The Nebraska Cornhuskers, under coach Matt Rhule, have entered the second phase of their strategic program rebuild, shifting from a wide-net approach to a highly selective and precise strategy for recruiting and roster construction. This transition follows a successful foundational period where Rhule focused on bringing in a large volume of developmental talent to establish a competitive baseline. Now Rhule is turning towards a targeted approach that he hopes will push the Cornhuskers back to the top of the college football landscape.
Per SI.com, Rhule recently confirmed this new strategy, stating that the team now has enough young players that they can be “very select” in their future recruiting classes, specifically targeting “difference makers.” He admitted that when he first arrived, he felt he had to “flip over everything” to create a baseline of talent for a program that was in total disarray. Now that he believes the baseline is established (call it “Phase One” of his rebuilding plan), he can move on to his next goal.
The numbers illustrate a clear change in Nebraska’s approach. The volume of high school recruiting is declining dramatically, while the team’s reliance on the transfer portal is simultaneously increasing. See the chart below:
The size of Nebraska’s high school recruiting classes peaked in 2024 with 33 players, dropped to 20 in the 2025 class, and is projected to be extremely small for the 2026 class, with Rhule expecting to add only one or two more guys to the 10 currently committed. In contrast, the team is aggressively using the transfer portal, going from acquiring about 10 players in 2023 and 9 in 2024, to adding 17 transfer portal players in 2025. This shows a clear transition to acquiring known, proven quantities to plug specific holes in the roster, rather than relying solely on developmental high school prospects.
Rhule’s initial “Phase One” strategy was clearly a success. His goal was to get Nebraska out of the dumpster fire of a roster situation they were in. And he succeeded by all accounts in doing that. The analytics confirm this improvement. Per data from TRU Media, Nebraska’ offense had an Expected Points Added (EPA) per play that was negative in 2023 (-0.12). In 2024 it moved to basically neutral (0.03), and has become positive in the current year (0.13).
A similar improvement was observed when it came to the passing game. Nebraska’s EPA per dropback (per TRU Media) was negative in 2023 and 2024, but has moved definitively into positive territory for the 2025 season. This dramatic shift proves that the team has addressed its fundamental lack of talent and can now operate with a level of efficiency.
It’s clear that Rhule has upgraded the Cornhusker’s roster to the point where they are no longer terrible (2023) or mediocre (2024). They are now solid and can now focus on refinement and adding elite difference makers.
The challenge of rebuilding Nebraska is compounded by the elite competition in the Big Ten, where the baseline level of competitive talent is significantly higher than the Group of Five or Big 12 conferences where Rhule had previous rebuilding success. By reaching this new baseline, Rhule can now afford to be patient and precise, focusing all recruiting efforts on truly elite players who will elevate the team from simply being solid to becoming a contender. This selectivity, combined with the ability to acquire proven talent via the transfer portal, provides Nebraska with a clear strategy to continue its upward trajectory and compete for Big Ten championships. This marks the first time in well over a decade that the Nebraska program has had such a clear and executable path for a sustained turnaround.
Disclaimer: The content of this article was originally published as a YouTube video on the SMI College Football Show YouTube channel. With AI assistance, the publisher of the video created this article based on the content of that video.
