Garret McGuire opens up on how he's settling in at Nebraska

As he geared up for his first season as Nebraska wide receivers coach, Garret McGuire got his first taste of Lincoln in the middle of winter. A Texas native, he had to adjust to the colder temperatures of the Midwest.

Now that he’s back for summer and gearing up for the regular season, he joked he likes Lincoln much better now.

“It’s been a lot better now that it’s a little warmer weather,” McGuire said on Sports Nightly this week. “It’s kind of what I’m used to.”

McGuire is one of the many new faces on Matt Rhule’s coaching staff after working under Rhule with the Carolina Panthers. Of course, their relationship goes back farther than that when he was a quarterback and special teams contributor at Baylor when Rhule coached there. But now, he’s into coaching, going from a coaching assistant in 2021 to offensive assistant in 2022.

The summer was a busy one out on the recruiting trail, and it took McGuire back to Texas. Nebraska picked up a commitment from cornerback Mario Buford during that time, as well, adding to a successful month for the Cornhuskers.

“I’m fired up to be back,” Rhule said. “May was awesome, getting out on the road, going back to see some high school coaches. It was a little bit more fun than January because you got to watch them practice. You go to Lake Travis, you go to Vandegrift, Desoto and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s why they’re really, really good.’ They practice at a high level.

“And then June, we’ve been full tilt in June. Recruiting, camps. We went to Texas to do two camps and we found a Husker commit. That’s a big deal. We had some fun. We got to meet with some Houston coaches here. It’s been a good June.”

June was a great month for Nebraska on the recruiting trail as Rhule and the Cornhuskers got on a roll. They picked up 12 commitments in June, including tight end Carter Nelson. He became Nebraska’s highest-ranked recruit from the 2024 cycle as the No. 58-ranked player in the nation and the top player in the state, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Nebraska also has the No. 22-ranked 2024 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking.

That strong month is why On3’s J.D. PicKell is so high on the Huskers under Rhule’s leadership.

“Matt Rhule was saying ‘I want to develop you and prepare you to go achieve your dreams that next level,'” PicKell said. “In doing that, he’s making his team better. And also, I promise you, recruits see the guys that get to the league from Matt Rhule. Teams tell you, this doesn’t hurt. In fact, it’s the opposite. It bolsters then tremendously in the recruiting trail. You’re seeing what they’re doing right now and this is exciting. But again, just the tip of the iceberg.”