"Their lives are better": When Matt Rhule broke down why Nebraska recruits need to be on NFL level

Matt Rhule took over the helm at Nebraska ahead of the 2023 season. The coach, who had a reputation for building and elevating college football programs, was brought in by the Cornhuskers to transform the program and take it to the place it belongs within the realm.

Appearing on an edition of ESPN’s College GameDay following his hiring in November 2022, Matt Rhule explains the standard players coming to Nebraska will have to live up to. The coach believes the players have to have a strong ambition of making it to the NFL.

“I sat there last year and watched the draft,” Rhule said (Timestamp 1:28). “I think it was six or seven Baylor kids who got drafted. Guys that weren't highly recruited, guys that weren't five-star players.

“But they came and played for us, and then they played for David Randa, who's a tremendous coach. And they built themselves into NFL players on the practice field, in the meeting rooms, in the weight room. They also got degrees and second degrees and their lives are better.”

“To me, players that want to come to Nebraska have to want to be NFL players. They have to want to do more in their lives than just play football. They have to want to get great educations because we're going to push them."

Having ensured that goal during his time at Temple and Baylor, Matt Rhule was confident that this could be done seamlessly and much better at a more established program like Nebraska.

Matt Rhule explains how Nebraska can challenge for the national title again

Nebraska is one of the foremost blue-blood programs in the world of college football. However, the program hasn't challenged for the national title in more than two decades. Matt Rhule explained how the Cornhuskers can get back to being a powerhouse on College GameDay.

“When you go back and look at the five national championships and all the things that happened in the great great days of Nebraska football, it all goes back to alignment,” Rhule said. (Timestamp 3:06).

“And when the head football coach, the athletic director, the president and the chancellor – when everybody wakes you every day with the same mission, then you have a chance to do great things, and I think we want to go there.”

Two seasons into his tenure in Lincoln, Matt Rhule is still trying to get things right at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers finished the 2023 season with a 5-7 record and the 2024 season with a 7-5 record. While this is an improvement from the Scot Frost era, it’s still far from where they want to be.