Tom Osborne is at the Big Red sidelines, Scott Forest is doing the playmaking duties, and Ahman Green is dropping his shoulders to leave the best of DLs scraping in the grass. Sure felt dreamy, right? Well, this was probably the last good old days Cornhuskers would see when they won their last Natty in 1997 under the legendary Tom Osborne. The years’ post that would see Nebraska changing five coaches as the good old days were long fading into oblivion. All that was to change after Matt Rhule took over in 2022, furthermore, the signing of the country’s number 1 QB prospect in 2024 would surely see Nebraska’s dark clouds disappear right? Not that easily.

The Cornhuskers wrapped up their 2024 season after their 7-6 finish, their first winning season since 2016. While that may seem pretty positive, Matt Rhule has more on his plate right now to deal with, and the 2025 season doesn’t exactly provide the promise of so much improvement. But where exactly are the dark clouds?

Well, to put it very bluntly, everywhere. But, first and foremost, their QB Dylan Raiola (the much anticipated and well-talked prospect of 2024) has some work to do in the weight training department if Coach Rhule is to be believed. Rhule in a recent press conference had some words of advice for Raiola, “Mastering himself, getting quicker, getting his weight to the proper weight, continuing to learn the offense, mastering his fundamentals“. So, it seems the QB still has a lot of work to do before he can contribute his full potential to Nebraska. Wilson Dittman, who runs a Nebraska Insider YouTube channel, also weighed on the issue.

Wilson said, “I think what really happened with his weight this year was he was so focused on gaining weight, putting on muscle, the second he got to Nebraska where obviously when you’re eating that much and working out that much, you’re getting a little bit of fat along with muscle. So yeah, he did have a little bit of a beer belly in there, right?”. If Wilson is believed, then Dylan undoubtedly has a lot to do in his fitness department, as many would say some issues were evident against his performance against Iowa in their last regular season game. However, Wilson also has some positives.

Wilson Added, “Dylan Raiola is going to slim down this summer, but it’s interesting that that Matt Rhule mentioned that he needs to go to his proper weight because it is probably the right idea again. I think him slimming down a little bit better, it’s going to be good for his mobility, good for his elusiveness, uh, good for him to get outside the pocket, so that should be mentioned.”

And Wilson is spot on here, too, because although he did complete the season with a 67% pass completion rate, that’s not what he was poised to deliver when signed in 2024. Moving on, it seems that one of the transfer speculation involving Rhule and a player isn’t dying down, and Rhule had words on that, too, in a recent press conference.

Transfer speculation ended for the 1500-yard player?

Matt Rhule addressed the speculation head-on while clarifying various rumors circulating in the media. He was answering a question as to whether he is satisfied with the players coming in from the transfer portal or not. Rhule said that while he was generally satisfied with the talent, he warned that he would not bring any player in his roster who is not fit for the culture at Nebraska. Notably, he also added that without naming any player, one of his transfers was almost a done deal, but due to various circumstances, that wasn’t done. Still, the primary factor was the player not fitting into the culture at Nebraska. Wilson Dittman provides answers to the speculation.

“It became very clear with his interactions with the players with the coaching staff that it just wasn’t going to work out not this guy isn’t a terrible human being, but he just didn’t fit the culture, and he went on his way now we can speculate about who this is I think I feel pretty confident this is Eric Rivers, FIU wide receiver. All signs pointed to him committing to Nebraska. Obviously, he didn’t go over to Georgia Tech; instead, I don’t know, and that’s me speculating. I feel pretty good about that”. Well, that does explain a lot because not going with a player like Eric Rivers, who has accumulated more than 1,500 receiving yards, is still a pretty bold decision. The verdict?

Well, Eric definitely would have been a good signing to add after the departures of various key players. However, Nebraska has still signed some very good players in the receiving department, such as Cortez Mills and Isiah Mozee. Furthermore, his transfer additions in 4-star Dane Key from Kentucky Wildcats and Nyziah Hunter from California. All these additions have immense promise and will certainly ease Cornhuskers’ concerns. After all, for Coach Rhule, team culture reigns paramount.