‘Ace recruiter’ could rejoin Nebraska football staff, plus more Cornhuskers news

The headlines keep coming for Nebraska football. On Thursday, there were a couple of news items as Emmett Johnson, who led the Huskers in yards from scrimmage last season entered the transfer portal.

Former wide receivers coach Garret McGuire also left the Nebraska football program to join his dad’s coaching staff at Texas Tech.

While McGuire was technically replaced as the wide receivers coach, he was really solid on the recruiting trail. He was an asset, especially in the state of Texas.

However, the Huskers have had tepid success in the Lone Star State under Matt Rhule. On Early Signing Day, they flipped Cortez Mills from Florida but missed on five-star Michael Terry from Texas, who chose Texas.

The Huskers signed just two players from Texas this cycle and it seems like less of a priority going forward. What might be a bigger priority is the state of Florida.

Nebraska football signed three impact players in the 2024 class from Florida in Jacory Barney, Vincent Shavers, and Willis McGahee IV (others too) and all three of those guys played early and could start in 2025.

Nebraska football trying to re-hire “ace recruiter” Phil Simpson

Phil Simpson, a former Florida high school coach, played a key role in landing those players. Florida State hired him away last offseason but Nebraska football is trying to hire him back according to Sean Callahan of Husker Online.

Callahan is reporting that Nebraska wants Simpson to be an outside linebackers coach. His presence would also be a huge asset on the recruiting trail. He was known as an “ace recruiter” and would replace the loss of a dynamic recruiter (McGuire) with another dynamic recruiter.

Nebraska Cornhuskers open NCAA volleyball tournament

The Nebraska volleyball team won a share of their second straight Big Ten championship after a 29-2 regular season and a 19-1 record in the Big Ten. The only loss was to fellow No. 1 seed Penn State, along with a non-conference loss to SMU, another NCAA tournament team.

Nebraska volleyball earned the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. The Cornhuskers are the No. 1 in their bracket and won’t have to travel until the Final Four if they make it.

The journey starts Friday night against Florida A&M (27-6) at 7 PM CST (ESPN+). The Rattlers are no stranger to the NCAA tournament. They have won the SWAC in three of the past four seasons but lost in the first round in their last two trips to the NCAA tournament.

Brooke Lynn Watts is the team leader in kills with 3.65 per set, and she has a team-high 37 service aces. Iyonnie Sanford contributes 2.66 kills per set. The Rattlers rank sixth in the nation in opponent hitting percentage (.142) and fifth in aces per set (2.11).

Nebraska volleyball ranks 11th nationally and second in the Big Ten with a team-hitting percentage of .288. The Huskers also ranked eighth nationally and first in the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .148.

Nebraska volleyball also boasts five First-Team All-Big Ten selections — Harper Murray, Merritt Beason, Andi Jackson, Bergen Reilly, and Lexi Rodriguez. Reilly was the Big Ten Setter of the Year, while Rodriguez won Libero of the Year.

If Nebraska wins, it will play either Miami (FL) or South Dakota State in the round of 32 at 7 PM CST (ESPN+).

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