Matt Rhule isn’t trying to set the market in the new college football transfer portal and NIL landscape. The Nebraska head coach is focused on recruiting at a high level in-state, but he doesn’t want to set the market.
While Rhule understands the importance of setting a presence in Nebraska, recruiting players from around the state, and offering them scholarships to turn the Cornhuskers into contenders, he also isn’t worried about being the first coach to hand out a letter of interest.
Matt Rhule Details Why Nebraska Isn’t Rushing In-State Offers in NIL, Rev Share Era
During a media availability last week, Rhule was asked about his recruiting strategy in-state.
He told the press he’s keeping his eyes on everyone, but isn’t necessarily focused on being first.
“The whole thing like, hey, you should be the first offer at Nebraska? You know, desperate teams always set the market. Let me say that one more time. In rev share and all this, desperate teams set the market,” Rhule stated.
“If they know that, hey, straight up, we can’t beat a Big Ten team or we can’t beat Nebraska, then we better offer them a year earlier and say Nebraska doesn’t care about you. We care about you. We’ve got to make sure that you’re going to help us beat Ohio State.”
“I have to be sure that they’re good enough. And, what’s happening sometimes here is some of the other schools that aren’t playing in the Big Ten? They’re going to offer him as a sophomore. And everyone looks at me like, well, why haven’t you offered him yet? It used to be you got offered as a senior, you know.
“And, I like guys – if I’m not quite sure yet, don’t I owe it to you to be sure before I offer you a scholarship? And, now, before I offer you a rev share deal?
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong, at the University of Nebraska, that we carry ourselves like the Top-20 teams in the country. The Top-20 teams in the country, if they say, hey, we like you a lot but we want you to come to camp, you’ll come to camp, you know, going into your senior year.
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“So, there’s lots of kids — I would love to recruit them. They’ve committed to a Big 12 school or somewhere else like that? Come to camp. If you want to play in the Big 12 over the Big Ten, I got it. But, make no mistake. There’s a big difference.
“And the Big 12 is going to go nuts now, I know that and I’m going to be on X and all that stuff but it’s the reality. The Big Ten and the SEC, especially moving forward, are going to be here in terms of everybody else so, I have to worry about what’s Ohio State doing, what’s Michigan’s doing.
“I love the state, I love the players and we’re going, we’re going to take a bunch. Should be taking some as walk-ons, we’ve taken some as scholarship players. I just have to be sure that they’re good enough.”
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