, including ESPNU 150 prospect Michael Rose.

"It's going to take a few classes to get it totally where we want it to be," Papuchis said, "but we targeted to take four guys in this class, thought it would be a good first step in getting the depth a little bit closer to where we want it. Next year, we're going to graduate two, maybe three backers off the team, so we're going to have to grab a bunch in next year's class as well.

"Over the course of a couple years, as long as we recruit well, we'll be able to replenish the depth there."

Nebraska will continue to recruit nationally, and Papuchis noted that recruiting hotbeds are tied to population density, which is increasing in states like Texas and Florida. The key going forward for the Huskers is to land more elite recruits from Big Ten territory.

The 2012 class features only four recruits from Big Ten states (two Ohio, one Illinois, one Nebraska).

"The longer we're in the league and the more success we're able to have going forward, the more impact we're going to be able to have in the Big Ten states in terms of recruiting," Papuchis said. "But we're excited about the states of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, into western Pennsylvania, what kids from that area are going to be able to offer for our program, and what we’re going to be able to offer them."