Trying to Make Sense of a Wild Week for Nebraska Football -

Husker football fans awoke from their slumber on Monday morning, perhaps still a little salty about the loss to Iowa, but comforted by the knowledge that the Big Red will be playing in their first bowl game since 2016.

At this point, Monday feels like a year ago. We will try to unpack everything that happened, and all that it means, over a wild and historic week for Nebraska football.

The Departed. The madness started with reports Monday morning that defensive coordinator (and possibly, defensive line coach Terrance Knighton) would be leaving Nebraska for the same roles at Florida State. This can’t be right, I thought. I could see White leaving for a head coaching job, but why would he take the same job at a program that just finished the season 2-10 and is going through major turmoil? But sure enough, both White and Knighton are heading to Tallahassee.

Wide receivers coach Garret McGuire will also be leaving the program, as it appears he will be heading to Texas Tech, where his Dad serves as the head coach. This wasn’t entirely McGuire’s choice, as the coaching staff will be bringing in a new WR coach (more on that in a moment), but Coach Rhule made it clear during his press conference this week that there was still a place for McGuire on staff if he wanted it.

What to Make of It: It stinks to lose White and Knighton. White flipped the defense immediately upon his arrival, turning a unit that had been a liability during the Frost era into a top 20 performer. And to the Seminoles, no less! I still wake up with nightmares about Charlie Ward, phantom clipping calls and the 1994 Orange Bowl (not really…but kind of).

But this is the reality in modern day college football. Every Power 4 conference program has money to spend and they are all trying to win. The coaching carousel is only going to get more intense every offseason. And, it’s a sign of Nebraska’s success on defense that big name programs want to poach our top coaches. The other side of the coin is that Nebraska can play that game too. Coach Rhule said this week he’s had a ton of interest in the job, including from sitting defensive coordinators at major college programs. He will be interviewing multiple candidates, and I have no doubt Nebraska will hire an excellent defensive coordinator.

Coming Home. Well, they’re not exactly coming home, but it’s their home now. The Huskers locked up offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen–who didn’t even join the staff until there were three games left in the season–with a two year contract. They quickly followed that up by hiring Daikiel Shorts Jr. as wide receivers coach. Shorts played for Holgorsen at West Virginia, and coached with him at Houston. He spent the 2024 season in the same role at Kentucky.

What to Make of It: The Holgorsen news became public the same day as the Tony White departure, and certainly helped ease the blow for Husker fans. Holgorsen is considered an elite offensive coach, and the offense showed marked improvement after his arrival this season, particularly during the 44-point explosion against Wisconsin. I’m excited to see what he can do with a full offseason to design and improve Nebraska’s operation on the offensive side of the ball. As for Shorts, might he bring one or two Wildcat wide receivers with him to Lincoln? Kentucky receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown both entered the transfer portal this week.

Inside Out. Speaking of the transfer portal…the portal giveth and the portal taketh away. As of this writing, 12 Husker players have entered the portal, some of whom would absolutely have been starters and/or contributors next season. After an offseason one year ago where Nebraska was among the schools with the fewest transfers, the Huskers are now seeing quite a bit more activity on that front.

What to Make of It: Eight of the 12 transfers to date are defensive players, so you have to figure the departure of White and Knighton played a role here. Brace yourselves, because there will be many more during this offseason in particular. A new rule requires teams to have no more than 105 players on their rosters. Nebraska has been around 150, so they will have to shed more guys, some of whom they would not have chosen to part with. Not only do they need to get down to 105, but they likely want to make room for some additions of their own through the portal, so we are far from done with seeing players leave the program.

Still, I think most Husker fans were surprised to see players like running back Emmett Johnson and defensive lineman Jimari Butler hit the portal. For fans, the heavy traffic in and out of the program brings with it a sense of uncertainty, as well as sadness to see players leave. What’s more, fans seem to want to ascribe an explanation for the departures: dysfunction in the program, unhappiness with a certain coach, etc.

I’m not saying those things don’t exist. But the reality is, players have more leverage than they’ve ever had before, and they leave for all kinds of reasons. With NIL and revenue sharing, there’s big time money involved now. Most of these guys won’t play in the NFL, so this is their chance to capitalize on their talents and make good money at a young age. Players may also be chasing more playing time, a change of scene, or any number of other things. For now, none of us can say whether the team or roster will be in better shape once the dust settles, and that’s certainly unsettling for fans. Rhule didn’t seem surprised by what was happening at his press conference this week; we have to trust that he was prepared for this, and that the Huskers will be aggressive when it comes to adding players and filling holes through the portal.

A New Hope. To add to the unprecedented activity of the week, Wednesday was National Signing Day for high school recruits. Nebraska finished with the 18th ranked class in the nation according to Rivals, and the 21st ranked class according to 247 Sports. The class was highlighted by linebacker Dawson Merritt, who the staff flipped from Alabama, and wide receiver Cortez Mills, who flipped from Oklahoma. Rhule mentioned both guys on Wednesday as having an opportunity to contribute right away. On top of that, they signed six players from Nebraska, highlighted by four star linebacker Christian Jones, who had offers from a wide range of Big Ten and SEC schools. Seeing guys like Omaha native Xavier Watts shine at Notre Dame is always painful for Husker fans, and it’s good to see the staff locking down the border.

What to Make of It: It’s clear to see that the transfer portal has changed college football forever, and teams are going to have to embrace it whether they like it or not. The portal represents an opportunity for teams to fill holes on their rosters, add talent, and stay competitive, and it would be foolish not to utilize it to help your program.

That said, Matt Rhule has always been a developmental guy, and he prefers to build his teams with high school players who will grow with the program over many years. In the midst of the coaching carousel and the portal drama, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Rhule brought in his third Top 25 class in a row, and a majority of those players are still on the roster.

Final Thoughts. Husker fans who remember the Tom Osborne days appreciate the stability that came with that era. Osborne kept the same assistants for most of his 25 year tenure as head coach. The transfer portal didn’t exist, and transfers in general were much less common in college football. Those days are long gone. Programs and coaches are still learning how to manage it all, and trying to figure out what it takes to build a winner amidst so much change and uncertainty. Matt Rhule seems like a guy who stays flexible, and doesn’t shy from embracing the challenges of the ever evolving college football landscape. He even talked about NIL and revenue sharing as an opportunity for Nebraska to compete for the best players.

Time will tell whether he can get the Big Red back to a national powerhouse.