While not exactly a surprise, Nebraska football recruiting efforts took a bit of a hit on Thursday morning as Malachi Coleman opened his recruitment. The news in fact, might have been expected the longer new head coach Matt Rhule went without announcing Mickey Joseph was going to be retained. Last night’s events made keeping the former interim head coach on staff impossible.
Malachi Coleman was huge get for Joseph and his Nebraska football recruiting efforts earlier this year. But it was made clear from the very beginning that if the Huskers wanted to keep Coleman, they were going to have to keep Joseph.
Coleman made his decommit official on Thursday when he announced he was going to be reopening his recruitment. On his Twitter account, the top in-state prospect announced he was going to “step back” and reevaluate the Nebraska football team and its new coaching staff.
That does mean of course, that the door might not be entirely closed on Nebraska. It does mean that Matt Rhule and company are going to have to convince Coleman that the Huskers are still a fit even without Joseph.
Respect my decision. All love Nebraska!! @Hayesfawcett3 @AllenTrieu @Rivals_Clint @ParkerThune @adamgorney pic.twitter.com/OA1EKLluWi
— Malachi Coleman (@ChiColeman23) December 1, 2022
That will no doubt be a tall order, considering just how close a relationship the prospect had with the coach. Coleman made no bones about telling anyone who would listen that Mickey Joseph was like a father figure to him. Rhule isn’t going to have the kind of time to build the same kind of relationship.
In fact, there really isn’t anyone left on the staff that Coleman had any kind of relationship at all with at this point. Outside of Joseph, that’s got to be a pretty good reason why he’s reopened his recruiting.
Where Could Nebraska Football Recruiting Target Go?
So where might the Lincoln East athlete end up? There certainly isn’t a lack of options. Coleman has offers from all over the country.
Georgia, Oklahoma, USC and Michigan are just a few of the programs that are almost certainly stoked about the recent announcement. Now the Nebraska football recruiting efforts are going to have to really ramp up if Rhule wants to keep Coleman from leaving home.