Matt Rhule reveals Luke Reimer taken to hospital before Michigan game

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had a scare with one of their players on Saturday morning, ahead of their game against the Michigan Wolverines. Linebacker Luke Reimer was taken to the hospital this morning from the team hotel.

He was injured earlier in the week. The senior was in a lot of pain at breakfast, the Cornhuskers head coach said, before he was taken to the hospital, per Mitch Sherman of The Athletic.

Following his team’s 45-7 loss to the Michigan Wolverines, Rhule also spoke with the media on Reimer’s injury in his postgame press conference on Saturday night.

“Luke was not available for us today. Our thoughts and prayers are with Luke. He was unfortunately taken to the hospital this morning from the hotel, so we’re hoping that he’ll be ok. Expect him to be ok. But we’re just erring with abundance of caution for him,” Rhule said following the game.

“So, obviously, Luke was injured this week and just so you guys know, I never lie to you guys. He said, ‘I’m gonna be fine.’ And he just started having some yesterday and they said it was nothing. They gave him an antibiotic and the antibiotic didn’t heal it. So, they just wanted to rule out infections, MRSA, and all those things. I don’t have knowledge of it now, but that was a complete and total surprise to me this morning. It was actually at breakfast,” Rhule continued. The doctors came to me, and I said, ‘Listen, let’s get him to the hospital. Last thing I would want would be for something worse to happen.’

This season, Reimer has racked up 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.

In 2022, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the media and the league’s coaches. He led the team with 86 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. Reimer tacked on five pass breakups and one interception. He also earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in 2021, after he racked up 108 tackles (career-high), six tackles for loss, and one sack.

The Michigan Wolverines scored 45 points before Nebraska finally got on the scoreboard on Saturday with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Joshua Fleeks scored on a 74-yard touchdown run. He was the bright spot on a brutal Saturday afternoon for the Cornhuskers.

Next up, Nebraska will face off against the Illinois Fighting Illini. That one will be on Friday, Oct. 6th. Kickoff for that one is slated for 8 p.m. EST.