'Matter of time' before Nebraska football turns it around: Former star

The 2023 Nebraska football season didn't finish off the way Husker fans, players and coaches hoped. That doesn't mean that the future doesn't still look bright. Matt Rhule and company saw development and progress that wasn't a part of the Scott Frost experiment.

At least one former Nebraska football star agrees the program is still in line for a turnaround. Former wingback Clester Johnson took to X earlier this week to let it be known he has faith that the Cornhuskers will eventually turn it around.

"At a point," Johnson started his post. "Michigan was down Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia, even Ohio State was a side bar Miami was down and Florida State! I don’t know when it will be or who turns it around but if you got resources like Nebraska it’s just a matter of time someone uses the resources correctly."

The sentiment by Johnson is one that countless other Nebraska football players and fans have held for years now. But it does raise the question as to just when the turnaround will come. What's going to happen the rest of this weekend could be one sign that Matt Rhule is the guy to finally pull it off.

Nebraska football turnaround is just a matter of time, according to former star player

The idea that Nebraska football's return to glory hits harder coming from a guy that was there during those glory days. He knows what it takes to have the ultimate success. He knows what the program has looked like since Tom Osborne left and the Cornhuskers started their slide past mediocrity.

Clester Johnson played for years for Osborne from 1992 to 1995, alternating playing time with another wingback great in Abdul Muhammad. His best season at Nebraska was the 1995 season where he hauled down 22 catches for 367 yards and 2 TDs, despite the Huskers' offense leaning heavily towards the run.

There isn't a single Nebraska football fan who doesn't hope that Clester Johnson is right and that the turnaround starts now.