Evan Cooper pulls back curtain on Nebraska's approach to recruiting in summer

Nebraska defensive assistant Evan Cooper recently broke down Nebraska’s plan for recruiting throughout the summer months.

Recruiting is, of course, vitally important for any team in a rebuild and Nebraska is no different as Matt Rhule and his staff work to bring in players to help the Cornhuskers become a top-tier Big Ten program. However, that can be difficult when relationships with juniors and seniors haven’t been established yet.

“Our approach is different,” Evan Cooper said. “Yes, it’s that way. Our approach is we want to find the guys that fit us and if we can find one guy at a camp, then it’s a success, even in the ’24 class.”

Nebraska’s 2024 Class is currently ranked 25th in the On3 Industry Ranking Football Team Recruiting Rankings.

“Like I said, mostly you’ll find the ’25s, ’26s, the underclassmen [at camps], but we have a different type than a lot of people and we’ll track these guys throughout their senior years, and sometimes we will see a guy whose arrow is just pointed way up and he’ll have his best year be his senior. We like those kinds of guys…they tend to keep going up,” Cooper said.

“But, yeah, we have a little bit of a different approach but that’s why we take it very seriously.”

As far as head coach Matt Rhule is concerned, now is the time for Nebraska to turn up the tempo when it comes to recruiting.

“Yeah, I mean this is the time to go, this is the time to sprint. When the season comes, the season comes. July is some time away. So right now, in June, we’re going to maximize what we do,” Rhule said.

“Getting down here, getting around these kids — not everyone’s going to be a Husker. But Mary Hardin-Baylor, you see the facilities they have here. Just supporting football is important. There’s no wasted days, man. Then we get back, we gotta get back to coaching our guys and get ready for two camps this weekend.”

Evan Cooper on the benefit of satellite camps

Nebraska coaches recently attended a satellite camp in Texas. There, Evan Cooper explained the value that Nebraska’s coaches are getting out of these camps. It’s a chance to discover future recruits and enjoy coaching.

“We like to bond the talent. If it’s there, we’ll give it a good look. What we find, there’s a lot of the times the younger kids turn out to be the best because at this point, the ’24 class, they have offers and now they’re doing official visits and stuff,” Cooper said.

“But, yeah, we don’t take it lightly. We work at it and go through the entire process and just check and see if there’s guys that we like. And it’s also fun just to coach. Just get out here and coach. I haven’t coached since spring ball, so that’s also good.”