Rhule Talks 2026 Class on Signing Day
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule met with members of the media on Wednesday to discuss the Huskers' 2026 signing class.
“Today is a great day. We signed 10 new student athletes that are going to come join us. We’re excited about the group. It’s not just across the nation it’s also international. It is a select group of guys that we believe can help us get to the next level.”
Rhule talked about which positions he prioritized in the 2026 class.
“We wanted players at key positions that are hard to get in the portal. When you look at offensive linemen you want to continue to grow your own guys through high school recruiting, and then supplement when needed. To go out and get three offensive linemen was really key to us. Then we wanted guys that we thought would be difference makers. Whether it’s a place kicker; this is a windy place and this is a difficult place. We needed someone we thought could contribute. We have a great kicking room and Eck (Mike Ekeler) just wants to continue to bring talent into there. At the wide receiver position we wanted a big outside guy and we believe we got that with Nalin (Scott) and we wanted someone with the versatility of Larry (Miles) that can play inside and outside and is just really competitive. Jamal (Rule), we want to run the football. I think we proved this year that a back can be featured here. We like the running back room and Jamal was a premier guy on a board and we were able to get him and hold on to him. We like our tight end room. I just walked through the indoor and Luke Lindenmeyer has the tight ends in there running routes right now. We have a really good room. Luke Sorensen, did such a great job on him. We got a guy we targeted who can play both Y and flex out. It’s hard to find guys who can do both. Defensively we want to stop the run and part of stopping the run is eliminating the explosives outside and being able to play man and load the box. Danny Odem III is one of the premier corners in the country, so we felt like he was a no brainer guy that we went all in on. I love his competitive nature and everything about him. Jace Reynolds was a guy that came to camp and we offered him on the spot. We really liked his tape, but his traits are through the roof. To me he can play inside, he can play outside, so each guy was hand selected. We’ve recruited a lot of guys the first couple years. We have a big roster and we have a young team so it was very selective now. We continue to build the ‘27 class which we think will be a special one as well. These are some guys we thought could come in and we think a lot of these guys can play early just based upon their mindset.”
Rhule also spoke on the Huskers' bowl game practice schedule.
“It starts Monday. Dana (Holgorsen) and I were remarking today, we used to be on the road right now and then we used to have portal guys coming in right now, so it’s almost like getting ready for the bowl game was second hand. The GAs ran the practice. Now we can really spend some time next week working with guys and developing guys. Next week will really be a lot more development. We have a lot of younger players that I feel are right there and they are going to bust through. You look at Emmett (Johnson), he was a rotational player two years ago, last year he was a rotational starter. Even he was like, if I go in the portal what happens? Now look at him. I’m upstairs and we’re trying to figure out what awards he’s going to be invited to, what banquets he’s going to, is he going to the NFL right now, he had a breakout year. I feel like there are other guys who are going to have that breakout year for themselves. I think that’s what next week is really about and laying a lot of eyes on those guys while also getting ready for our opponent. The following week we will give them some time off to go home for Christmas, and if it’s a December 31st game we will fly on the 26th.”