Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule gathered up his team Thursday and brought forward one player, sophomore linebacker Jacob Bower. As captured by Nebraska’s in-house media team, Rhule asked Bower if he was paying to go to school. Bower, a 6-foot-1, 220-pounder from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, said he was. Bower also doesn’t have a NIL deal. Rhule praised Bower, not initially invited last August’s training camp, for focusing on his own growth and getting “better and better” as time went on. “I’ll pay for your school,” Rhule said, denoting that Bower would be placed on scholarship next year. Teammates mobbed Bower after the news. Minutes after Rhule delivered that news, he talked to reporters. “He pays for school,” Rhule said of Bower. “He doesn’t have a NIL deal. And he just plays and plays and plays and plays and plays and plays. He won’t practice next week; he’s not just in the 105, he might be the starting lineup/some of the packages we’ll do.” Rhule added that he can no longer effectively use Bower with the No. 2 defense because he’s playing like a starter. Ascendant walk-on linebackers are nothing new inside NU’s program. Luke Reimer amassed 294 career tackles for the Huskers after walking on from Lincoln North Star. Omaha Creighton Prep graduate John Bullock amassed 120 tackles, over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, after Rhule moved him from safety. Both Reimer and Bullock are roughly the same size as Bower, who has one career tackle in the 2024 Northern Iowa game. He had 116 tackles as a senior at Rancho Santa Margarita Catholic High School. According to his Nebraska bio, he considered rugby before coming to NU. Bower’s development is a byproduct of NU’s approach to coaching its roster. “One thing I always ask (recruits) is, can you tell the difference between the starters and the walk-ons, in terms of the way they’re being coached, and people can’t, and that’s important to me,” Rhule said. “My job’s not just to coach the players that I think are going to play. My job’s to coach everybody.” Matt Rhule wants more takeaways Nebraska drastically improved its turnover margin in the second season of the Rhule era. NU finished -2 in turnover margin — tied for 10th in the Big Ten. In 2023, the Huskers finished -17 and last in the league. The Huskers committed 12 fewer turnovers in 2024, losing eight fewer fumbles. Rhule wants even more progress. “We were horrific (in 2023) and we were bad this past year,” Rhule said. “Better, but bad. We’ve got to become either good or great.” Outside of 2023, NU’s giveaways had ranked in college football’s middle of the pack since 2021. Takeaways have been a greater challenge. The Huskers have averaged just 15 per season since 2021. In 2024, Nebraska had 17 takeaways — 11 interceptions and six recovered fumbles. Three of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns. “We’re breaking on the ball and intercepting balls better,” Rhule said of NU’s work during spring camp. It’s hard for coaches to gauge turnover creation in spring, Rhule said, because defenders can’t hit the quarterback. Other turnovers, like forced fumbles, come through “dominant contact,” Rhule said. It’s one of the mantras of the program. “Running through people and striking people,” Rhule said. “We’ve had some of those. Guys like Jeremiah Charles have gotten the ball out. We just need more. At the same time, I think we’re carrying the ball better.” Rhule said Nebraska preaches “knock the football out, knock the football out, knock the football out.” NU has not had a positive turnover margin since 2016, the program’s last nine-win season. 1890 collective stumps for Nebraska wrestling 1890 Nebraska, the NIL collective for NU athletics, continued this weekend a campaign to raise NIL funds for the Husker wrestling team that finished second at the NCAA Championships. Nebraska intends to return six All-Americans, according to 1890 social media posts, and the collective will match up to $200,000 in donations made by fans. Although Penn State, winners of 12 of the last 14 NCAA titles, are annual favorites to win the team title, NU returners may be able to push the Nittany Lions in 2026.