Things are pretty hot in the Huskers fam it seems. In the winter window of the transfer portal, Matt Rhule and co. lost almost 22 players. However, their woes still continue. Nebraska lost more players who chose to swap wagons to the NFL. Their football defensive lineman Ty Robinson, corner Tommi Hill, tight end Thomas Fidone, and wide receiver Isaiah Neyor are headed to the NFL Combine. While this comes off as a huge achievement for Rhule to have produced NFL-material players, an analyst sounds an alarm for the HC. After all, Rhule will have a tough time now that the NFL has got a 23-year-old Huskers player as the steal deal from Nebraska.

Looks like the road ahead of Rhule is going to be pretty tough. Do you remember the time when Nebraska used to create terror? Yes, we are talking about Rhule’s QB Dylan Raiola pulling off the Patrick Mahomes doppelganger look. Sadly, the signal-caller failed to execute the Mahomes blueprint when it came to playing on the gridiron. After a lackluster 7-6 season, Rhule got blown away by players falling like dominoes. But again some things are inevitable. Right now, the Huskers lost their three starters – Nash Hutmacher, Ty Robinson, and Jimari Butler. The Nebraska HC tapped into the damage control mode by bringing in players like Jaylen George and Gabe Moore. Will that be enough? Well, the Huskers alum Jason Peter is not quite convinced.

According to him, Rhule has to pay heavy costs for losing the 23-year-old Robinson. On the Carriker Chronicles podcast, Peter stated, “Ty, he really played strong for us last year. Was a really good player. Losing both him and Nash who also was successful – that’s tough. It’s tough to replace one of those guys, let alone two.” The 6’6” and 310-pounder had shown enough versatility. Even though it took him several years to become a mainstay on their defensive unit, his final season was his breakout year. Rhule’s Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year tallied 37 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks last season.

Peter further added, “When you talk about leadership, Ty is one of the guys that kind of assumed the reigns as a leader. Leadership now is going to be more important than ever right because now you’ve got so many guys that are coming in transfer portal guys.” After all, Robinson comes off as the best example for maintaining gap integrity and uses his strong hands to control blockers at the point of attack. So can Rhule now count on Raiola as the leader after Robinson? 

Nebraska alum Jason Peter’s advice for Matt Rhule’s QB Dylan Raiola

Now it’s a 50-50 situation. Peter believes that Rhule’s QB is going to earn the leader tag only on one criterion. “He’s got to run you know how you earn the respect of all your teammates and the 90,000 people in the stands,” stated the Nebraska alum. He further pointed out the thing that the QB needs to change about himself, “You run over some people and you start sacrificing your body putting yourself on the line. That’s the only way, especially for a quarterback who’s not getting touched during the week in practice.”

Looks like Rhule has something in mind when it comes to locking the doors for the player roster. It seems that the Huskers are likely to make a bold decision. And with it, they would be bidding goodbye to the spring game. While we are yet to get the confirmation, the tradition hints at it. 

On the Wilson Dittman Sports podcast, the host stated, “Huskers have not set a date for their 2025 spring game you know in the past they’ve usually finalized date by December by November by early January. This is the latest they’ve ever took it.” In doing so, the young freshman will not be getting offers from other programs. Rather Matt Rhule would arrange for a spring practice. Let’s hope that the HC’s plan of action comes to fruition and the Cornhuskers get back on track.