LOOK: Nebraska early enrollees arrive on campus

On3 imageby:Nick Schultz01/14/23

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Some members of Matt Rhule’s first recruiting class at Nebraska have made it to campus. Five early enrollees arrived on campus Saturday, according to the Nebraska Football Twitter account.

EDGE Cameron Lenhardt, defensive back Dwight Bootle II, cornerback Syncere Safeeullah, EDGE Maverick Noonan and offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula have moved in ahead of the spring semester. They’re part of a group of 23 players Rhule brought in as part of his first class at Nebraska — a class that ranks No. 5 in the Big Ten and No. 28 in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings.

Lenhardt is the highest-ranked player of the early enrollees, coming in as a four-star prospect and the No. 342 overall recruit from the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Noonan and Gottula came in as the Nos. 627 and 636 recruits in the nation, respectively, as three-star prospects.

The biggest piece of the class, though, is four-star athlete Malachi Coleman — the No. 1 recruit in the state of Nebraska. He originally committed to the Cornhuskers when Mickey Joseph was the interim head coach before de-committing after Rhule was hired. However, he ended up signing with Nebraska on National Signing Day, giving Rhule and the Cornhuskers a top-70 recruit next season.

Rhule has also been active in the transfer portal, bringing in nine transfers so far. Former Texas A&M defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy is among the group after becoming the No. 156 overall transfer and the No. 7-ranked defensive lineman to hit the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. It’s all part of his plan to overhaul the roster after Nebraska finished 4-8 this year under Joseph and former coach Scott Frost, who was fired in September.