Nebraska, Matt Rhule plan to scratch Huskers’ spring game amid poaching concerns

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska coach Matt Rhule plans to cancel the Huskers’ spring game in part because of concerns that other programs would use the event to poach his roster.

“The word ‘tampering’ doesn’t exist anymore,” Rhule said Saturday. “It’s just absolute free, open, common market. And so I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world. I don’t want these (other coaches) all being able to watch our guys and say, ‘Wow, he looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.’”

Thirty-one players from the Nebraska roster left to enter the transfer portal after the 2024 season, including 12 who have landed at other Power 4 programs. The Huskers have added 15 players from the portal, all of whom are set to participate in spring practice. Thirteen of the 20 incoming freshmen who signed in December are also on campus in Lincoln for the spring.

“To go out and bring in a bunch of new players and then showcase them for all the other schools to watch,” Rhule said, “that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

The Big Ten Network televised the Nebraska spring game last year. The event attracted a crowd at Memorial Stadium of 60,452. Nebraska has annually drawn one of the largest crowds in college football to its spring game.

Rhule, the third-year Nebraska coach, said he “dealt with a lot of people offering our players a lot of opportunities” after the spring last season. Two scholarship players — reserve defenders Ru’Quan Buckley and Chief Borders — left Nebraska after the spring to enter the portal in April and early May. Buckley landed at Michigan State and Borders at Pitt.

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said on Wednesday that the school would likely still stage something for fans on April 26 at the end of spring practice. It could feature other fall sports teams at the school in something of a preview event, Dannen said.

A shrinking roster as a result of the 105-player limit connected to the NCAA v. House settlement also factors into the likely cancellation. In addition, injury concerns exist. Five Nebraska offensive linemen underwent surgeries after the 2024 season. A year ago, two players suffered knee injuries in the spring game that impacted their readiness to play in the fall.

The elimination of spring games appears on track to become a trend amid the high stakes of revenue sharing and soaring NIL earnings in the portal era. UCF also won’t hold a traditional spring game this year, citing reasons similar to the concerns aired Saturday by Rhule.

Scott Frost, formerly of Nebraska, coaches the Knights.

“It’s like the Home Shopping Network of the spring,” UCF AD Terry Mahajir told the Orlando Sentinel of televised spring games.

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(Photo: Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)