Just 19 days before opener, Zavier Betts leaves Nebraska football program

Just 19 days before Nebraska football heads to Minneapolis for its season opener against Minnesota, Husker receiver Zavier Betts has left the program. Head coach Matt Rhule announced the news Saturday following his team’s 12th practice of fall camp, which was a scrimmage.

“He came to me and just said, ‘Hey, Coach, my heart’s not in it,'" Rhule said. "Very, very, very proud of Zavier for what he’s done as a person, getting eligible. I think he intends to stay in school and work to graduate. Obviously, as I told him, disappointed in the timing. But what we ask people to do is hard, so if their heart’s not in it then we certainly understand. Proud of the growth he’s made and wish him the best. He’s a guy that I love and care about, and I hope that he finds what he’s looking for.”

Rhule said that Betts' departure from the program had nothing to do with any disciplinary issues and, when asked if there were any such issues with Betts, Rhule again referenced his conversation with Betts in which the receiver told him, '"Hey Coach, my heart's not in it.'"

“Caught me by surprise," Rhule added. "He’s done a lot to be in this point. I don’t know what’s going on in his life that led him to that (decision), but he’s gonna go do something else. He was doing great, no issues, no problems, nothing off the field. Just doesn’t wanna play football anymore.”

Betts' intention is to remain in school and earn his degree, though Rhule said, "I don’t wanna speak for him. He told me he intends to (stay in school), but I don’t know what he’s gonna do.”

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This is the second time Betts, a product of Bellevue West High School in Omaha, has left the Nebraska program in his career. Betts quit the team midway through spring ball in 2021 and sat out the entire season.

In January, he returned to the Huskers and by all accounts enjoyed a strong spring while doing what he needed to do off the field to be academically eligible to play this fall, which included completing 21 credit hours. Betts was projected to be a key member of the receiving corps.

In February, Rhule talked about his relationship with Betts.

“I love Zavier Betts,” the coach said. “I don't love Zavier Betts because of who he is on the football field, because that’s what’s wrong, when people think you love them (because of what they provide on the football field). I love who he is as a person, I like getting to know him.”

During an appearance on Huskers Radio Network last month, Betts mentioned Rhule’s support as one of the reasons he decided to return to Lincoln and the sport of football.

“He believed in me. And I honestly couldn’t say no,” Betts said of the Huskers' first-year head coach. “Having somebody like him come in and believe in me after me leaving, I couldn’t say no.”

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Betts played in 18 career games at Nebraska — six in 2020 and all 12 in 2021 — and caught a combined 32 passes for 417 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 109 yards and one score. In 2021, Betts hauled in 20 catches for 286 yards and one touchdown.

Betts’ departure is a brutal blow to Nebraska’s receivers room, which was already thin before Betts left. Marcus Washington, the leading returning wideout, is working through hand and leg injuries from fall camp. Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda was a member of the team last year and caught five passes for 120 yards and one touchdown in the first four games of the season before entering the transfer portal and sitting out the rest of the year.

Outside of Washington and Garcia-Castaneda, Nebraska doesn’t return a single receiver who recorded a stat last season. Billy Kemp IV, a veteran transfer from Virginia, will have a large role this season and be leaned on in the short and intermediate pass game.

Tight ends Thomas Fidone II and Nate Boerkircher will also help out in the pass game. Tight end Arik Gilbert could, too, but he’s awaiting word on a waiver from an NCAA organization that is becoming more strict on allowing waivers to two-time transfers such as Gilbert, a former LSU and Georgia athlete. Rhule on Saturday said that he still has not yet received word on the NCAA's decision on Gilbert's waiver.

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The loss of Betts now opens the door of opportunity for multiple true freshman receivers from the 2023 class, including Malachi Coleman, Jaidyn Doss, Demitrius Bell, Jaylen Lloyd, Brice Turner and Jeremiah Charles.

Keep an eye on a couple in-state walk-on receivers who have been in the program for multiple years now, too, like Alex Bullock of Creighton Prep and former eight-man star Ty Hahn of Johnson-Brock.

The 6-2, 205-pound Bullock is the brother of walk-on-turned-scholarship-linebacker John Bullock. Alex is entering his third year in the program and, as a senior at Prep, caught 54 passes for 765 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior.

“You better strap up when you play those two,” Nebraska receivers coach Garret McGuire said of Bullock and Hahn. “Cooper Hausmann, you better strap up and you better play through the whistle because they will find a way to punk you on tape. They just have that edge that most walk-ons have — you’ve kind of been doubted your whole life. So every time they have a chance to put something on tape, they are.”