As Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football team prepares for the 2025 season, it seems as though there might be a new team on the rise in the Big Ten. Things can shift quickly and powerbases can grow or shrink quicker than they ever used to thanks to the transfer portal and NIL.
While the Huskers are almost certainly glad that they were able to stay out of the Nico Iamaleava nonsense, you can’t argue that he’s not a talented quarterback. And now, he’s with a school NU will have to face off against this fall in UCLA. Worse than that is that it looks like the Bruins finally have a bag. They finally have some real cash to hand out.
That was demonstrated quite convincingly when it was reported that the Nebraska football team’s Big Ten rival is a finalist for the best wide receiver in the portal at the moment. Syracuse transfer WR Trebor Pena has locked down three visits, to UCLA, Miami and USC. While it’s far from a given he’ll be a Bruin it sure seems like he’ll be in the Big Ten.
Nebraska football must keep an eye on UCLA’s fast-rising Big Ten threat
Should Pena, who hauled down 84 catches for 941 yards and 9 touchdowns last year pick the same school as Iamaleava, it would certainly give the former Tennessee Volunteer an impressive weapon to throw to.
Should Pena pull the trigger for L.A. he would join Mikey Matthews from Cal for UCLA’s wide receiver corps. And of course the real problem is that even if Deshaun Foster doesn’t have his squad ready to compete for a conference title, his squad has already been a thorn in the side of Nebraska.
If Foster’s team really is going to land this kind of transfer player, then Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football team really need to watch out. It’s possible there’s a new power rising in the conference. Things are at a tipping point and the Big Ten could shift.