Nebraska’s Matt Rhule in favor of NIL, but says ‘we’re not going to just buy young people’

Once upon a time, universities weren’t allowed to use money as a means to attract student-athletes to don their colors while playing their respective sports. However, with the introduction of the NIL movement, there has seemingly been a shift in the mindset of aspiring college athletes, as they have now shifted their focus towards opportunities that give them more money in their pockets than the culture of teams.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule’s recent comments suggest that he prefers the traditional methods of recruiting.

“And name, image and likeness — I think players have a right to monetize what they can do and what they do on the football field and how it markets out into the real world,” Matt Rhule told 247 Sports’ College Football Recruiting Show. “I’m all for it. We’re not going to just buy young people. We want people that want to be here. But if they’re here, we want to make sure that they get taken care of based upon their accessibility out there in the real world.”

The Cornhuskers have struggled in recent years, as they have suffered through six straight losing seasons.

“I think the biggest thing is recognizing that it’s still about making sure that young people have a good experience,” Rhule said. “Making sure that you have a plan for them. A vision for them. And then that your current players can speak to, ‘Hey, you know what they say is true.’ That’s the No. 1 thing for me.

“For us, going to the Transfer Portal, knowing that there’s some players out there that either knew us from our previous staffs or recognized us from the NFL — that obviously helped us as we try to get the program back to where it needs to be.”