Steve Sipple wrote a column this morning saying he got numbers leaked to him that show Nebraska has nearly $30 million in NIL money and is still $20 million behind the conference elite.
At this point, it's clear that the Raiolas were a package deal. Either Rhule decided to fire Donovan and then Dylan left or Dylan decided to transfer and Rhule didn't need Donovan around any longer to keep Dylan happy. Whether the chicken or egg came first, I find myself wondering whether having Dylan was worth two years of sub-par offensive line play.
Dylan was a very good QB for us, but not elite. He was held back by poor O-line play. He made poor decisions from time to time, but he was young and spooked. He also made some great plays. He wasn't a tremendous peer recruiter. Incoming QBs can make a big impact before they ever see the field by bringing other top prospects with them (like we see Trae Taylor doing now). Looking back at the 2024 class, we only brought in eight 4* players, plus Dylan himself, despite it being a large class. Anecdotally, I don't remember any news bits about Dylan being a peer recruiter.
So Dylan's impact was good, not great. That's a net plus. However, what did we give up in exchange? Nebraska has a really bad recent track record of O-linemen being drafted. Cam Jurgens was the most recent in 2022. Before that, it was Brenden Jaimes and Matt Farniok in 2021. A look at the All Big Ten Teams tells a similar story. Here's the Nebraska offensive lineman that were included, starting in 2021:
2021: Cam Jurgens - 3rd Team Center.
That's the list.
During his entire tenure as a coach, Donovan only recruited four 4* lineman (Using the composite rankings), and the only player to be recognized on the All Big Ten Team was in his first year, after other coaches did most of the developing. He was a poor recruiter and a mediocre developer, especially of tackles.
Just about every coach is on a timer these days, especially when coaches like Curt Cignetti show they can turn around a program in a year or two. My worry for Rhule is that he burned two years of goodwill by keeping Donovan in order to get Dylan. I get why; Dylan the player - and Dylan the narrative - had the potential to be transformative. However, it meant mortgaging the future of the O-line by keeping Donovan. If Geep Wade and Lonnie Teasley turn around the unit quickly, it will say good and bad things about Rhule's decisions. First, he fucked up by keeping Donovan, despite what he gained for it. Second, he realized that it wasn't working, cut his losses (depending on whether the transfer or firing came first), and went in a different direction. Third, brighter days for the O-line - and so the team - are ahead.
GBR
I’ve seen a lot of post about last weeks afternoon show on 1620 The Zone.
I would never want to bash anyone for doing a job but that was a piss poor topic or segment they choose to harp on. They want to rag on a future recruit trying to get other recruits to Nebraska and keep positivity moving forward and these jack offs want to laugh and make fun of the kid for it.
John Bishop, Josh Peterson and Nick Grimm show exactly why they are a “B” list radio show anymore, if that. The production and product Hurdtt Sports brings to the Omaha area all buts out to shame anything the Zone puts out anymore.
This station screwed up the minute they fired and let go of Gary Sharp, Jimmy Chavez and before that Nick Hadley.
They replaced them with Connor Happer and some guy who was their buddy whose name is not important to even know. They have some intern kid way over his head on a midday show and lastly the grumpy Gus show. A bunch of washed up local radio hosts.
It is absolutely embarrassing what this station, production and topics have become discussed and they should keep anything evolving Husker football out of their mouths. It’s rumored Peterson lost his press pass I think it’s time for Bishop and company to follow suit and let real hosts cover real sports in the state. I’m sure there’s some e-gaming expo that needs attention they can cover….
Haven't seen this shared so thought you all would enjoy some words straight from Head Coach Matt Rhule.
I'm not a fan of HCMR but I appreciate getting to see these interviews to gain better insight into him and how he sees things. Not trying to debate whether or not he's doing a good jobjust thought it was nice to get another view of the man. Great speaker, can't deny that.
Alright it’s the offseason so let’s shoot the breeze here.
What’s your hottest take? One that brings out the fellow fan’s pitchforks? I’ll go first, despite many notions of we’ve always done it “the right way” we were definitely paying recruits during Callahan era.
Swept the B1G winning the regular season and tournament
Decided to do a Scott Frost Redemption Run in CFB26 goal was to redeem him at Nebraska but it happened earlier than expected after the AI fired Rhule in the first season. Time for Frost Warning 2: Electric Boogaloo
*Edit* Realized I put CFB25 meant CFB26 my bad
https://x.com/RossDellenger/status/2053973758977663186?s=20
https://x.com/ChrisVannini/status/2053966131380027712?s=20
So Rhule and staff promised 18 players 7.5 million in fake deals and now they might not be able to collect, they can resubmit the deals and try to do it in a legitimate way but they probably won't get their money back.
Be Respectful
Join the husker discord here
2025 Iowa is where I expected Year 3 Matt Rhule and the minimum expectation moving into Year 4 and beyond.
Iowa had a QB that can win games with his legs. They do all of the little things right and execute the basics at a high level. They play great defense, can adapt to their opponents and special teams can have an impact every game.
Iowa went 9-4 with a key wins over local rivals (Nebraska and Wisconsin). Beat a team that was more talented (Penn State).
4 losses were all close games to Indiana, Oregon, USC and Iowa State.
2025 Iowa a fringe playoff team if they beat Indiana or Oregon.
That's my expectation every year going forward and anything less would be a big disappointment with a coach that is entering Year 4. I dont care if our opponents have more talent, I dont care if theyre favored by 7+, I dont care if we havent beaten them in 5 years. We need to start winning games we're not supposed to win and raise the standard.
South Dakota, Louisville, Grand Canyon.
Huskers will play South Dakota to start
This has to be rage bait from Ravi.
Kids are graduating high school that have never seen Nebraska finish the season ranked.
My daughter is 14 and has never seen Nebraska have a winning record in the conference, nor has she seen us beat a ranked opponent.
We havent had a top 50 draft pick in over a decade.
We're 1-10 against Iowa over the past 11 years.
For me, the goal posts are firmly staying at making the 12 team playoff. Thats the expectation and we haven't been close the past 2 seasons and it's highly unlikely to happen this year. Thats not unrealistic at all given the amount of resources and financial backing the football program has from the university and it's fans.
