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'This Will Be a Big, Big Weekend for Us': Matt Rhule Has High Expectations for His Staff with Visiting Recruits

Originally posted on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI
By Kaleb Henry | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 3:01 PM ET

LINCOLN—Matt Rhule is ready to put the new facilities to good use this weekend.

With the first home game of the 2025 campaign comes the first recruiting weekend. That means the first time prospects will not only see the team play in Memorial Stadium this fall, but the first time any recruits take in a game day that includes the fully completed Osborne Legacy Complex and facilities.

"This is the first year we've actually had the building for recruiting," Rhule said. "Walking guys through concrete with hard hats does not wow them in recruiting. Showing them pictures does not wow them. You actually have to go into the building and see it."

Rhule said this summer was helpful in getting a head start on showing prospects the new building and its features. That included a 7-on-7 event, as well as other opportunities to get guys on campus.

"I think that's been that's been a game changer for us to finally have the building up and running, to have the training table," Rhule said. "I think Troy (Dannen, AD) in his press conference said to you guys a year ago we were just moving, we're just serving our first meal on the training table.

"Wow we have a world-class facility that people talk about."

That world-class facility will be put to good use this weekend, when the Cornhuskers host the Akron Zips.

"We have some of the best players in the country coming to visit," Rhule said. "I will always remind everyone, though, my goal is not to recruit the best recruits; my goal is to recruit the best players and there's a big difference to me."

Rhule added that his recruiting strategy is about matching players that fit the program's work ethic and whose "brains fit" the football culture. That doesn't always mean chasing guys with more stars that help win recruiting rankings.

"It's fun when you do, don't get me wrong," Rhule said. "You like getting players that are recognized as being good players, but we have to find the right guys, and so we have to spend time with them.

"This will be a big, big weekend for us."

Rhule said there will be players on campus through the 2030 class. The current cycle of seniors is the class of 2026, meaning there will be prospects on campus that are in eighth grade.

"We have some guys at that level coming, but that's the type of team that we want to be. We want to be a destination for the top recruits in the country," Rhule said.

One of the expected visitors, who is in the 2030 class, is Omaha Westside athlete Camden Berry. He received an offer from Nebraska in the summer of 2024, just ahead of his seventh-grade year.

Another way-down-the-road prospect expected in Lincoln is 2029 quarterback CJ Cypher. The Georgia prospect was offered during the Battle of the Boneyard event at Memorial Stadium.

Visiting commits include 2026's quarterback Dayton Raiola and linebacker Jase Reynolds, as well as 2027's quarterback Trae Taylor and safety Tory Pittman III.