Nebraska football, Matt Rhule land commitment from four-star tight end, top-ranked in-state recruit

Nebraska football is keeping the biggest recruit in the state home: Four-star tight end Carter Nelson announced his commitment to the Huskers, joining the 2024 class and giving the program another jolt during an already hot streak on the recruiting trail.

Nelson made his pledge public on Wednesday from Ainsworth High School to become the team’s 12th commitment in the last 11 days and the fourth Husker commit this week.

Analysis: Nebraska’s top recruit Carter Nelson commits to Huskers

To say this is a big recruiting win for coach Matt Rhule, tight ends coach Bob Wager and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield is an understatement. The Huskers won the pledge of the 6-foot-5, 215-pound hybrid tight end over Georgia, Notre Dame, Penn State and many others. Those three, plus Nebraska, are the programs he took his official visits to check out.

Nelson exploded onto the recruiting scene out of Ainsworth and became a national recruit rarely seen from eight-man football.

The Huskers have made Nelson a top priority since Rhule and his staff took over the program. Nelson’s official visit during the June 23 weekend was at least the third time he had been to campus since Rhule came to town. It’s easy to see why the staff made him a priority. His combination of size and athleticism at the tight end spot is rare. Nelson is the type of player that an offense can be built around.

Even with his lofty rating of No. 161 overall in the nation, there is still room for him to rise up the rankings. There is an argument to be made that he’s underrated because he’s tucked away in Ainsworth.

Nelson is committed to play in the All-American Bowl, so seeing him in that setting will be big for evaluators. Nelson passed for 663 yards and 15 touchdowns as a quarterback, racked up 525 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns, and he rushed for 761 yards and 14 scores as a junior.

The commitment of Nelson gives Nebraska another in-state recruiting win. The class is full of Nebraskans, but Nelson is the biggest catch of all. There are now six Nebraskans in the class as Rhule and his staff have made an effort to keep the best players in the state home. There are real questions on how many of the players were trending toward Nebraska previously, so credit to Rhule and his staff for turning things around.

Insider’s Board: Discuss the Huskers’ addition of Carter Nelson and debate who will be Nebraska’s next commitment