As Matt Rhule enters his third year of the Nebraska football rebuild, it’s still not all that surprising that he only had two players taken in this year’s NFL Draft.
After all, Rhule has long been known as the kind of guy whose rebuilds take a few years. Year one tends to be about finding the guys to play and year 2 is about finally starting to turn things around. The Huskers are on that schedule and even still, Ty Robinson was taken in the fourth round and Thomas Fidone was selected in the sixth round.
Nebraska football’s fight against NFL-loaded Ohio State proves brighter days are ahead
While only getting two draft picks this weekend might have Nebraska football fans wondering if things really are moving in the right direction, there was one big sign that things are moving in the right direction and that Matt Rhule is a lot closer to turning things around than it might appear.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were a juggernaut towards the end of the season. They mowed through the College Football Playoffs until the second half against Notre Dame. And as it turns out, they absolutely should have.
After all Ryan Day’s squad was known to have talent. But it’s not clear if everyone knew that they had the kind of talent to see a near-record 14 players selected this past weekend. That has them just one selection off from the modern day record. And yet, the Huskers gave them everything they could handle when the two teams met head-to-head in 2024.
Nebraska fans are fed up with moral victories and “almost there” games but that wasn’t really what happened against OSU. For most of that Saturday afternoon, NU looked like the better squad. If not for some unfortunate umpiring, they might have walked away with the victory.
There have been, of course, several games that the Cornhuskers should have won under Rhule that they did not. Illinois, UCLA, USC, and Iowa should have all been in the win column in 2024. But it feels as though unlike when discussion around Scott Frost centered on close losses, that Matt Rhule’s squad is poised to take the next step.
Nebraska football beat a team that had 14 of its stars headed to the next level. That’s something to hold up as proof that things are moving in the right direction. Now they just need to prove it on the field.