Matt Rhule and Co. are on a mission to add talent to the 2023 Nebraska roster out of the transfer portal, and they did it again with Walter Rouse.
Rouse, a 6-foot-6, 318-pounder who started 39 games at left tackle for Stanford, entered the portal on Dec. 15 and committed to Nebraska today. He chose the Huskers over Oklahoma and Iowa, two programs he visited during the recruiting process. He has one year of eligibility left.
Adding as much talent as possible at the line of scrimmage was something Rhule said he and his staff were going to do this offseason.
"We have tried to bring in some depth. We wanted to bring in a great young group that we can develop and watch them grow. The previous staff had done a nice job of identifying,” Rhule said during his early signing day press conference. “I like the players, but we are also going to continue to look. I will never not take a talented offensive or defensive lineman. That's what wins games."
Rouse becomes the ninth transfer addition for the Huskers and the second offensive lineman, joining center/right tackle Ben Scott (Arizona State). Rouse, originally from Silver Spring, Maryland, was a four-star recruit in the 2019 class out of Sidwell Friends (D.C.). He was rated as the No. 34 tackle nationally and the No. 4 overall recruit in D.C.
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Rouse, a biomechanical engineering major, started for four seasons with the Cardinal, playing in 40 career games. He was a Freshman All-American in 2019 and All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2020. In 2022 he was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, commonly referred to as the Academic Heisman.
According to Pro Football Focus, Rouse played 1,383 snaps the past two seasons — 650 in 2022 and 733 in 2021. He was given an overall grade of 67.3 in 2022 along with a run-blocking grade of 71.4 and a pass-blocking grade of 54.6. His 2021 overall grade was 71.4 while his run-blocking mark was 72.2 and his pass-blocking mark was 72.6.
