The Nebraska Portal Needs Laid Bare After the Utah Beatdown

Nebraska limped to the finish line of the 2025 season with what was supposed to be the much-vaunted Year 3 of the Matt Rhule era. Instead, blowout losses to Iowa, Penn State, and most recently Utah stripped away any remaining illusions about where this roster truly stands. Those games didn’t just sting — they exposed. And nowhere was that more evident than in the Utah beatdown, which laid bare the reality of Nebraska’s portal needs heading into January 2.

The Huskers were woefully overmatched in the trenches on both sides of the ball. That alone should dominate the transfer portal conversation. But while offensive and defensive linemen are clearly the headline requirement, the film from those losses also highlighted other position groups that are thinner — and less impactful — than many wanted to believe.

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Trenches first, but not trenches only

There’s no sugarcoating it: Nebraska cannot compete at the top of the Big Ten without immediate help along both lines of scrimmage. Against elite competition, the Huskers were pushed around, plain and simple. That has to be the first call, the biggest spend, and the most aggressive pursuit when the portal opens.

But once you get past the obvious, the Utah game in particular exposed secondary issues that will continue to hold Nebraska back if left unaddressed.

Tight end: a missing multiplier

If the College Football Playoff has shown us anything, it’s how vital a reliable tight end can be — both as a blocker and as a consistent option in the passing game. Nebraska simply doesn’t have that right now.

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The Heinrich Haarberg experiment was a great story and an admirable effort from a native son, but sentiment doesn’t win Big Ten games. The reality is he’s not at the level required to be a difference-maker at tight end. Carter Nelson, despite the hype surrounding his recruitment, was a non-factor this season, and Mack Markway’s injury robbed the staff of seeing what he could become.

Nebraska needs a proven tight end who can live in the middle of the field, help the quarterback on third down, and actually threaten defenses enough to loosen boxes in the run game. Right now, that piece simply doesn’t exist.

Linebacker: thin and too quiet

Linebacker was one of the biggest disappointments of the season. Yes, it’s fair to point out that a lack of dominant defensive linemen makes life harder at the second level. Still, the production — and impact — just wasn’t there.

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Vincent Shavers flashed at times, but flashes aren’t enough. Marques Watson-Trent, despite being undersized, was expected to factor in and simply didn’t. What the Big Ten consistently shows is that you need linebackers who can create havoc — guys who fill gaps decisively, erase explosive runs before they develop, and turn solid defensive plays into momentum-shifting ones.

Nebraska doesn’t have enough of that right now, and it showed repeatedly against physical opponents.

Wide receiver: upgrades, but not answers

Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter were clear upgrades over previous portal additions. That much is true. But they also highlighted an uncomfortable truth: upgrades alone won’t get Nebraska where it wants to go.

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The best teams have receivers who consistently get separation and win contested catches. Those players make quarterbacks look better than they are and punish defenses for stacking the box. Nebraska’s receiver room still lacks that true difference-maker — the kind of player defensive coordinators have to game-plan around every single week.

Finding that guy is easier said than done, but landing one would take enormous pressure off whoever takes the first snap against Ohio State on September 5.

Time to spend big

The time for caution is officially over.

Matt Rhule doesn’t need developmental pieces anymore — he needs difference-makers, and he needs them now. This is not the offseason to count pennies. GM Pat Stewart has to be ready to splash the cash and secure day-one starters at key positions.

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It’s impossible not to remember Rhule’s earlier comment about desperate teams setting the market, made when Kentucky overspent on Dante Dowdell. Well, here we are. On Day 1 of the portal window, Nebraska is the desperate team — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The Utah loss wasn’t just another blowout. It was a mirror. And what it reflected was a program that can no longer afford half-measures in the portal. If Nebraska wants Year 4 to look any different, the response has to be immediate, aggressive, and unapologetically expensive.