Nebraska Football: Colton Feist hangs up his helmet

While the news has mostly been positive since Matt Rhule took over Nebraska football, it’s been a rough week. On the recruiting front, the Huskers are still looking relatively strong. However, when it comes to holding onto his own players, Rhule has hit a bumpy road.

On Wednesday evening, Colton Feist confirmed earlier reports that he was leaving the Nebraska football program. He becomes the second defensive veteran in as many days who announced he was leaving the Huskers. The good news is that neither he nor Garrett Nelson are going to another school. The bad news is the new staff has to work even harder to find a way to build up a defensive line for the 2023 season.

While Nelson is gunning for the NFL, Colton Feist is ending his playing career altogether. He told On3 that instead of looking to play at another school or on the next level, he will become an insurance agent.

He also took to Twitter to thank Nebraska football fans.

"“It was one of the toughest decisions of my life to walk away from playing football at Nebraska, but it was time for me to move on. Thanks for everything Husker Nation!”"

Nebraska Football Loses Veteran

The rebuilding job of Matt Rhule and his staff was always going to be a tough one. That’s especially because the Huskers seem a bit light when it comes to impact defensive linemen. They are even lighter now with Feist and Nelson stepping away.

Feist, like Nelson had his best season as a member of the Cornhuskers in 2022. He logged 46 total tackles and 19 solo takedowns.

Those numbers will obviously be hard to replace. The question as to why both he and Nelson arrived at decisions to leave in back-to-back days is one that needs answered. Whether that answer ever becomes public is unlikely, however.