Matt Rhule calls commitment of Carter Nelson ‘critical’ for Nebraska

Matt Rhule had plenty of success in his first true recruiting class as coach at Nebraska, and Carter Nelson was among his biggest wins — if not the biggest. The local four-star tight end from Ainsworth ranks as the No. 1 player from the state of Nebraska and is one of several home grown products committed to the Cornhuskers.

Rhule fought hard to keep Nelson in-state, battling other prestigious programs such as Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia and others. Now that he’s successfully managed to do so, he’s excited for the role Nelson will play in the offense for years to come.

“Getting Carter was critical because of the player he is,” Rhule told On3‘s Andy Staples. “He’s exactly the type of player we want on offense. Can play wideout, can play tight end, can play running back. A positionless player that we can do so many things with. The sky’s the limit. He grew up loving the University of Nebraska.

“For him to come here, I think it signals to people you can achieve all your dreams here. It was huge for us to get him and really having a battle there to the very end. We sent 10 coaches there on Saturday. This is not a guy that people just gave up on. Credit to him and his family that he wants to be here.”

Carter Nelson ranked as the second-best player in Nebraska’s class behind only quarterback Dylan Raiola. He is the No. 62 overall player and No. 5 tight end in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The Cornhuskers landed eight in-state players from this class, with seven of those eight ranking among the top 10 from Nebraska. That gave Rhule plenty of opportunity to visit various towns across the state, ranging from big to small.

Ainsworth was one of those on the smaller side with a population of 1,728. Rhule was struck by the community there, enjoying there interactions with football fans of all ages.

It even provided him with a recruiting first, as he was invited to attend a wedding that was taking place that day.

“I’ve been to some towns in this state and it just humbles me to be the coach here,” Rhule said. “You go to Ainsworth, I’ve been there three times. You’ve got six year-olds, seven year-olds, 15-year-olds, 13-year-olds — all these kids coming up to you. They know everything about recruiting and they’re fired up. They’re talking about plays during the season like, ‘coach, it’s about time you called a fake punt.’ It’s just a cool place to be.

“You go into town and you meet people. People love their Huskers, but more importantly they’re kind. They’re decent and awesome. I’ve loved my time there. First time I ever showed up to a wedding and they told me I was invited. Great people. Two teachers. Hopefully we left a good impression on them.”

With stories like that, it’s clear Rhule already done a great job to integrate himself into the community during his short time at Nebraska. If this recruiting class is any indication, landing players like Nelson and others will be a staple of the program as Rhule aims to build on a 5-7 inaugural season.