The Weekly Rundown: Nebraska is getting the pieces ready for the start of Fall Camp
It’s back to work in Lincoln as Nebraska is starting to get the pieces ready for the start of Fall Camp a week from today.
We hit on that and more as we start your Monday with The Weekly Rundown Column.
Sure bets
You have to feel good about these things right now:
A strong showing in Indianapolis from Matt Rhule: Of everything I know this week, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule will leave a strong impression at Big Ten Media Days.
For many in the league, it will be the first time they’ve seen Rhule speak publicly. I’ve been around him enough this last year to know he will shine on a stage like this. I expect he’ll also get a lot of attention from the Penn State media corps.
I would not be surprised if Rhule said something that made a national headline at media days in a good way.
Michigan is a near consensus favorite to win the Big Ten on Tuesday: On Tuesday, we’ll learn the official results of the Big Ten preseason media poll by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. This year I’m one of two voters on the Nebraska beat for the poll.
I would be shocked if Michigan is not a near-consensus pick to win the Big Ten. I also like how the league does the preseason poll, unlike in places like the SEC or Big 12, where every credentialed media member votes.
That can lead to many questionable results, like Vanderbilt receiving five first-place votes to win the SEC East over Georgia, Tennessee and others.
Recruiting visitors on Sunday: The recruiting calendar opens for one week today, as schools will get the last seven days of July to host unofficial visitors on campus.
Nebraska will take advantage of this on Sunday, where the primary focus will be getting high-value 2025 and 2025 prospects on campus before the start of fall camp.
QB Taylor Martinez: The accomplishments of quarterback Taylor Martinez are like a fine wine. The further away we get from his era, the better it looks. Just think about this number: Martinez went 16-7 in conference games he started from 2010 to 2013. He was 8-2 in starts against Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State and Ohio State.
He went 7-1 in the Big Ten in 2012. He’s the last Husker quarterback to be named first-team All-Big Ten. His hall-of-fame induction this past week at Nebraska was well deserved. Also, how the heck has it been 10 years since he last played?
Surprises
These were my surprises of the week:
A $5 million gift to volleyball: We’ve seen a lot of things with NIL since it started over two years ago in July of 2021.
However, I’m not sure anyone could’ve predicted sports like Nebraska volleyball would receive $5 million gifts. It’s been quite a week for Nebraska’s NIL, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, as don’t be surprised if we see more things like this in the future.
Gatlin Bair’s Aug. 5 decision: Burley (Idaho) wide receiver Gatlin Bair announced that he plans to make his final decision on Aug. 5. What does that mean for Nebraska? Bair has not been back to Lincoln since late March.
Bair took June official visits to Oregon, TCU and Michigan. Bosie State is his other finalist. The Broncos were thought to be an early favorite. Bair will not play his college football until after his LDS Morman Mission ends in 2026.
The jury is still out
Questions still surround these things:
Will we learn anything about Arik Gilbert?: One of the bigger roster questions we have as Nebraska is a week away from the start of fall camp is the status of tight end Arik Gilbert.
Will Gilbert get the waiver? Regardless, I still expect him to practice, as this could drag deep into August before we know anything. Multiple NFL scouts have expressed interest in evaluating Gilbert during fall camp. No matter what happens with his waiver, he’s viewed as an NFL tight end.
What the 110-man Fall Camp roster looks like?: Another thing that will get finalized this week is the status of Nebraska’s 110-man fall camp roster. The official Huskers.com roster lists 127 players, which has not been updated and cleaned up in several weeks. What will the final August roster look like after the official changes are made?
This has my attention
Moving forward, this has my attention:
Back to the office today: Rhule and his coaching staff have been away with family for the better part of July, enjoying some downtime. Expect that all to change today. Nebraska’s coaching staff will be back up in the office a full-go, with the start of fall camp one week away. The players will get the rest of this week off to recharge their bodies. They report to work on Sunday.
More coaching clinic appearances: Rhule and his coaching staff spoke at a coaching clinic in Texas this past week. This week they will speak on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as part of the Nebraska High School Coaches Association at their preseason clinic.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Nebraska staff get out and do this much speaking at different camps and clinics around the country. Rhule places a big emphasis on this to help strengthen the program’s brand.
2024 class spots: Nebraska is expected to have a handful of 2024 recruiting targets on campus. The question is how many spots do they have left in the class of 2024?
Are they able to add any more players for the class of 2024 in July, or will they keep things on hold until the season starts?
Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and can be heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.
The post The Weekly Rundown: Nebraska is getting the pieces ready for the start of Fall Camp appeared first on On3.
