Amare Sanders thought it was maybe the Wisconsin game last fall when he was walking off the field after a 44-25 Husker win and, lo and behold, his head coach came up to walk next to him.

And Matt Rhule had a message.

"We had a moment off the field, he was just pretty much telling me, this is what it takes," Sanders said during a Tuesday press conference, his first as a Nebraska football player.

That moment did something for Sanders, a kid from south Florida living over 1,500 miles away from home. The head coach had belief in him.

"It meant a lot. Obviously, it instilled a lot of confidence within me, because he understands what it takes, he believes in me as a player," Sanders said. "So I feel like it instilled a lot of confidence in me, for sure."

There's good reason for Rhule to feel that way about Sanders, who rates as a mighty intriguing, but young and inexperienced, Nebraska cornerback.

A three-star recruit in the 2024 class out of Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep, Nebraska landed Sanders over the likes of Miami, Louisville, Virginia and Duke. Rhule, outside linebackers coach Phil Simpson and the departed Evan Cooper were key in the recruitment.

But so were the other Miami-area Husker recruits in that 2024 class, like linebackers Vincent Shavers Jr. and Willis McGahee IV, receiver Jacory Barney Jr. and defensive back Larry Tarver Jr.

"We wanted to come here and change the program," Sanders said of the Miami crew. "We made a promise to what we're going to do when we got here. So them coming here made the transition here extremely smooth as well."

Sanders' name started leaking out from coaches in press conferences last year, leading many to believe the lengthy 6-foot-1 corner had a shot to see game snaps, especially in a Nebraska secondary that could've used some new blood.

While Sanders didn't see the field for many snaps in important moments, that's OK. He had, and still has, a lot to learn about being a corner in the Big Ten. But he did end up playing in five games while keeping his redshirt status, seeing action against UTEP, Colorado, Northern Iowa, Iowa and Boston College. He collected two tackles against Northern Iowa.

Sanders made multiple travel rosters in 2024, which means he was doing something right at practice and showing he can be a special teams contributor. Sanders feels being able to experience road trips gives him a leg up on the others in the DB who didn't.

"Just seeing the experience, what it takes to play at the highest level." Sanders said. "I feel like I got a great feel for it now. So I'm looking forward to competing for that starting position."

And the starting corner spot opposite likely starter Ceyair Wright is certainly up for grabs now that Tommi Hill has moved on to the next step in his career. Rhule has made it known competition is king. The ones who rise to the top will be the ones who play.

And Rhule, as well as defensive coordinator John Butler, say they want to play a lot of guys and use different packages for certain situations.

"We're going to put five corners on the field at times, five safeties," Rhule said. I mean, I want different groupings out there. I want a ton of guys playing. I want to make it to the College Football Playoff. I want to play 15, 16 games a year, and you need a lot of guys to do it."

Sanders is certainly in that mix, but there are others who are, too.

There's a now-healthy Blye Hill, who seemed to have a starting corner spot locked up before his knee injury in last year's spring game. There's Idaho transfer Andrew Marshall, who Miami wanted to sign in the transfer portal before Nebraska won out. There's also the young and rising Donovan Jones, a big-bodied athlete from Omaha who looked comfortable in that corner role against Boston College. The lengthy Jeremiah Charles and Tarver return, too. True freshman Bryson Webber brings a 6-2 frame. Jamir Conn is getting his shot to play FBS ball after spending time in the FCS at Southern Illinois — he should be eager to enter the fray when he returns from an injury.

Wright, the former transfer from USC, has been somewhat of a mentor for Sanders, someone he looks up to.

"He's very consistent in his work. He's very technically sound," Sanders said of Wright. "Obviously, he's the older guy. So just learning from him and competing with him, I feel like that's a guy for sure."

With Butler being elevated to DC, Sanders has formed a new relationship with Addison Williams, the Huskers' DB coach who has a big job ahead of him with a packed room, which saw the transfer portal departure of D'Andre Barnes on Tuesday.

"He's very hands on. He demands the best out of each and every one of us," Sanders said of Williams. "He believes in all the other players in that room. He knows a tremendous amount about the game of football, so just listening to him, what he has to offer. He's gonna put us in the best position to succeed."

Since Sanders is a young DB still developing in the program, he's been getting coaching from Phil Snow, Nebraska's associate head coach who has taken on the role of teaching the first- and second-year DBs.

Sanders loves getting to learn from someone who's been coaching football for close to 50 years. On Sunday, Sanders took to social media with a post that included "Coach Phil Snow speaks...you listen! Be a sponge."

"He's great, he's great. He knows ball," Sanders said of Snow. "Obviously, he knows a lot about the game of football, sort of listening to him and all that he has to offer. So I feel like it's always important to listen to coach snow, for sure."

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