Matt Rhule Discusses Signing Day Additions

Matt Rhule has officially made his first additions to the Nebraska football roster.

The more than two dozen signees include a mix of transfers and high school seniors.

"I want guys who are gonna come here for the right reasons," Rhule said. "I don't want guys who are coming here saying 'how big's this NIL deal I'm getting from these people?'.

"I want kids who want to come here to get an education, win at football, and have a chance to go play in the National Football League."

Two big emphases for Rhule and company were the offensive line and defense.

Among the offensive line additions are five from Nebraska: Sam Sledge (Creighton Prep), Brock Knutson (Scottsbluff), Mason Goldman (Gretna), and Grant Seagren (Oakland-Craig). The lone import is Jason Maciejczak from Pierre, South Dakota.

"I deeply care what the offensive line looks like," Rhule said.

There are 15 players listed as at least potentially playing on the defensive side of the ball. Two of them came on signing day with defensive lineman Vincent Carroll-Jackson (Pennsylvania) and linebacker Eric Fields (Oklahoma).

Four of the signees are out of Texas, including Princewill Umanmielen. The edge rusher was ranked among the nation’s top 300 prospects by ESPN, Rivals, 247Sports and On3.

"Texas every year will be an elite priority," Rhule said.

Another big day-of decision came from Lincoln East's Malachi Coleman.

The wide receiver originally committed to NU during the interim stint from Mickey Joseph. Once Rhule got the job and Joseph was ultimately not retained, Coleman backed off his commitment to weigh his options, including hearing from Colorado's new coach Deion Sanders.

"We staying home," Coleman announced on a livestream with Rivals. "Coach Rhule is known for people in the NFL and building teams back up. I fully trust that's what we're gonna do here."

Rhule answered talked about the importance of keeping a local guy like Coleman home at Nebraska.

"I just really like him," Rhule said. "You talk about NIL, he's donating things to foster care and to helping kids.

"If I say that our job is to make sure we these guys' lives better, I love the fact that Malachi's goal in his life is to help make other people's lives better, and that's way more important to me than the 10.3 (100 meter dash) that he runs, though I think that's pretty cool too."

One of the biggest transfer additions is quarterback Jeff Sims. Rhule said Nebraska already has a "healthy room", but when Sims became available, that was someone he wanted.

"I just always look for guys who just have 'it'," Rhule said. "I'm just trying to find winners."

Sims brings the QB room to six on scholarship, as of today.

Other transfer portal additions include linebacker Chief Borders, defensive back Corey Collier, and long snapper Marco Ortiz. That trio is all joining Nebraska after stints at Florida.

The full, most up-to-date list of signees can be found on HuskerMax's Early Signing Day Central.