Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule calls it an “open campus policy.” He and his staff invite recruits and prospective Huskers to visit for a spring practice so they can see if this coaching staff’s approach is right for them. That invitation extends to coaches as well.
Rhule mentioned over 300 high school coaches attended the recent coaches’ clinic and most stuck around to watch at least part of that Saturday morning’s practice.
“We want to be a place people come to,” Rhule said earlier this month. “We want to be where the best people come to talk about football. So we’re 100% open to all the high school coaches, you want to come to practice, come any time you want.”
Former Huskers like Zack Bowman and Michael Rose-Ivey also received invitations to practice. Bowman coaches defensive backs at Midland University and Rose-Ivey is the head coach at William Chrisman High School in Kansas City. Coaches from Papillion-La Vista High School and Omaha Westside came out to Thursday’s practice.
A handful of under-the-radar recruits made the trip to Memorial Stadium for the short week of practice. Council Bluffs Lewis Central standouts Owen Thomas and Lual Maker visited on Tuesday along with 3-star edge rusher Jordan Ochoa from Castle Rock, Colorado. Three-star edge rusher Wyatt Gilmore from Rogers, Minnesota, visited in the middle of the week. Lincoln North Star lineman Jayden Potter visited alongside Omaha Westside duo Teddy and Anthony Rezac. Tristan Johnson of Hurst, Texas, took in parts of Thursday’s practice.
Nebraska also hosted 2025 interior offensive lineman Andrew Dudley from Pinnacle High in Chandler, Arizona. His visit came seemingly out of nowhere following an honorable mention all-conference season. Dudley was joined on his visit by a new teammate at Pinnacle and that teammates’ Rimington winning father.
Had a great time at @HuskerFBNation ! Thank you for the hospitality @Omeezi_ @Coach_Satt @DonovanRaiola #GBR 🌽 pic.twitter.com/K6NagxMraF
— Andrew Dudley (@AndrewDudley74) April 8, 2023
Recruit Watch
The Huskers received some good news to start the weekend when 5-star cornerback Kobe Black from Connelly High in Waco, Texas, included Nebraska among his final 11 schools. Secondary coach Evan Cooper visited Connelly back in January and connected with Black, a top-20 overall recruit in the 2024 composite rankings. He is considered the third-ranked cornerback nationally and third-ranked recruit from Texas in the 2024 class.
Ainsworth standout Carter Nelson visited Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama ahead of the Easter weekend. Nelson is the top in-state recruit in the 2024 class, top 10 tight end nationally and overall top-150 recruit.
Two offensive line recruits who recently visited Nebraska committed elsewhere this weekend. Fossil Ridge High (Fort Collins, Colorado) standout Gage Ginther announced his commitment to Tennessee and Rockhurst High (Kansas City, Missouri) big man Andrew Sprague committed to Michigan. Ginther is a 3-star lineman who was a late target for the last coaching staff and carried through to the new staff. Sprague, a 4-star somewhat local prospect, is one of the nation’s top 10 offensive tackle recruits. Both visited Lincoln as part of the high-profile Junior Day in late March.
Preston Carey, the No. 1 defensive line recruit in the 2026 recruiting class, received a scholarship offer from Nebraska during his Thursday visit. Carey is already 6-foot-5, 280 pounds out of St. Anthonys in East Northport, New York.
WOW, that fan base! So happy to receive my 17th D1 full scholarship ⭕ffer from @HuskerFBNation I spent the day surrounded by football greatness, sitting in practice and meetings with @CoachMattRhule @Coach_Knighton @CoachEJbarthel and the Husker staff. Thank you Big Red nation… pic.twitter.com/5XBokFJoHq
— 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝗼𝐧 𝐉. 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐲 ’𝗣𝗝’ (@PrestonJCareyPJ) April 7, 2023
Nebraska extended a scholarship offer to 2024 athlete Troy Stephenson from Phillip Simmons High in Charleston, South Carolina. He’s a 4-star recruit with experience at receiver and safety.
ICYMI
>> Indiana’s softball winning streak finally ended this weekend while Northwestern remains red-hot. The Huskers, meanwhile, split the first two games of their series with Maryland this weekend. All that and more in this week’s Hail Varsity Big Ten Power Rankings.
>> Hail Varsity’s Jacob Padilla conducted another positional review of the Nebraska men’s basketball team this weekend, analyzing the team’s big men. This follows his series reviews on the team’s wings and ball handlers.
>> The Nebraska men’s tennis team defeated Indiana on Friday in a convincing 5-2 count. Hail Varsity staff photographer Eric Francis was there to capture the action.
