How Nebraska coaches are building trust with players

Garret McGuire, in his second year as Nebraska wide receivers coach, thinks relationships mean more now than they ever have, especially in this era of college football.

Let transfer wideout Isaiah Neyor be an example.

Neyor entered the transfer portal after a two-year stint at Texas — after starting his college career with two years at Wyoming, including the COVID-shortened season in 2020. He wanted something different out of a new, final portal destination.

Neyor — out of Fort Worth, Texas — didn’t have Nebraska on his radar. Then McGuire reached out, and everything changed.

“We’re from the same area,” Neyor said after Tuesday morning practice. “So that’s a connection right there.”

The Huskers’ staff has fully bought in to the players, something Neyor said he’s noticed since arriving in Lincoln.

Instances like those are why, despite the spring’s 15-day transfer window opening Tuesday, head coach Matt Rhule doesn’t believe NU will have anybody leave.

Trust, McGuire said, is a big part of those relationships. That transparency led to a couple of Huskers going to Rhule and showing the coach texts of other schools reaching out and trying to get them to transfer.

“It’s a sad state of college football,” Rhule said. “But the problem’s not the players.”

If anybody wants to enter the portal, Rhule said that’s their right. And when NU wraps spring ball, the players will have a few days to decide if there’s a situation better suited for them elsewhere.

But it’s not going to affect Rhule until then.

It wouldn’t be prudent, he said, to coach one guy differently than others because he might transfer. Rhule wants everyone to have high expectations and be held to the same lofty standards.

The Huskers won’t be engulfed by the comings and — even more so — goings of the transfer portal. Rhule certainly won’t be.

This spring has been and will be dedicated to doing the work required to flip the script on last year’s 5-7 finish and get the program to its first bowl game since 2016.

“We’re just gonna coach the guys, try to get the team better, and pour everything into our players — both on the field, off the field, personally,” Rhule said. “And if something happens, it happens.”