Matt Rhule had to pivot on some of his beliefs this offseason, with respect to roster management. His philosophy coming in (and the university’s) was to be the kind of program that develops talent over taking major stars. Well, college football has changed, and Rhule has quickly identified that he will have to mix that strategy with an infusion of talent from the transfer portal. In the day and age of NIL money and revenue sharing, in order to compete with the best, you essentially have to identify free agent talent and buy it.
So, Rhule embraced that.
He tops off an impressive 16 recruit transfer portal class with arguably one of his best adds – Rocco Spindler. Spindler, a senior who played last season as a starter at Norte Dame, including in the national championship, committed Sunday. In Spindler’s two years playing as a starter at Norte Dame, he only gave up two sacks. His PFF grades are relatively good too, a 71.8 passer rating and a 70.3 run block grade. Make no mistake about it, this was a huge add and one the Huskers needed to bolster that offensive line.
Rhule has also shown a strong commitment to having the best possible staff around him. This season will have three new coordinators, on offense, defense and now on special teams. On Monday, Nebraska announced that it hired Mike Eckler, Nebraska native and Tennessee special team’s coordinator to fill that vacant position. At Tennessee, Eckler consistently had his unit ranked towards the top of the SEC. He is energetic and passionate. He will push his unit to be the best. This was a great hire by Nebraska.
The Huskers and Matt Rhule are embracing the ever-changing landscape of college football, and Rhule is demonstrating that he is willing to take the big swings to bring back this program from mediocracy.
Go Big Red.