Rhule, Nebraska’s Road Back and Coming Home — Through Grant Wistrom’s Eyes

"What the '95 team was able to do, to win it the previous year and then come back and do it again—when you know everyone's aiming for you, everyone's gunning for you—to me, speaks to the beauty of the University of Nebraska," Rhule said. "(I'm) Very grateful to be at a place that can honor former teams."

Saturday will be a true homecoming moment for Wistrom, who actually served in this role just last year when the 1994 championship team was honored. Not only will he be back on the sidelines Saturday with his '95 teammates, he'll be doing so as a full-fledged Lincoln resident who is getting used to his new life in the city.

"It's been great, and that's been another reason to move back here and make those connections," Wistrom said. "At Lowe's, I run into Ron Brown and Ryan Terwilliger, an ex-teammate of mine. At HyVee, I ran into Tim Carpenter, so it's just awesome being in this environment where at any given moment you could run into an old buddy or old coach."

Unsurprisingly, the university is also doing its part by making sure former players and coaches feel welcome not only on campus, but even in the heat of practice.

"We have every practice open to former players," Rhule said. "The biggest thing for us is we want to be inviting and we want to make this where, no matter what era or when you played, where you played, what your contribution was on or off the field, that you always feel welcome to be here."

It's certainly a change of pace for Wistrom, who, after winning his third national championship in Lincoln, went on to an illustrious NFL career that took him all over the map. Unfortunately, in the late '90s and early 2000s, that meant keeping up with the Huskers became an awfully tough task.

"We got very little coverage of them in southwest Missouri," he said. "Obviously when I was in Seattle, I didn't hear anything about them — St. Louis, not a lot. For the places that I've been, I haven't had a lot of coverage."

Now that he's back in Lincoln and working his own 8-5, keeping up with the Huskers is about all he does when not working.

"I'm on The Ticket every day, 93.7, listening to it," Wistrom said. "What's fun is I've got like three or four old teammates that have shows on there, so I get to listen to them. I know what idiots they are, so hearing them on the radio (knowing) people actually listen to them just makes me laugh. Being closer to the university is what I'm most excited about being in Lincoln."

It doesn't take Wistrom long to start talking shop, either. From public appearances for area nonprofits to simply making work calls for his new roofing company, the conversation quickly leans towards football and his time in Lincoln.

What he's even more excited to talk about right now isn't the teams of the '90s, which he'll still happily do. Instead, his excitement around the current team, culture, and coaching staff is growing by the day, and it's all because of the still somewhat new head coach in charge of the operation.

"I think (the transition to Rhule) is going great," Wistrom said. "The head coach of Nebraska has to have a connection with the fans. It's not like other places; the fans take ownership in this program, and they should. They still sell out the stadium, and there hasn't been a great product on the field for a while, and they still show up and support."

That's where this Saturday comes in for Nebraska. Not only will the '25 Huskers have the '95 Huskers watching on, they'll have much of the nation tuning in for a game that could be the official welcome mat for Nebraska to be back in the national conversation when it comes to college football.

When Wistrom walked out the door in Lincoln, he seemingly took the glory days with him. Sure, Nebraska's made a few conference championship games and even appeared in the 2001 national championship game against Miami, but the team here in 2025 is still a far cry from being considered a national power. If you ask Wistrom, though, he'll be the first to tell you he's seeing it start to rebuild despite today's new world with the transfer portal and NIL.

"My favorite thing about coach Rhule is we don't lose the number of players to the portal that most schools do," Wistrom said. "What that excites me about is, in this day and age, it's harder and harder to develop a player and to keep a team together and to have that chemistry. If we're not losing guys to the portal, they're buying what he's selling, which gives him an opportunity to develop players and which gives him an opportunity to create a real cohesive unit."

Wistrom and his former teammates will get an up-close look at how cohesive the Huskers are against a Michigan team that's slightly favored to leave Lincoln with a win. If Michigan earns that hard-fought win, Wistrom said he'll be a bit bummed — but it won't be his end-all.

Now that he's back in Lincoln, he's also the father of a current Husker. His daughter Charlie is a freshman on the Nebraska women's soccer team, and yes, she's wearing No. 98 just like her old man did. Wistrom admitted getting to watch his daughter play and be back at the epicenter of so many great years for him has been a dream come true.

"It's going to be the best fall of my 49 years walking the face of this earth," he said. "(Football) was such a big part of my life and so important to me, and for so long I just didn't have this intimate connection with the university that I feel like I have now that I'm back in town. I truly can't get enough of it. This fall is going to be soccer on Thursday, football on Saturday and soccer on Sunday."

While Wistrom is still getting his feet wet as a "soccer dad," he's remained very ingrained in what's happening with the football team. He's listened to all of the various outlets hyping up "year three" under Matt Rhule and how this can be the year Nebraska finally makes that jump. Turns out — he agrees.

"I love what (Rhule) is doing," Wistrom said. "I drink the Kool-Aid every year. This is our year, and it will be like that for me until I die. My glass isn't half-full, my glass is overflowing, so damnit, this is our year."

In terms of exactly how much Kool-Aid the former Husker has consumed to this point, he says he's keeping his season projection somewhat modest.

"We don't have an incredibly tough schedule," he said. "We've got Michigan at home, toughest game is Penn State on the road. Still, going out to Maryland won't be an easy one, so there are some tough games, and let's not kid ourselves — we're not '94/'95 Nebraska, so they're all going to be tough games. If we can get through nine wins, 9-3, somewhere in there — I'd be really happy."

It's safe to say he wouldn't be alone in that regard if Nebraska adds three more wins to their regular-season record from last season, but with a win over Michigan on Saturday, even Wistrom joked he might have to bump that prediction up to ten wins.

Ultimately, the living Husker legend is back in his "happy place," and it's even better this time around. Being able to watch his daughter mature as a soccer player and to help the university where he can is all he can ask for. And when it comes to the fans who had plenty to cheer about 30 years ago, he wanted to give a special message.

"Everybody knows the saying 'there is no place like Nebraska,' but there truly isn't," Wistrom said. "I'm so excited to be here. The university is an amazing place; they really take care of the student-athlete. People care about the student athletes. They want to pour into it — they love the university. Thank you for supporting me in my college career and my professional career. I'm just really excited to be back here and be part of the community to give back to the people who were amazing to me."