Matt Rhule previews role, readiness of freshman DB Ethan Nation

In his first offseason at Nebraska, Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule has acquired some top-tier young talent. One of the incoming individuals Rhule is high on is freshman defensive back Ethan Nation.

With the on the field talent Nation possesses, he could line up all over the field for Nebraska. Still, Rhule is undecided on how to use his young defensive back going forward, as he recently revealed.

“Yeah, I don’t know what Ethan’s role will be yet. He’s very dynamic, an explosive player,” said Rhule. “He catches people’s attention, catches their eyes, plays really hard on defense. He’s aggressive, kind of has a feel for getting the ball, (and) he looks dynamic as a returner. Though we haven’t done a lot of live returns yet with him. So young returners is always about their ball security and ability to protect the football. And so I don’t have a great feel for that yet because he is a defensive player. But I can see his athleticism, his explosiveness, and his mindset.

A lot of this is just about maturity. Everybody has the talent to play. Who has the mindset to prepare to play all the time? And he has that confidence and that swagger that’s humble enough to also coach still.

Nation is still credited as a recruit acquired by previous Nebraska head coach Scott Frost in the 2023 recruiting class. The Roswell, GA, native elected to stay true to his original commitment to Nebraska while they were undergoing their regime change. According to On3’s Industry Rankings, Nation was a three-star recruit in the 2023 class, ranking No. 484 nationally and No. 52 at cornerback.

Rhule discusses how quickly freshmen receivers could push for roles 

The Matt Rhule era of Nebraska Cornhuskers football is set to kick off on August 31 against Minnesota. This season will be an all-hands-on-deck approach for the Cornhuskers, especially if they want to wash the taste out of their mouth from their 4-8 season in 2022.

With that in mind, Nebraska will take contributions from any and all who are willing and ready to help the team succeed this season. But Rhule is not looking for his freshman players to contribute right out of the gate unless they prove they’re up for the challenge. When it comes to his incoming talent, particularly at wideout, the Cornhuskers headman believes it is his veteran players they need to set the tone starting in Week 1. 

“Yeah, I’m giving them all an opportunity to play. I don’t know that we need any of the freshmen to play at wideout,” said Rhule. “We’d love to have them play if they’re ready. But the older guys know how to play. That first game, the team were playing, that’s gonna be a grown man game. They play real football.”