Matt Rhule discusses connection to Texas, how it will help Nebraska in recruiting

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has built connections all across the country throughout his career, but perhaps none will be more important to the Cornhuskers than those he made in Texas.

When coach at Baylor from 2017-19, it was crucial for him to develop relationships with the coaches at many of the Texas high schools, which routinely churn out some of the most talented football players in the country. In an appearance on the Big Ten Network for National Signing Day, Rhule addressed how he believes those connections will help him to convince players from the Lone Star State to come to Lincoln.

“It’s a huge priority for us,” Rhule said. “I love my time in Texas. I feel like a Texan. We will go down there and we’ll try to recruit the best. The student-athletes still want to come here. As you look at football moving forward and the prominent position the Big Ten will play, we’re the closest Big Ten team for those guys. I know the state of Texas, those guys love football. They love to get coaches and developed and Nebraska’s a great fit.”

Rhule hasn’t even been the coach at Nebraska for a full month, so he can’t take too much credit for this year’s class. The Cornhuskers class consist of 21 commits, ranking No. 31 in the country and No. 5 in the Big Ten according to On3’s Consensus Team Rankings.

Of those players, four are from the state of Texas, including four-star EDGE defender Princewill Umanmielen. Matt Rhule hopes to see that number increase over the next couple of seasons, making it clear that his connections in Texas are still strong even three years later.

“Those guys are my friends,” he said. “I wasn’t just recruiting them. I consider those guys friends. The Texas High School coaches association does it better than anyone else or certainly as well as anyone else. I stayed in touch with a lot of people there. I hope at the end of the day, my resume and our resume as a staff is the experience the young people had playing for us. A lot of those guys at Baylor had a great experience. I think they really enjoyed the way we coached them. That word travels fast. As we go down into Texas, there’s a lot of big hugs and warm, open embraces welcoming us back because we try to do it the right way.”

Nebraska is coming off of a 4-8 finish this season and has not enjoyed a winning record since 2016. However, Rhule’s track record of rebuilding programs provides hope he can do the same with the Huskers, especially if he can work on bringing in talented recruits from all over the country.