Nebraska football had a successful early signing day Wednesday.

Head coach Matt Rhule met with the media for the first time since the end of the regular season, when the Huskers fell to Iowa to finish 6-6. Rhule began by thanking the signees, their families and their coaches for putting trust in him and the Husker staff.

“We don’t take that responsibility lightly,” Rhule said.

The Huskers added 20 signees. That’s one more than number of commits the Big Red had coming into the day.

“You have to be really competitive to win in today’s Big Ten,” Rhule said. “I think half the guys that are on this class played for a state championship. When you look at the height, weight, speed, trait, length, all of those things, and you got a lot of guys who won a lot, I think we’re right up there.”

The last player to sign Wednesday was Jeremiah Jones. The four-star safety had been heavily pursued by Missouri. As much as Mizzou hoped to flip the prospect from Kentucky, some last-minute recruiting from Rhule kept him in the fold.

“Fought off some last-minute recruiting,” Rhule said. “That’s what happens when you recruit the best players in the country. Jeremiah’s one of them.”

The additional signee came in the form of four-star wide receiver Cortez Mills. The Florida product had been committed to Oklahoma since July, but Wednesday morning he announced he was signing with Nebraska.

Nebraska was also a finalist for four-star wide receiver Michael Terry III from San Antonio. Ultimately, Terry elected to stay home with the Texas Longhorns.

Rhule wasn’t shy about talking about the impact of the 1890 Collective and name, image, likeness on recruiting.

“Think about some of the places we flipped guys from,” Rhule. “You’re talking about SEC schools. I don’t know that (NIL is) why people go there. But you have to be in the same ballpark to have a chance. This has allowed us to be in a lot more conversations than we’ve been in before.”

As of midafternoon Wednesday, the Huskers’ class was ranked 18th, 20th and 21st in the nation by Rivals, On3 and 247Sports, good for sixth in the Big Ten Conference.

Watch Rhule’s press conference below. Besides the signing class, Rhule addressed the Iowa game, including pregame, bowl practices, the coaching staff changes, and players entering the transfer portal. Scroll down for more coverage, more video and the full list of Wednesday’s signees.

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