Nebraska football has been in a notable dark age over the last few years. The Cornhuskers haven't been on top since the late '90s, but the last six years with no bowl game appearances have been especially rough. The 2022 season was another forgettable one in Lincoln, as the Scott Frost era came to an unceremonious end and the Huskers finished 4-8.

That said, there is reason for optimism going forward. Nebraska hired Matt Rhule to be its new head coach, hoping he can turn the program around like he did for Temple and Baylor. While Rhule hasn't coached a game yet, his early recruiting results have been encouraging.

Nebraska finished the 2023 recruiting cycle with the 24th-ranked class, according to 247Sports, up from 41st the year before. While that doesn't sound that impressive, it's important to note that the Huskers have the second-best recruiting class with a first-year head coach behind only Auburn. If Rhule can accomplish this in a shortened offseason, imagine what he can do in a full one.

Just as importantly, Nebraska has been very active in the transfer portal. The Huskers have the 21st-ranked transfer class, which, again, is impressive given the short offseason Rhule had. They have brought in two four-stars and seven three-stars to help kickstart the Rhule era.

Most of the attention will go toward those four-stars: tight end Arik Gilbert from Georgia and quarterback Jeff Sims from Georgia Tech. However, college football fans shouldn't overlook those three-stars either. Those players can also make an immediate impact, and if Nebraska does well, expect to see them in headlines.

With that said, one of these three-stars stands out as Nebraska' most under-the-radar transfer portal move.

Nebraska football's sneakiest transfer portal move: DL Elijah Jeudy

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At first glance, Elijah Jeudy may not seem like anything special. The defensive lineman only appeared in four games in two seasons at Texas A&M, with his only contribution to the stat sheet being a single tackle. However, it's everything else that makes Jeudy such an intriguing transfer portal pickup for Nebraska football.

Coming out of high school, Jeudy ranked as the 14th-best edge rusher in the 2021 recruiting class. Brian Dohn of 247Sports praised Jeudy in a 2020 evaluation, calling him an “impact player at a Top 15 school.” Jeudy received many offers from Power Five schools, but decided to go to Texas A&M.

However, Jeudy never got much playing time with the Aggies, so he entered the transfer portal in December. He received offers from Wisconsin, Penn State, Colorado, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and Boston College, but Nebraska won out in the end. Now, he gets the chance to be an impact player on an up-and-coming team.

As it stands now, Jeudy projects to be one of Nebraska's starting defensive tackles next season. The Huskers lost their top defensive tackle last season in Colton Feist, so Jeudy has big shoes to fill. If he can live up to his high school hype, though, he can certainly do it.

That said, what makes Jeudy such a good pickup is his age. He is just entering his sophomore season and has four years of eligibility remaining. If all goes well, then Jeudy could be an impact player in Lincoln for years to come.

Although Jeudy may not have the biggest impact right away, his long-term outlook is what really makes him so exciting for Nebraska football.