On3 Roundtable: Matt Rhule, Nebraska starting to prioritize recruiting over transfer portal

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule made an immediate impact in the transfer portal for the Cornhuskers this offseason. The team has landed 14 players out of the portal since the end of the 2022 season.

That group includes potential impact players like former Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims, former Georgia linebacker MJ Sherman, former Texas A&M defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy, former Georgia tight end Arik Gilbert and former Virginia wide receiver Billy Kemp.

But going forward, Rhule might not use the transfer portal as much as he did this year. Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline.com hopped on with Andy Staples on On3 Roundtable to discuss the changes occurring within the Huskers program.

One of the things they discussed was whether or not Rhule plans on using the transfer portal or the recruiting trail as his main source of team building.

“I think that’s the hope,” Callahan said. “That’s the goal. They took over 10 transfers a year ago and obviously Scott Frost in his final year took well over 10. They live heavy on the portal. Frost did it because he was trying to save his job. He got players like Casey Thompson and Trey Palmer and Ochaun Mathis and whatnot. We saw Rhule do it in some key areas like getting quarterback Jeff Sims, wide receiver Billy Kemp, getting Ben Scott on the offensive line, getting MJ Sherman from Georgia.”

Callahan believes the Sherman commitment could be a harbinger of what’s to come with Nebraska’s transfer portal recruiting strategy. The Huskers, he said, could be a prime spot for former top recruits to rebuild their college careers.

“I think that’s the formula for Nebraska, getting an MJ Sherman, a five-star that you can’t get on the front end but maybe you get those back-end benefits of the guy that he might be the third or fourth-best edge rusher at Georgia,” Callahan said. “But at Nebraska, he’s your best and in the Big Ten, he’s probably one of the better ones in your league too.”

The 2024 Nebraska recruiting class currently ranks 19th in the 2024 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings. The team last week landed a commitment from key target Carter Nelson, a four-star tight end out of Ainsworth (Neb.) High.

Nelson is the No. 59 overall recruit and No. 1 prospect from Nebraska in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.