Matt Rhule will be a busy, busy man come June, as Lincoln readies itself to welcome budding targets fresh out of high school. He’s got some big guns in his arsenal, too, that could help attract some important players. Rhule has a star QB1 in Dylan Raiola—his recruitment changed the face of Nebraska football, setting the program up for future recruiting successes. Rhule may not have many commits in the bag from the 2026 class, placed at No. 51 in the country. But he is close to landing a huge target to bulk up Nebraska’s D-line. Hopefully, then, the Huskers will at least be a top 50 class at the end of this month.

Rhule has spent the last month away from Lincoln, making an impression on future targets. Now at Lincoln, he hopes to succeed with a key player, who seems to be all in on being a Husker. Rhule is in hot pursuit of 4-star DL prospect James ‘Tank’ Carrington, out of Irvine, California. In his junior season, Carrington impressed with 33 tackles, 9 sacks, and 14 TFLs. He has a MaxPreps Sophomore All-American honor to his name and shone in the Polynesian Bowl this year. According to the latest intel from Wilson Dittman, it looks like Rhule will be hearing some positive news from Carrington soon after his official visit to Lincoln. The host said in a May 31 episode of his show, “[There’s] a lot of storylines around this guy and there’s a lot of optimism that Nebraska is going to land him.”

“The interesting thing around James Carrington is that right after he scheduled his visits to Nebraska, he canceled all of his other official visits,” Dittman revealed. Carrington was scheduled to visit Oklahoma and LSU ahead in the summer. Now, only Nebraska is lined up on his calendar. It’s still unclear whether he has plans to explore them in the future. But for now, Nebraska is surely looking to be closing in on Carrington.

The 6-2, 240 lb. prospect will be a huge win for Rhule. “You can put him at nose [tackle]. You could put him at three technique. He’s a ferocious run stopper, but he can also get to the quarterback at a high level,” Dittman added. Now that they have an open arena to nail their pitch to Carrington, Nebraska should go the extra mile to land a commitment from him. “[Clearly], Nebraska, they’ve been going to work behind the scenes here. They want him badly. If they can leave a strong impression on him when he comes around to Lincoln for the first time, I would not be shocked if he commits shortly after then,” Dittman said.

June will be a month where Rhule will see some recruiting losses, too. He has already lost a few prospects and is now adding another one to that list.

Matt Rhule suffers another blow in the 2026 class

Nebraska lost out on the race for edge rusher McHale Blade, 4-star WR Nasir Rankin, and DB Keenan Harris. Matt Rhule is also ruled out of the race for 4-star WR Ryan Mosley, out of Georgia. It’s going to pinch a little for Rhule, because it’s the same state where he scored Dayton and Dylan Raiola out of. Mosely had offers from Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and a slew of other offers. But Mosley will stay in-state for his collegiate career.

The WR announced his commitment to Georgia, which is on a recruiting roll after landing 5-star Jared Curtis. “The way I feel at Georgia is different. The relationship I have with the Georgia coaches is better than with any other staff,” Mosley told On3. Nebraska was a favorite, too, but lost the battle to Kirby Smart’s front-office power. The WR had been to Athens heaps of times before he committed. Mosley was slated to take a visit to Nebraska as well, but that won’t be happening anymore. He has 1,319 total yards, 86 catches, and 19 TDs in his prep career so far.

Recruiting is not always going to be easy, especially for Nebraska. Matt Rhule has success in local recruiting but is failing to drive the deal home when it comes to out-of-state recruits. But that need not always be the case, as the Huskers look keen on adding James Carrington to their roster in the future. Will Rhule get a positive word from the prospect in the future?