Nebraska Football: Matt Rhule draws praise from former Husker on in-state recruiting

Count former Nebraska football star Niles Paul among those who are more than a little impressed with the job Matt Rhule has done on Nebraska kids.

There’s been a ton made about the recruiting job Matt Rhule has done this year. The most recent victory came in the form of Miami prospect Jacory Barney. However, the focus among the fanbase has been Rhule’s focus on the top in-state prospects.

Count former Nebraska football star Niles Paul among those who have definitely noticed the job Rhule and his staff have done in keeping Nebraska kids in Nebraska. The former Huskers’ receiver who forged a career in the NFL as an H-Back and tight end weighed in on what he’s seeing on Twitter late last week.

"“I’m loving how the University of Nebraska is prioritizing their in state talent when it comes to football”"

Paul has a pretty obvious reason for liking what Nebraska football is doing in that vein. He was a homegrown kid himself who played for Omaha North and then for the Cornhuskers from 2007 to 2010. His best season was 2009 when he caught 40 passes for 796 yards and four touchdowns. He then went on to play seven years in the NFL, with all but one of those with the Washington Redskins. His best year in the pros was 2014 when he caught 39 passes for 507 yards and a touchdown.

Nebraska football praised for in-state recruiting

Certainly, Paul has watched other Nebraska football coaches take different approaches to in-state recruiting but Rhule’s has been the most noteworthy since the receiver left school.

The new staff has reeled in a ton of preferred walk-ons that could eventually be contributors to NU but they’ve also nabbed the top four players in the state for the 2024 class. That includes the Bellevue 2 of Isaiah McMorris and Dae’vonn Hall. Of course, the staff also landed the top quarterback in the state in Daniel Kaelin.

Rhule then went out and locked down the top prospect in the state in Carter Nelson.

It hasn’t all been hits. Teddy Rezac, Michael Burt, and Caleb Pyfrom are a few of the well-known high schools in Nebraska that the Huskers have missed out on. So no, Rhule and company’s approach hasn’t been perfect.

But the Nebraska football team is getting accolades as well as they should since they’re in the Top 15 classes in the country according to at least one recruiting site. More people are noticing all the time and that’s only a good thing.