The 2025 off-season unraveled a new side of Matt Rhule. Other than being a head coach, Rhule came off as a forecaster. Even before the transfer portal opened, Nebraska’s football coach expected a mass player exodus. “Think this year, we’re going to end up with 30-50 guys (Nebraska players) in the portal with the roster (limit),” he said. And he was right. Rhule ended up losing 36 players. He hoped all his players would stay and develop, but he wasn’t overly concerned when some chose to leave. Instead he’s doubling down on recruiting.
When it comes to the 2026 class, Nebraska holds the No.63 rank with five recruits. So what if they’re yet to pick up the recruiting pace for the 2026 class? Matt Rhule is already eyeing a 2027 recruit. That’s none other than cornerback prospect Aaryn Washington. Now, what’s the craze about the young player who already holds offers from Rhule’s squad and the USC Trojans?
The four-star prospect from Mater Dei High School has officially accepted his invitation to the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl. Selected for the 26th Navy All-American Bowl, Washington will play in the annual East vs. West matchup featuring the nation’s top 100 high school football players on January 10, 2026.
While Washington made his first trip to Lincoln, he was impressed with Matt Rhule and Co.’s efforts. He said, “Love those guys, very down to earth guys. They keep it real with you. That’s what I like most about them.” More than his interaction with Rhule, Washington is counting on his genuine connection with Cornhuskers defensive coach Addison Williams. “I look for good scenery. The facilities, it’s like, yes, you could have everything. It’s going to be nice, but really it’s the people around you.”
Aaryn Washington added, “I’ve kind of had that relationship for maybe two months or a month. It’s been frequent though, he’s been calling me like every week, so I was excited to get down here and meet him because I talked to him on the phone, I got the vibe from him that he’s real, so I want to see what he’as about in real life.”
Washington had kept his bar low for Lincoln, hailing from Santa Ana, California. While the environment broke all the expectations, the young chap is impressed with how Matt Rhule’s football team has left a footprint. “I didn’t think it had a city at all. I thought it was just straight fields, just lands and a couple of buildings.” But now? “It’s pretty cool to see Nebraska.”
“Nebraska football is like the NFL team for the state. The fans are in-tune, like they care about you, they’re always going to have their hand out for you. It’s pretty cool.” Now, is Aaryn Washington’s recent interest related to Rhule’s squad’s significant additions worth $165 million?
Inside Matt Rhule’s new $165 million paradise
Already, there are too many things on Rhule’s plate. Wilson Dittman had dished out a warning for the Cornhuskers to take no foe lightly. “This is none other than taking care that you are actually supposed to win every year we look at the schedule, and we get hyped up about the Michigan game, we get hyped about the Iowa game, the Penn State game.” However, while Rhule must be cooking up a strong blueprint to make no more blunders this time, he did not forget to transform the Lincoln campus.
Now, what better way to woo the high school recruits than providing them with the best of training opportunities? The Huskers revamped the look of their Hawks Championship Center. This glow-up had cost them a hefty $165 million dollars. Originally opened in 2006, the Hawks Championship Center was designed to be a year-round indoor practice facility. It featured a full-length field and weight rooms.
With time, top-tier programs started investing heavily in cutting-edge player development facilities. Spreading across 315,000 square feet, the new facility has a training table, recovery stations, and swimming pools in the backyard. The players are going to walk through a room, a locker room, that leads right into the weight room.
And it passed the quality check. As analyst Andrew Irvins stated, “My takeaway was, man, the infrastructure is there in Lincoln, everything is paid for with the facility. Matt Rhule’s player development is right, again, go to his time in Baylor, go to his time in Temple, taken some guys that slipped through the cracks that have NFL traits, in turning them into future players. I think for a program that prides itself in the offensive line play, and taking guys for a young freshman and turning them into NFL players, this is the building they need. There is no reason for a student athlete there in Nebraska to ever have to leave the complex. Tom, it’s all there.” It seems like Matt Rhule’s ‘revamping act’ greatly impressed Aaryn Washington, sparking major FOMO.
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