Nebraska football is due for a breakout season in 2024 under Matt Rhule
Nebraska football fans might not want to hear it, but the Huskers are poised for a breakout season in year two under Matt Rhule.
The college football offseason is in full swing and one team that's been as successful as any during the offseason is Nebraska football.
Nebraska signed a five-star quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class in Dylan Raiola. The Huskers also landed a quarterbacks coach and new co-offensive coordinator in Glenn Thomas, who has a history with Rhule and a long history of working with quarterbacks such as Matt Ryan.
Beyond Raiola, Nebraska had plenty of other reasons to celebrate this offseason. For starters, Nebraska football didn't lose a single starting-level player to the transfer portal. The NFL draft departures weren't bad either as Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson, two defensive linemen who could have been drafted but decided to return.
Nebraska football had a top-20 defense a season ago and retained defensive coordinator Tony White. The Huskers also return seven starters total on defense, as well as a number of depth pieces on all three levels. Most importantly though, their top two defensive tackles and best pass rushers are all coming back.
Nebraska is also slated to return all five starters on the offensive line and added Micah Mazzccua, a 12-game starter from Florida last season. The Huskers also added two veteran wide receivers in the transfer portal, including Jahmal Banks from Wake Forest who had over 600 yards receiving in each of the past two seasons.
That's in addition to running back Dante Dowdell, a former top-10 running back in the 2023 class, who transferred to Nebraska after one season at Oregon. The running back and Raiola could be the missing pieces for an offense that held back the Blackshirts far too often in 2023.
Matt Rhule also has a history of his team's making a big leap in his second year. The defense finished 13th in scoring and if Nebraska can cut down on the turnovers, which should happen with a five-star quarterback, there's no reason to think this team can't win 8-9 games.
A bowl game is the first goal for the Huskers and with five of the first six games at home, a fast start is possible. And with all the pieces on the roster, plus Rhule and Tony White, Nebraska football should be looking at its best season in years.
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They still have to do it though.