Matt Rhule reveals how Nebraska is handling roster uncertainty of House settlement

One of the bigger potential changes coming in college football once the House settlement is approved is the new use of roster limits. As things currently stand, teams are projecting that cut-off to be at 105 people.

It’s a change from the strict 85-man scholarship limit the sport currently imposes, but rosters now can exceed that size with walk-ons. A 105 hard cap could mean the loss of several bodies from current teams.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has handled things with his players pretty transparently. He explained.

“As I told you in January, we told the guys, ‘Hey, if we did it right now you’d be in the 105 or you wouldn’t,'” Rhule said. “So they can make decisions.”

Not every coach is as blunt about things, which is one of the reasons for the hang-up in Congress over whether current players will be grandfathered in under the House settlement. Regardless, Rhule is being as transparent as he can about the process.

“The guys who stuck around through the spring, we had those same conversations leading up to that week,” Rhule said. “Really guys either were saying to me, ‘Hey coach, I’m a Husker, I’m going to be here no matter what,’ or guys were trying to figure out their future.

“I sat here with a couple guys and they were like, ‘Coach, what should I do?’ I said, ‘Listen, you have to figure out what to do. But I’ll tell you this: If you were Bryant, if you were my son, I would tell you to go put your name in the portal on Friday.’ You want to play in the spring game, they don’t want to leave. So I said, ‘We’ll hold the name till Monday, so you have 48 hours to hold the name. So you’re not out there in the spring game with the news breaking that you’re in the portal. Then when it comes out on Monday, at least you’re protected. And then some opportunities may come your way.'”

Rhule joked that with the changes in college sports, brought about in part by the coming House settlement, he often feels like he’s taking on wildly different roles than just coaching. That’s the new reality in the sport.

“I almost feel like an agent sometimes when I’m helping some of our guys right now,” Rhule said. “Some of our guys that were walk-ons here that weren’t going to make the 105 or at least might not make the 105, they’ve had some opportunities. Some scholarships and some really cool things. They didn’t quit on us, the system kind of left them hanging out to dry.”

Rhule appears to be doing his best to help his players out regardless of the outcome of the House settlement. More coaches should take note.