Matt Rhule reveals biggest challenge of recruiting at new job

Matt Rhule has not been on the job too long in Nebraska but has already brought a full recruiting class into the program. Former head coach Scott Frost started the job, while Mickey Joseph mended things together throughout the season. Rhule was able to put the finishing touches on, currently sitting at No. 33 in the country.

When discussing the challenges of recruiting this early in his tenure, how official visits run was a big one for Rhule. He said there are small details that need to be fixed and changed compared to the last staff, hoping to impress prospects coming to Lincoln.

“There’s a lot of details,” Rhule said. “A lot of things you got to get organized. The way I want to run official visits is probably different than they had. So, making last-minute changes to the way I think it should be.”

More than just the football department goes into running visits, though. Rhule gave a shoutout to hotels, restaurants, and others across the city of Lincoln for making the process easy. If you can sell someone on where they will be living during college, landing their commitment becomes a whole lot easier.

“I think one of the keys for us should be to really show off Lincoln,” Rhule said. “I think getting them out into the community is important. There’s a lot of details that had to be worked through that our people worked really hard at.”

Many people speculate as to why kids pick certain schools, with NIL being an easy cop-out answer. Especially when unexpected decisions are made.

Rhule has spoken out against using NIL in recruiting recently and seems more inclined in building relationships with recruits. Especially the ones already committed to Nebraska, who is seeing a coaching change unfold in front of their eyes.

Earning the trust of those recruits in just over 20 days since being hired was crucial for Rhule.

“The biggest thing is relationships,” Rhule said. “They don’t really know us. How can you get to know someone over 24 days enough that they’re willing to come spend the next four years of their life here with you? That was probably really the biggest challenge.

“We were really honest and direct with people. Some kids, it was right for. Some, it wasn’t. In the end, I think we got enough guys that believe in what we believe in.”