Matt Rhule has gone back against his words. And for good reason. Back in 2023, he was very confident in his old-school recruiting style saying, “We just kind of believe in doing things the old-school way, the hard way – building.” This means the transfer portal wasn’t their necessity. But fast forward to January 2025, Nebraska has been aggressive in their portal participation. They’ve even compiled one of the top transfer classes in the nation. So what’s going on?

Rhule’s team has brought in 16 portal commits and are in line for a couple more transfers. This made them one of the most aggressive programs nationally. So if you ask, how on earth is Nebraska able to land these talents despite an underwhelming season, here’s how…

In a YouTube video released on January 12 captioned, “Nebraska’s GENIUS Transfer Strategy IS CHANGING EVERYTHING😳🔥| REVEALED PLAN | Husker Football Portal”, Nebraska insider Wilson Dittman asked and answered the right questions. “Nebraska has been very aggressive in the transfer portal to say the least. The Huskers have the sixth rated class in all of America. But with that success, there’s been a lot of questions; so many Nebraska fans are asking: Why is Nebraska being so aggressive? Why are they adding so many players? What does this mean for the 105 cap limit that’s being implemented?” he began the video by asking.

For context: As per the House vs NCAA case settlement agreement, new roster limits were reinforced in place of longtime scholarship caps for the 2025-2026 school year. For football, that number was hiked to 105 from 85.

Having said that, Dittman then dived into what’s going on. “Going over Matt Rhule’s genius strategy for Nebraska in this transfer portal class…Now, when Matt Rhule got to Lincoln two years ago, he said that he was not going to be aggressive in the transfer portal. He said that he was going to build this program the old school way, primarily through High School recruiting, and he’s going to supplement through the portal, only get about five or six guys every class. Nebraska blew that out of the water.”

“Matt Rhule has completely reversed his position. He recently addressed that. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ve rethought my stance. You’ve got to be aggressive in the transer portal when it comes to modern day college football. That’s how you’re successful. It’s part of the game. You’ve got to adapt. You’ve got to adapt to survive.’ So Matt Rhule understands how important the transer portal is.”

Calling Rhule’s hiring spree akin to an NFL mini camp, the YouTuber explained, “Right now, for Nebraska, there are 135 people on this roster. They have to cut this down to the summer by 105. They got to cut this down by 30. So what this means is throughout spring practice, nobody has earned a spot, and everybody is competing; everybody is working hard, and at the end of this spring practice, Matt Rhule is going to have to sit down 30 or so people and say, ‘Hey, you got to kick the curb’.”

“Nebraska is going to conduct spring practice like an NFL mini camp.” The significance is that “it means that nobody is safe and everybody’s competing for a roster spot.”

Top Comment by Captain Beyond

We needed this coach and he has lifted this Husker football program. We are now back on the right track .

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“[Nebraska is] taking a bunch of transfers, because there’s no repercussions. You can load up this roster right now, because there’s unlimited roster size until the summer. And it’s basically going to be like a mini camp where you cut these guys. They might be old players, they might be brand new transfers, and then you tell them to move on. It is so incredibly genius…And you might say it hurts the players. It kind of does. It kind of screws over the players. Like it sucks…I’m just throwing an example. Let’s say Jamir Conn comes in and [he] just isn’t one of the Top-10 DBs in this room. You tell him to go. It sucks from a Jamir Conn standpoint. But from a Nebraska standpoint: This is business. And you’re getting the best talent because of this.”

“So the reason why Nebraska’s being so aggressive and they’re stacking these positions like DBs even though they already have a plethora of guys, is because they’re going to cut a bunch of guys,” he said, before adding, “That’s what this whole culture is for Nebraska. It’s earning it, okay? If you want to be in this 105, you’ve got to earn it. Nobody’s spot is safe right now.”

So, all in all, it still goes in line with Rhule’s previous recruiting mindset, which goes, “Recruiting is about finding the guys who are going to be right for you and who will be fit for you.”

So this brilliant mini camp strategy is not only going to give him ample time to make decisions, but it’ll also put all his players in a competitive shape to earn a spot on the roster. But for now, lets take…

A peek into Nebraska’s portal success

A lot of talent entered Matt Rhule’s program following their 7-6 season. Among the 16 portal commits, five of them are on offense, nine on defense, and two on special teams. Per 247 Sports, Nebraska topped the Big Ten transfer rankings with 58.97 points, followed by Oregon with 50.63 points. The Huskers narrowly missed the nation’s top five list for transfer classes sitting at No. 6. 

Nebraska’s 2025 transfer class consists of a former 5-star player, five 4-star players, and 10 3-star players. One of their biggest transfer hauls includes 5-star transfer EDGE Williams Nwaneri. Although he only appeared in the two games at Missouri last season, recording two tackles and a sack, he’s a diamond in the rough. Other lucrative hauls include 4-star Kentucky WR transfer Dane Key and 4-star Alabama OT transfer Elijah Pritchett. 

The CFB is constantly evolving, and it’s the programs that embrace modern strategies that have the best chances of surviving this competitive realm. So, we can’t blame Matt Rhule for going back against his words, can we? After all, it’s for the greater good of Nebraska football!