The Nebraska football team finished this season 5-7 (3-6), and they missed out on a bowl game yet again. It wasn't a great year, but there is still optimism among Cornhuskers fans.

Nebraska showed flashes during year one of the Matt Rhule era. At one point, the Cornhuskers won five games in a six-game stretch. The program is trending in the right direction, and that is clear in terms of recruiting and NIL progress.

One way that NIL could start to change for the better for Nebraska football is through former players. One player that wants to help in that regard in Ndamukong Suh, a Cornhuskers legend that played for the team before heading to the NFL after the 2009 season. Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts recently discussed how Suh wants to help.

“There are former players who have so much to give, and we’ve got to think about how we can better engage with them to help,” Trev Alberts said, according to an article from On3. “So he’s got some ideas in the NIL space and some of those emerging things that perhaps can help some of our student-athletes.”

Nebraska football lands five-star quarterback

Nebraska is already making some clear progress with recruiting, and if they can get their NIL game up to the level of other top programs, they can start to consistently compete for the top players in the country. We are already seeing this begin as the Cornhuskers just landed one of the top players in the 2024 class.

Dylan Raiola is a five-star quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, and he was committed to Georgia. However, the Cornhuskers recently got him to flip his commitment, and he is now coming to Nebraska.

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When one of the top players in the country flips from a team that has won two-straight national titles to a team that hasn't made a bowl game since 2016, you know that recruiting is trending in the right direction.

There is hope for Nebraska football right now. The next step for this team is making a bowl game next year. That is a must, and it will show that this program is on the right path.

After that, they can start competing for Big Ten titles. This will all come with recruiting and NIL success.