Nebraska Cornhuskers and Dylan Raiola are capping off a better season than the past few years and they are aiming to be the best in 2025. Quick pointer? The keen attention to the transfer portal moves. The college football reality is blazing with crazy schedule stumbling and the volatile flipping amidst the peak season. Be it Baeau Pribula or Bryce Underwood. Nobody knows when the biggest weapons turned into the biggest loopholes without notice. All thanks to the bigger NIL motivation. Raiola, 19, was heavily speculated to draw a lump sum of $12.5 million if he ever hit the transfer portal. Although the young QB phenom crushed the idea like a mic drop, the last thing Matt Rhule can do is sleep on him. If not an alternative, the coach should scout bug names on portals.

Texas A&M’s offensive right-hand man can be an asset to the Nebraska camp, and Rhule is leaving no stone unturned to make it a deal.

Matt Rhule eyes key Texas A&M sensation to dung his roster

Texas A&M Junior wide receiver Noah Thomas has graced the portal after mounting three bittersweet seasons under coaches Jimbo Fisher and Mike Elko. From the very start, his stint held a lot of promise to a rousing team. Due to his 6-6 frame and large catch radius. Although injury got the better of him sometimes and restricted his pursuit to become the No. 1 receiving option, Thomas remained a lucrative catch for any Big 10 giant. The Cornhuskers aren’t an exception.

”He is a Nebraska Legacy. His dad is Will Thomas, who was a safety back in the ’90s for the Huskers, and his uncle is a familiar name to many. Brodrick Thomas on that defensive line. So, he’s a guy who grew up around the Nebraska program. Again, Dad and Uncle were football players for the Huskers,” insider Wilson Dittman dropped an easy success formula for coach Rhule.

His career-high 39 receptions, 574 yards, and eight touchdowns, including a 73-yard touchdown during the stupendous win against Arkansas, remains an eye-soothing highlight of the season. However, the Aggies wrapped off their season with a massive USC loss. And Thomas made up his mind to move on. If he brings it to Lincoln, the personal push might add a lot of spark.

But that was not it. The Cornhuskers tried to swoop him in earlier as well. But the kid picked up the Aggies over them. As per Dittman, ”Nebraska offered him actually out of high school; they were very involved in that process a couple of years ago. I remember him extensively as a high school recruit; I wanted him badly. He ended up committing to Texas A&M, but Nebraska was the runner-up in that process. That was back when Scott Frost was the coach.” 

But Rhule is not Frost, after all. Besides nailing it on the field, the veteran coach has long been making noise at the portal since December 9th. The plethora of talents in the 2025-2026 class carries zero doubt over his recruiting brilliance. So, it would not be surprising if he took another man down from the competitors.

”He might want to come and play for where his dad and uncle played, and I’d imagine Nebraska would be interested here as well. It should be noted that when Dana Holgorsen was at Houston, they gave this guy an offer, so they were actively pursuing him as well,” the insider rounded speculation off on an optimistic note. That bodes well for this recruitment, as the OC likes the player too.

Rhule has many more manipulative weapons to use in his favor to stockpile more big names among the portal.

Matt Rhule has been on a tear in the Transfer portal 

Trey Lathan, the standout linebacker, is another overriding goal. The kid has left WVU, following in the footsteps of head coach Neal Brown. But it seems the Miami Gulliver Prep product is on his way to rekindle his relationship with another former coach.

Ever since Lathan threw himself into the open forum, schools have relentlessly been trying to impress him with hooks or crooks. The young talent scheduled a visit to Miami on January 2nd. But Nebraska has been a step ahead of their race.

Matt Rhule and his squad have a serious chance to take the kid in. Nebraska’s new outside linebackers coach, Phil Simpson, belongs to the Florida area, and he reportedly has some connections to Lathan.

Rhule recently took the CFB by storm. He successfully lured former Kentucky Wildcats player Dane Key to Lincoln. He had a prior connection to WR coach James Coley and is largely expected to nail the revamped offense alongside Dylan Raiola and Holgorsen.

Matt Rhule is flourishing beyond the bar. His manipulations are working right. Now, wait and watch for him to settle another score with the same nit-picky mastermind.