Transfer Portal Hurts the Huskers

Betts and McCaffrey move on

Nebraska Athletics Communications

Last week, I wrote about Husker WR Zavier Betts leaving the Husker football program. He left the team and may never play football again. Or maybe he could enter the transfer portal and play football somewhere else this fall. Or he might even come back to Nebraska. Who knows?

The reason for his departure? Some say he was burned out. He's had it with playing football. And that's okay. My hope is that all players who decide to leave the Husker football program go on to lead happy, productive lives however they choose.

Some of you (and you know who you are) took me to task for suggesting that I singled out Nebraska as being the worst offender in the transfer portal.

Some also said I was blaming Scott Frost for all the departures.

Rubbish on both counts.

I did say that player turnover has impacted the Husker football program more than many schools. Why? Because Nebraska has endured five consecutive losing seasons. And tragically, NU has had losing seasons six out of the past seven years.

Losing players is usually not a good thing for any program, especially when a team like Nebraska is trying to get back to respectability.

One of the players I mentioned last week was former Husker QB Luke McCaffrey, who left the Huskers about a year ago. While he was at Nebraska, he the endorsement of his head coach, Scott Frost. Frost often stated that Luke's future was at QB, not at wide receiver.

So what did Luke do to show his appreciation of Frost's support? McCaffrey entered the transfer portal late last spring and enrolled at the University of Louisville. He was there long enough to enjoy a cup of coffee. And last summer, he entered the portal yet again to play football at Rice University. Yup. Rice is located in Houston, Texas, and is a member of Conference USA. The Owls play in a stadium that holds 40,000 people (NU will have more than that at this Saturday's Husker spring game).

Rice head football coach Mike Bloomgren announced earlier this year that Luke has switched from playing QB to being a WR for this fall. Maybe with Bloomgren's coaching experience, he can make Luke into a top-notch receiver.

Who knows?

Luke's leaving for Rice is still somewhat of a head scratcher. Luke gave up being a backup QB at a Power Five football program (Nebraska) and started two games for the Huskers. All his games at Nebraska were televised and every home game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln was packed with 80-90,000 rabid Husker fans.

Either Luke has been getting some bad advice or he's just making some very questionable decisions on his own. For the record, Luke comes from a long line of great football players.

It seems Frost did all he could to try to keep Luke at Nebraska, but all that went for naught. I wish Luke all the best in the future - despite all the head scratching.

How 'Bout Them Huskers

After a one-week hiatus, my grandson Will and I resumed our weekly podcasts. This week's guest is Mike Babcock, who currently is editor and sportswriter for Hail Varsity magazine. Mike spent 17 years as a writer for the Lincoln Journal Star. He wrote for Huskers Illustrated and has authored several books about Husker football.

Mike talks about how he got started as a sportswriter and what gives him the most satisfaction in writing. He talks about the current status of the Husker football and basketball programs. He tells a great story about the time he had to watch an episode of Hogan's Heroes at Bob Devaney's house. Don't miss this interview with one of the best sportswriters in the business. Here's the link.