New Nebraska coach Matt Rhule pursuing FCS offensive prospects in transfer portal

Well, hello, Nebraska has a new head football coach. Hit or miss? Amie Just and Luke Mullin break down the hire.

As new Nebraska coach Matt Rhule assembles his coaching staff, the Huskers already got busy making their initial offer to a transfer portal player.

Not surprisingly, it’s an offensive lineman.

Rhode Island right tackle Ajani Cornelius, who has started for the Rams since his redshirt freshman season, announced on social media an offer from NU on Tuesday. Cornelius announced offers from Oregon, Auburn, South Carolina, Penn State, Minnesota, Louisville, Marshall, Memphis and Temple, as well, over the last 24 hours.

The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder grabbed all-Colonial Athletic Association first-team honors for his work in helping that league’s No. 3 scoring offense. From Harlem, N.Y., Cornelius played his prep ball at White Plains Archbishop Stepinac High School. He did not have a recruiting ranking from Rivals or 247 Sports as part of the 2019 recruiting class.

During a subpar performance from NU’s offensive line this season, then-interim head coach Mickey Joseph indicated that Nebraska would recruit more offensive linemen to create competition and depth in a physical Big Ten.

According to Pro Football Focus, 64 Big Ten linemen played at least 500 snaps this season. Three Huskers — left tackle Turner Corcoran, right guard Broc Bando and center Trent Hixson — finished in the bottom 10 of the 64.

Wednesday night, NU extended an offer to Idaho State transfer wideout Xavier Guillory, who had 52 catches for 785 yards and four touchdowns in 2022. Nebraska snagged Samori Touré from Montana in 2021; Touré parlayed 45 catches for 898 yards into a seventh-round NFL draft selection last spring.

Rhule, 47, said on Monday he likes the pro potential in FCS players, some of whom end up picked high in the NFL draft.

“I don’t understand why, I’m in the (NFL) Draft last year looking at first-round guys at FCS schools,” Rhule said. “I want them here.”

Another transfer on the radar of Nebraska — and many other schools — is Western Michigan defensive lineman Braden Fiske. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive lineman has 101 tackles — 20 for loss — and 10 sacks over his last 25 games as a Bronco. Fiske told 247Sports he’d been offered scholarships by Penn State, Mississippi and West Virginia have extended offers, among other schools.

Last year, Nebraska aggressively recruited players in the portal, adding players like Trey Palmer — the new single-season record holder for receiving yards — Casey Thompson, Marcus Washington, Ochaun Mathis, Brian Buschini and Timmy Bleekrode. Along with Michigan State, the Huskers hit the portal hardest in the 2021-2022 cycle, while Iowa and Wisconsin had far more modest approaches.

NU knows that it’ll lose at least all of its fifth-and-sixth-year seniors who exhausted their eligibility with the end of the 2022 season — plus Palmer, who has already declared himself eligible for the NFL draft — but dozens of others will have decisions to make related to declaring for the draft or transferring to another program. The transfer portal officially opens Monday, but many players have been announcing their transfer intentions on Twitter.

Mathis said on Twitter he’s “leaning” toward declaring for the NFL Draft.