Matt Rhule said on Saturday at his midwinter news conference that the Nebraska traditional spring game likely won’t be held going forward because of the head coach’s concern about other schools poaching his players.
The Cornhuskers’ spring game is traditionally one of the best attended in college football and is a major revenue producer. But Rhule believes it’s better if the program doesn’t have a televised spring game that would showcase his players for the transfer portal.
“The word tampering doesn’t exist anymore, it’s just absolute free, open, common market. … I don’t want these guys all being able to watch our guys,” said Rhule on Saturday.
The spring game has a strong tradition in a lot of places in college football, but particularly at Nebraska. Last year, the spring game drew a whopping 60,452 to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. That was the fourth-highest spring game attendance in the nation behind spring games at Ohio State, Alabama and Penn State. The Cornhuskers’ spring game was also televised on the Big Ten Network.
“I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world and have people watch our guys and say, ‘He looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him,'” said Rhule.
Six Nebraska players entered the transfer portal the week after last year’s spring game.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
