Matt Rhule talks how LSU transfer TE Mac Markway became a Husker

Matt Rhule and his recruiting staff never stop.

That was apparent on Tuesday when McClain “Mac” Markway posted a picture of a Nebraska football helmet and a corn emoji with the caption reading: #GOHUSKERS.

That single post on X set off a chain reaction of reporters and fans trying to figure out what exactly it meant. Was he officially a member of Nebraska’s football program? Is he even eligible to play this season?

Markway, a former four-star tight end in the 2022 class who spent his true freshman season at LSU, announced he entered the transfer portal on Aug. 6. The 6-foot-4, 258-pounder from De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis played in 12 games with one start for Brian Kelly’s Tigers in 2023 and caught three passes for 16 yards and one touchdown.

On Thursday during his final press conference before the Huskers’ season-opener against UTEP, Rhule provided more information about Markway, who happens to be an Iowa legacy. Mac’s dad, Matt, played tight end at Iowa in the 1990s for Hayden Fry.

“Mac really did all that on his own,” Rhule said of Markway enrolling in Nebraska as a student. “He didn’t go in the portal, so you can’t recruit him. He literally went through the whole admissions process on his own. Even talking to him the other day, I think he came up here and did a school tour, like the same one I took my son on. We didn’t have any contact with him. And yeah, he’s eligible by rule. Now he hasn’t been here, and there’s a lot of things, but there’s been a new interpretation, I guess, from the NCAA that you can do that.”

Rhule said it was a surprise that Markway showed up and wanted to be a part of the football team. The coach later added it was a good surprise. Rhule sounded confident he and his staff will get the tight end acclimated to his new program as quickly as possible, and he’ll lean on his past experience in the NFL to do it.

“We’re used to these kinds of things because we were in the NFL — Christian McCaffrey gets traded on Thursday and plays on a Sunday. So we’re used to getting guys up to speed. We feel really good about our tight end room. It’s not like, ‘Hey, we need you, there’s a hole there,’ but he’s an excellent player. We’ll do our best to get him ready.”

Nebraska has a few members of its staff with St. Louis connections, including director of player personnel/assistant tight ends coach, Keith Williams, a St. Louis native, and senior football assistant Jamar Mozee, who Rhule hired away from Gus Malzahn and UCF in July. Mozee spent the past nine years as head coach of powerhouse Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North.

Rhule said he doesn’t know if there was a connection that led Markway to Nebraska.

“Maybe I’m arrogantly thinking it’s because we’re going to be a good team and we use tight ends,” Rhule said. “I think a lot of recruits have been excited since Dylan (Raiola) signed and Danny (Kaelin) signed, like, ‘Hey, the quarterback room here is going to be really strong for a while.’ But it wasn’t like we actively recruited Mac. I think that was the class as I was coming in, right? So I had no recruiting involved. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, he went through, didn’t like it.’ We certainly didn’t reach out to him. It was just a surprise.

“Maybe he had a relationship with Keith. When I tell you guys they walked into me on Monday and they’re like, he’s here and he’s over there, I was shocked. I mean, it’s an unbelievable surprise.”

Nebraska returns three core pieces to its tight end room in Thomas Fidone II, a Mackey Award Watch List member, as well as veterans Nate Boerkircher and Luke Lindenmeyer. AJ Rollins, an in-state product, began his career at tight end but moved to defensive end last season. Rollins was moved back to tight end to start fall camp.

The Huskers signed two tight ends in the 2024 class, including four-star Ian Flynt and three-star Eric Ingwerson, a local product from Papillion La-Vista and a one-time Pittsburgh commit.

While Carter Nelson, a high-profile four-star recruit in the 2024 class, is listed as a tight end, he’ll begin his career as a slot receiver, a position he could stay at as he develops in the program.