Matt Rhule Speaks With Media After Signing Day | KLIN

A hectic few months of recruiting culminated with signing day in Lincoln, Nebraska. Since Matt Rhule was hired in November, his staff have worked tirelessly to improve their roster for the present and lay the foundation for the future.

Nebraska’s recruiting class of 2023 includes 39 new players, made up of 28 high school recruits and 11 transfers. According to 247 Sports, the class overall ranks as the 29th best in the nation.

Rhule and his coaching staff, from the start of the recruiting process, have been praised for their hard work. Staff, especially Special Teams Coordinator Ed Foley, have been constantly on the road, visiting schools in Nebraska and across the country.

Rhule said on Wednesday that hard work is what is expected of him and his team

“Going to eight schools a day in Nebraska is the bare minimum, it’s not anything special,” Rhule said, “We’re just doing our job.”

There was a rookie that was signed today who was the epitome of that expectation.

Rhule said offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield was on the road when he was near Regis-Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado. Satterfield had no intention of visiting the school but decided to call their head football coach. Satterfield, during his impromptu visit, was briefed on cornerback D’andre Barnes.

Rhule said after talking with Satterfield, they offered Barnes, who eventually signed with the Huskers.

Overall, Rhule said he loves every player for who they are in the Class of 2023, but what stood out to him the most was the speed of the class.

Rhule said you’d be hard-pressed to find guys faster than Malachai Coleman, Jaylen Lloyd and Brice Turner. Nebraska fans should get used to the speed of class, because Rhule takes on-track results very seriously. While he acknowledges that talent on the track doesn’t automatically mean rookies will be great football players, he calls them a “rock to lean on”.

Two of the more interesting signings for the Huskers on Wednesday were Ismael Smith Flores and Jeremiah Charles. Charles and Flores played a year of organized football at Arlington-Martin High School under Nebraska Tight Ends coach Bob Wager. Rhule said that before hiring Wager, Wager called him to talk about Flores. Staff didn’t recruit Flores during the December spell, but once Wager joined the staff and showed Rhule Flore’s tape, he was blown away.

When Rhule came down to Texas to see Flores play a basketball game, Wager swung Rhule onto Charles who was also playing. Rhule said Charles’ track numbers stood out for him. After seeing him play basketball and watch his football strip on the sidelines with defensive backs coach Evan Cooper, they also focused on Charles.

Rhule said Wager definitely helped them get to Nebraska, but they also fell in love with school.

“Bob was definitely a big influence there, but these guys also came here and fell in love with college and the opportunities on this campus.”

Now that the 2023 class is over, coach Rhule said the staff’s attention is now turning more to the players who are at Lincoln.

“Now the focus is just on the guys here,” Rhule said. “There are a lot of winners in this team and there are a lot of guys I need to give a great assessment on to help them be as successful as possible.”

Nebraska and its staff may finally take a step back from recruiting, but the real challenge of taking the pieces they’ve put together and turning them into a winning football team begins today.