Two in-state Nebraska football walk-ons earn scholarships

In-state Nebraska walk-ons Nate Boerkircher and John Bullock have been placed on scholarship, coach Matt Rhule told reporters after his “Face The Chamber” speaking event Wednesday.

“Boerkircher’s played here and he’s a starting-caliber tight end,” Rhule said of the Aurora graduate. “Bullock, he’ll have a chance to play in the NFL if things go right for him.”

Rhule said he announced the decision in front of the team. He noted the responses after he awarded a scholarship to Bullock, the Creighton Prep graduate who moved from safety to linebacker this spring.

“They respect him as a player, they love him as a player,” Rhule said. “They also probably love him as a person. MJ Sherman, when I said (Bullock), the look on his face was ‘that guy deserves to be on scholarship.’ He earned it.”

Nebraska has to be at 85 scholarships by the start of training camp, and Boerkircher and Bullock’s scholarships indicate that will happen. Rhule has at his disposal the new head coach exception, an NCAA rule that allows the program to keep paying for a student-athlete’s schooling even if he’s not on athletic scholarship. Rhule said a handful of players have approached him about using the exception but declined to give their names.