Zavier Betts leaves Nebraska football program

Nebraska football got quite a shakeup on the roster with the news that a player has left the team. On Saturday, head coach Matt Rhule shared news that Zavier Betts was no longer on the roster.

“On a personnel note, Zavier Betts has left the team. Came to me and just said, ‘Hey, Coach, my heart’s not in it.’ Very, very, very proud of Zavier for what he’s done as a person, getting eligible. I think he intends to stay in school, work to graduate. Obviously, as I told him, disappointed in the timing but what we ask people to do is hard and if their heart’s not in it, we certainly understand.”

His roller-coaster relationship with the program continues as this is not the first time Betts has left the team.

“The news of Betts’ departure comes as a surprise, as he rejoined the program in January after initially leaving in the spring of (2022),” Husker Online wrote. “Betts returned to the team after entering the transfer portal for less than a week in January.”

For now, Betts is off the roster and Nebraska is moving forward without him for the fall.

More background on Zavier Betts

Betts was a terrific recruiting win for the Huskers back in the 2020 class as he was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 106 overall player in his cycle by the On3 Industry Rankings. And in his first season with the Cornhuskers, Betts made good on that recruiting pedigree by finishing third on the team in receiving yards as a true freshman that fall despite only playing in six games.

In his second season, 2021, Betts only improved his numbers, going from just six games played to appearing in all 12 that year while recording 20 catches for 286 yards, this time ranking fourth on the team. Then, he missed all of the 2022 season after deciding to leave the sport for a while.

Once healthy mentally and physically and in a good standing academically, Betts opted to rejoin the team at the beginning of this offseason to play under new head coach Matt Rhule. Now, he has reportedly decided to leave the team once again, this time, just before the season begins.

To replace Betts, who figured to be at least a rotation member in the WR room, the Huskers have options and versatility. Billy Kemp comes in from Virginia as a do-everything player as an offensive weapon, while Marcus Washington returns as a bigger-framed target who was second on the team in receiving yards a year ago. That’s still a solid duo to headline your receiver room.