The recruitment process in college football is more convoluted than the playbooks themselves now. The dynamic shift has been rather stark. It’s no more than in the ancient era when recruiting was often about how much a coach praises your mom’s cooking when they visit your family home. The advent of NIL has made it a completely different proposition. A more binary one, about zeroes. At the same time, this process is in a state of flux. With the House Settlement and revenue sharing on the horizon, there’s an air of uncertainty. You can either be proactive to the new legislature, or be reactive. Matt Rhule and Nebraska are looking to adopt the former. However, it’s causing them to ruffle some feathers and make some enemies.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers’ pursuit of prosperity is unwavering. The Big Red has been drifting through the abyss of mediocrity for too long now. Year 2 of the Matt Rhule era entailed more of the same—moments of greatness and moments of growth. That said, the Huskers’ trajectory remained an upward one. The program finally breached the 6-win bowl eligibility criteria after a 7-year rut. Even winning said bowl game. But this blueblood yearns for more, much more. The introduction of rev-sharing presents as a line in the sand, a clean slate. An opportunity for Nebraska to flip the script and get back to their pedestal. As a result, athletic director Troy Dannen is taking early measures. But it’s come at the cost of some backlash, and Matt Rhule’s facing the music. He’s doubling down, though.
Lincoln’s iconic Memorial Stadium is a football cauldron. The historic stadium has seen better days, though, and is due to undergo a renovation in 2027. As a result of this, Nebraska will be forced into a lower capacity for home games. Which means lower revenue from ticket sales. A potential handicap right at the onset of “revenue” sharing. This would’ve put the Huskers behind the 8-ball in terms of the offers they could make to players. However, Troy Dannen has seemingly avoided that. How? By scheduling extra home games to offset the decreased ticket sales. But this meant they had to cancel their scheduled 2-game series against Tennessee, one of which was away in Rocky Top. This extremely short-notice cancellation has caused havoc.
Sources: Tennessee and Nebraska are canceling their upcoming football series, which was schedule for 2026 in Lincoln and 2027 in Knoxville. A driver of the move was Nebraska wanting eight home games in 2027 when they expected reduced stadium capacity because of renovations.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 21, 2025
Nebraska will instead play Bowling Green in ‘26 and Miami (OH) in ‘27. Matt Rhule was asked whether this sort of step was necessary merely to increase revenue. He backed his AD’s decision. As well as reiterated just how much of a disadvantage he’s at on the recruitment front, which needed to change from his perspective. “I see Troy taking a lot of heat on all sides. Like, this is going to be a financial gain,” he said during his spring presser.
It seemed like this and the rest of his statements were directed at the Huskers faithful. A sentiment shared by Connor Happer and Mitch Sherman of the “Locked on Nebraska” podcast. Rhule was attempting to at least quell their outrage at canceling games against Tennessee for relatively weaker opposition. Matt Rhule continued to clear the air. Along with an anecdotal reference of why this extra revenue is important.
“Now, I’m stupid for even saying this. Because I’m gonna take a bunch of heat for it. But you can’t have everything…When I go recruit kids in Florida and Georgia, they’re like, ‘Coach, what are we wearing? This uniform or that uniform?’…You want the good recruits. We got it. We got to just make a decision here, like, where we want to go. There’s a big financial component to [the recruiting],” said Matt Rhule. He was basically driving home the point that Nebraska can’t win unless they have good players and can’t have good players unless they have money. Sacrificing 2 great games on paper serves the greater good, and the fans need to understand that.
This decision has also caused Nebraska to hold corn from Tennessee. Both the fans and the brass. Their AD, Danny White, called the decision “disappointing.” Alas, coach Rhule won’t care. He’ll just kick this proverbial can down the road for 2026. For 2025 is what’s more ominous. Unfortunately, his preparation isn’t going swimmingly. The reasoning is a tad embarrassing, and QB1 Dylan Raiola is at the crux of it.
Matt Rhule’s woes piled onto by Dylan Raiola
Sportspeople are naturally obsessive characters. Obsessed with honing their craft and becoming better, obsessed with winning, obsessed with the flash and pageantry that comes with success. Often obsessed with their role models too, which is the case with Dylan Raiola. A star in his own right, but someone who tends to force the persona of his doppelganger Patrick Mahomes. Well, he may have taken his attempts at duplicating Mahomes a little too far.
Raiola is the archetypal modern quarterback. He’s good from inside the pocket but also mobile enough to maneuver outside it. This mobility is a weapon of his. Molding this weapon into potent runs downfield by using his legs to rush to a timely first down is something Matt Rhule and his staff are trying to instill into the malleable QB entering his true sophomore year. However, Raiola’s apparently gained a little bit too much weight. Which negates his mobility. Now Mahomes is known to carry a little extra weight, a dad bod, if you may. Particularly in the off-season. But Raiola probably doesn’t need to duplicate that aspect of him. Coach Rhule has addressed these weight concerns firsthand.
“[Dylan Raiola] is really working on his body composition. He won’t be a great quarterback at 240 lbs, right? So getting his body composition to where he can be fleet of foot, slide nimbly, and move within the pocket—where he can convert third downs with his feet—that’s something we’re all bought into, and he has to continue to do,” said Matt Rhule. He was forced to verbalize this after a video of Raiola’s gear looking rather tight in training went viral on the airwaves.
With plenty of time before fall, Raiola has got to be looking to get into optimal shape for when the season begins. As for Matt Rhule, he’ll be pleased to see the program not being averse to taking drastic steps in order to maximize their chances. AD Troy Dannen’s decision entails one backward step to take 2 forwards. The Big Red is finally breaking from its slumber.
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