Alberts praises Rhule, Nebraska staff as National Signing Day approaches
On the eve of one of the most high-profile National Signing Days that Nebraska has had in years, Trev Alberts couldn’t say enough about the work of Matt Rhule and Co.
During his monthly show on the Huskers Radio Network on Tuesday night, the NU athletic director praised the football program’s efforts in assembling what is currently the nation’s No. 22 recruiting class for 2024.
“I just can’t say enough about what Coach Rhule and his staff have done,” Alberts said. “We talked about this when we hired Coach Rhule: we were really looking for a leader that had the understanding and the ability to create the apparatus around football.
“Obviously, the full-time assistant coaches are really, really important. But, just like our staff, there are all kinds of people associated with football – names that probably many Husker fans have no idea who they are. Just their organizational structure and their work, these things don’t just happen, right? You don’t get the types of players that are coming to Nebraska that just show up. It doesn’t just happen.”
NU expects to sign 25 verbal commitments on Wednesday, highlighted by five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola.
As much as the new additions, though, the limited departures from Rhule’s team into the transfer portal have equally impressed Alberts.
In an era where college football roster management can be chaotic, Alberts said Nebraska’s offseason had been as steady as he could have hoped.
“I’m really excited for them,” Alberts said. “I’m excited for our football program. You can sort of feel an energy and tangible momentum. We’ve got to be a little bit careful – you don’t want to put a bunch of pressure on young people that have never had a chance to be at this level. But I’ll tell you what, the acquisition and retention of talent are really, really important in athletics, especially in college football.”
“Our chaos has been pretty limited, and I really think that speaks to what Coach Rhule and his coaches have built,” Alberts added. “Young men want to be a part of our football program, and that’s pretty cool.”
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Ndamukong Suh wants to help Nebraska’s NIL
Alberts met with a Nebraska football legend while in Tampa for the NCAA volleyball Final Four and National Championship matches.
Ndamukong Suh attended both of NU’s contests. He expressed a serious interest in supporting the Huskers’ NIL efforts to Alberts.
“There are former players who have so much to give, and we’ve got to think about how we can better engage with them to help,” Alberts said. “So, he’s got some ideas in the NIL space and some of those emerging things that perhaps can help some of our student-athletes.”
Alberts said he ran into fellow former Nebraska football players Kenny Bell and Fabian Washington at the volleyball matches.
Alberts hints at ‘holistic’ changes for college football
As Nebraska wraps up the early signing period, Alberts thought about all that went into assembling the 2024 class.
There was high school recruiting, the NCAA transfer portal, and retaining players on the current roster. Alberts said coaches have never shouldered a larger workload than right now.
A member of the FBS Football Oversight Committee, Alberts said that topic came up in their most recent meeting. It was one of several areas Alberts felt needed “holistic” changes to improve college football on and off the field.
“It’s time for us to take a holistic vision of our game and review,” Alberts said. “I watch some of our coaches. I watch Coach Rhule and what we’re asking some of our coaches – and nobody feels sorry for our coaches because they’ll read about certain things. But the reality is what we’re asking them to do, the pace at which they’re going, really is not sustainable.”
Other issues included officiating, the recruiting calendar, replay reviews, and overall consistency in regulating all conferences.
He said this offseason was “a chance to step back and look at everything.”
Quick hits
***Alberts said the pricing for season ticket renewals would return to their “normal” price from two years ago. Nebraska lowered ticket costs by $100 last season.
***Alberts said Nebraska had done “preliminary research” on possibly expanding the Bob Devaney Sports Center by 400-600 seats.
“We’re looking at it, and we’re hopeful we can get that done.”
