Even as hot as the Nebraska football team has been on the recruiting front this week, even Matt Rhule can't reel in every single prospect he's targeted. On Friday, the Huskers' heater took a pretty massive hit when they lost the recruiting battle for 4-star wide receiver Matthew Gregory to Big Ten rival UCLA.
Gregory had long held the Bruins as one of the favorites for his services, but in the last few weeks, it looked like the Cornhuskers had made up some serious ground. On Friday, the 4-star Pottstown (Pa.) Owen J. Roberts picked perhaps the only team hotter on the recruiting trail than NU. UCLA's new head coach, Bob Chesney, has a moribund program ranked No. 14 in Rivals' recruiting rankings.
What makes the Huskers' loss to UCLA more frustrating is that the Bruins did not offer Gregory a scholarship until May 9 and hosted him on an official visit on May 29. Meanwhile, Nebraska extended him a scholarship in June of 2025 and was set to host him for an official visit next week, which now looks unlikely to happen.
Of course, a similar situation unfolded just a few weeks ago when Utah edge rusher Ma'atoe Moe committed to the Minnesota Golden Gophers during his official visit to PJ Fleck's school. However, Moe then visited Lincoln the following weekend and decided the Huskers were where he felt more comfortable. With Gregory's visit still officially on the books, Rhule and Co. will almost certainly push hard for him to take it "just to see what's up."
Matthew Gregory commitment to UCLA dents Nebraska football recruiting heater
One of the main reasons the Huskers badly want to get Gregory is that the kid has blazing speed. On the track, he runs 10.55 in the 100-meter dash and 21.17 in the 200-meter dash. Over the last few years, that kind of speed has been the kind of thing NU has … zoomed in on during the Rhule era.
Gregory, the No. 133 player in the 2027 class, the No. 22 receiver, and the No. 8 player in the state of Pennsylvania according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, has, in fact, allowed the Bruins to now jump solidly ahead of Nebraska in the top 25. Now the Huskers will try to work on Matthew Gregory from behind the 8-ball. Though with several more months to get a deal done, no one should count them out, especially considering many experts thoroughly believed he was Lincoln-bound before Friday.
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