Five Matt Rhule recruiting trends that stand out
Former Baylor coach Matt Rhule was not in Waco long enough to establish longstanding trends over many recruiting classes but there are definitely some things that stand out that could inform how he’s going to focus on recruiting as Nebraska’s new coach. Here are five things to watch:
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RHULE GOT THE MOST OUT OF THREE-STARS
Through all the tumult prior to Rhule’s arrival at Baylor - which was considered at the time nearly impossible to fix quickly - three-star Jalen Pitre stuck with his early commitment to the Bears and Rhule and his staff got the most out of him. The three-star athlete from Stafford, Texas committed to Baylor in July 2015 and then starred in the secondary for the Bears under Rhule’s leadership. Pitre was an early second-round NFL Draft pick and was one of the big success stories of Rhule’s time in Waco.
Trestan Ebner, James Lunch, Terrel Bernard and JT Woods are some other three-star prospects who excelled at Baylor and are still in the NFL. Denzel Mims was a three-star who signed in the class before Rhule got to town but he was essential to the Bears’ success when Rhule coached there. He was another second-round pick.
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RHULE NOT AFRAID TO FLIP COMMITS
One aspect to quickly turn around a program is to be aggressive on the recruiting trail and that means going after prospects committed elsewhere. No one is off limits - and that’s the tact Rhule took during the two full recruiting classes he was responsible for before leaving for the NFL.
In 2018, four-star defensive back Byron Hanspard was committed to Arkansas and then flipped to the Bears. Four-star receiver Tyquan Thornton made a pledge to Florida but flipped to Baylor and then was outstanding in Waco before becoming a second-round draft pick.
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RHULE CAN WIN RECRUITING BATTLES NATIONALLY
There were not many big recruiting victories over Texas or Oklahoma during Rhule’s short stint at Baylor but he did win some recruiting battles - and outside the Bears’ normal recruiting territories.
That is going to be especially important at Nebraska where the Huskers don’t have enough players in-state and some would argue even regionally to compete for Big Ten championships and beyond. If Nebraska is going to return to national prominence then Rhule will have to recruit nationwide - and he showed that to an extent at Baylor.
Virginia Tech was the front-runner for four-star Harrison Hand before he picked Baylor. Rhule and his staff flipped four-star offensive lineman Xavier Newman from Colorado. Texas, Nebraska and Iowa State were the other main contenders for Joshua Landry. Baylor went to Miami for Thornton and that paid off big time.
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THE PORTAL WILL BE A FOCUS FOR RHULE
There is not a ton of evidence for this but there is one big piece and that’s former Tennessee receiver Jalen Hurd, who played one season at Baylor and led the team in catches and receiving yards over Mims, which was quite the feat.
In three seasons at Tennessee, Hurd had 67 catches for 492 yards. Well, in one season at Baylor, Hurd’s career was completely resurrected and he had two more catches in one year than three in Knoxville with 69 receptions for 946 yards and four scores.
The transfer portal will be in full effect soon. Many elite players will be looking for a new home and Rhule could use Hurd as at least one example of what can be accomplished in his system as the former five-star prospect ended up as a third-round NFL Draft pick.
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NFL EXPERIENCE WILL HELP TONS
Jim Harbaugh, Chip Kelly, Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin are the four Power Five coaches who were also head coaches in the NFL and it undoubtedly has helped in recruiting - and should be a massive sales pitch for Rhule in Lincoln as well.
Rhule was given less than three seasons with the Carolina Panthers and was fired by owner and hedge fund manager David Tepper, who said he was looking for more balance between coach and general manager since Rhule had full say in those decisions. The last time Carolina won double-digit games was in 2017 and Rhule’s rebuilding effort didn’t take.
Still, having that experience in the pros will help when Rhule tries to recruit players to Nebraska, when he’s sitting in living rooms over the next few weeks and when he recruits both high school players and in the transfer portal as players look to restart their NFL dreams.