Zavier Betts opens up on decision to withdraw from transfer portal, return to Nebraska

In the spring of 2022, Zavier Betts left Nebraska and ultimately entered the transfer portal in January 2023. He was part of a wave of portal entries in light of the coaching change in Lincoln as Matt Rhule came in.

But just 12 days after entering the portal, Betts ended up withdrawing and will be a Cornhusker after all. he plans to suit up for the first time since 2021, and he said he didn’t have many doubts about coming back under the new regime.

“It was honestly a really easy decision for me to come back and to play,” Betts said on Sports Nightly. “But I really did it for my family and then for the fans, really, because I know a lot of people were sad when I left. Honestly, I felt like I let everybody down, so I wanted to come back and show everybody.”

Betts appeared in 18 games over his two years with Nebraska, including 12 games in 2021. On the whole, he had 417 receiving yards and a touchdown before he missed the 2022 season. He arrived on campus as a highly touted recruit, checking in as the No. 106 player in the nation and the No. 1-ranked prospect in Nebraska from the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

After Betts withdrew from the portal and it became clear he’d be back with the Huskers, Rhule spoke about what it meant for him to make that decision. He sounded excited to get Betts back on the field and help put him in position to succeed.

“I like who he is as a guy. I’m rooting for him,” Rhule said. “I’m anxious to see him get back on the football field and do well in the classroom, so I’m anxious to not just give him a chance but to be an advocate for him. I want him to go places where they have people who don’t entitle him. They don’t enable him. But they advocate for him. So, we’ll do that for Zavier.”

Betts could have some opportunities with Nebraska this year considering the Cornhuskers’ top receiver is off to the NFL. Trey Palmer led the team with 1,043 receiving yards last year and got drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, meaning Marcus Washington is the top returner after totaling 471 yards in 2022.