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Despite the Nebraska Cornhuskers regularly having one of the most highly attended spring games in all of college football, head coach Matt Rhule opted to do away with the tradition for amid fear that other teams might poach some of his players. Now, after backlash from fans, Rhule has created a replacement event. But the new concept doesn’t come anywhere close to the real thing.
Rhule created the Husker Games, which is an open “practice” format similar to the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games. But on top of that, Doug Samuels of Football Scoop reports that Nebraska will in fact hold a live scrimmage. But the scrimmage will only involved players who are not expected to make the 105-man roster.
After initially saying no to a spring game, Matt Rhule and the Huskers have decided to hold special live spring scrimmage for guys projected to miss the 105 roster limithttps://t.co/d0HM1EMWlb
— Doug Samuels 🏈 (@CoachSamz) April 18, 2025
The NCAA recently introduced new roster caps as part of its settlement with the House. Previously, teams were limited to 85 scholarships but could have an unlimited number of walk-ons. Now, almost all of those walk-ons are likely to be off the team.
While Rhule’s idea is a nice tip of the cap to those players, it’s hard to see why fans would be overly excited about the event. People go to spring games to see the star true freshman for the first time, or how the new QB looks. Very few people go to watch walk-ons, especially ones who won’t be on the team two weeks later.
Also, the Nebraska roster currently has around 130 players on it. So how exactly do you have a scrimmage with the remaining 25 or so players you expect to cut?
Again, it’s a nice sentiment from Rhule. The Huskers can film the game and players can use tape to show other coaches if they choose to continue their careers. But none of this would be an issue if you’d just simply have a normal spring game.