What to know as Nebraska enters football camp season

Nebraska will host seven days of football camps and send coaches to three satellite camps this month, in addition to bringing in 20-30 recruits for official visits. In his first summer with Nebraska, that adds up to one busy month for head coach Matt Rhule.

“We want to really have a focus on camp,” Rhule told reporters earlier this month. “Not just for this class but for the 2026 (recruits). I’m looking at ’24s right now and I don’t know how fast they run and I have to try to get them to camp. I should know that or I should’ve had them in the year before. We’re going to go down to Texas for camps and we’re going to do them here. We’re going to work in June.”

NU’s camp schedule kicks off Sunday with a five-hour session open to high school freshmen, post-graduate players and everyone in between. Another key camp date is June 13, when Nebraska will offer a specific session for fullbacks and another for post-graduate players coming from high school, junior college or the transfer portal.

Nebraska will also host a Friday Night Lights camp on June 16, an annual tradition that often helps the staff identify future recruiting targets, before finishing with youth camps June 19 and 20. Nebraska’s seven days of camp sessions are condensed into a 16-day period that avoids conflicts with two other facets of NU’s summer strategy — satellite camps and official visits.

The NU coaching staff’s desire to attend satellite camps is reflected in the six-day break between Nebraska’s first two local camps. During that period, Nebraska coaches will fan out across the country to Texas and the Northeast, partnering with smaller college programs to put on a day of instruction for high school prospects.

Nebraska typically participates in Lindenwood (Mo.) University’s annual mega camp, but NU is not listed among the schools participating. Rather, Nebraska’s first two appearances at satellite camps will come in the state NU has recruited aggressively in recent months — Texas.

Husker football coaches will play a lead role in Division III program University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s camp on June 5 in Belton, Texas. Situated roughly halfway between Austin and Waco, it’s an area of Texas that Rhule knows well and recruited heavily during his time at Baylor. Nebraska will shift its focus to the heavily populated Houston area the very next day. Houston Christian will host the June 6 camp that includes coaches from Nebraska, UTEP and Louisiana.

Another NU satellite camp venture will be on June 8, when Nebraska joins forces with Delaware and UConn at Division III school Widener’s camp just outside the Philadelphia area. It’ll be a chance for Nebraska to get a look at some of the Northeast’s top prospects. Unsurprisingly, Nebraska’s recruiter in the region — running backs coach EJ Barthel — will have a key presence at the event.

While those camps in the state and around the country will aim to further Nebraska’s footprint and connect coaches with recruits, June offers a different challenge for NU’s 2024 recruiting efforts. Typically a month were top prospects take official visits, Nebraska will host many of its key targets — all while others visit competing schools.

Due to a desire to have coaches fully present on recruiting visits rather than scattered around the country at camps, most of Nebraska’s June visitors will come on two specific weekend dates. At least eight visitors are expected on campus this weekend prior to NU’s first camp of the month, while the program’s biggest visitor weekend will come on June 23.

It was intentional that Nebraska will host the major weekend of visits after the conclusion of its summer camp schedule. The NU coaching staff’s full attention will be on the 2024 class — with almost all of Nebraska’s commits visiting alongside potential future teammates.

Prior to this busy month of camps and visits, Nebraska’s 2024 recruiting class currently stands at seven players. The Huskers have their quarterback (Bellevue West’s Daniel Kaelin) and several other commits at key positions — but spots like defensive line, wide receiver and defensive back could be sorted this month.

A year ago, Nebraska ended the month of June with 10 committed players in its 2023 class. Even amidst a coaching change, all but three of those players (Ben Brahmer, William Watson, Hayden Moore) signed with the program and will take part in NU’s 2023 season. Expect Nebraska to end June with even more commits this time around, perhaps even doubling the seven total pledges it currently has.