Matt Rhule on the state of recruiting: 'Desperate teams set the market'

There’s a lot of recruits, including in-state, that programs would like to sign on the trail during every single cycle. With how it goes, though, Matt Rhule is focusing most on the ones that he knows can eventually help his program to contend.

Rhule was asked about in-state recruiting for Nebraska during a media availability this last week. He understands the importance of it but wants people to see the scenario they’re in of trying to recruit against those who are starting earlier while hopeful contenders, like they want to be, have to wait until they know that those players can compete for them in the future.

“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 just, um – we’ve got to make sure that you’re, you’re going to help us beat Ohio State.”

Again, Rhule wants to recruit in the state of Nebraska. They just, as a team trying to win out of the Big Ten, have to be more patient on the trail before offering a prospect, just because they’re within state lines too, who won’t fit or help them achieve what they’re trying to in the conference and nationally.

“I have to be sure that they’re good enough,” said Rhule. “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,” Rhule continued. “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.”

From 2023 through 2026 under Rhule, 22 of the 80 players, or over a quarter of those four recruiting cycles, who have signed or committed to their program have been from the state of Nebraska. Those numbers dropped with this incoming class and so far for next year’s class, albeit with less total commits so far in the sample, from eight in ’23 and ’24 to six in ’25 and zero so far for ’26.

This is just the bottom line for teams like the Cornhuskers with high school recruiting now, especially in-state. Rhule is trying to bring in the best possible players, regardless of their home state, to do his job and, if he accomplishes it, it won’t matter where they’re from or whoever else committed to, as he put it, those more desperate teams.

“I have one job. It’s to win at Nebraska, okay,” Rhule said. “No man can serve two masters. We have to win. Everyone cares about everything else when you’re not winning.

“That’s, that’s my job is to be really focused on, you know, serving that, serving that one master, which is College Football Playoff, Big Ten Championships, um, national championships. That’s all anybody wants so I better do that. If you’re not doing that then people say why, why, why, why, why?” Rhule concluded. “I think we’re taking, we’re taking the right players from the state and I think football in the state is really good so you’re going to see lots of guys sign scholarships.”