Within Matt Rhule‘s first two weeks on the Nebraska job, he had to battle Colorado. That was for Malachi Coleman, the former four-star wide receiver and top recruit in Nebraska for the 2023 class.

Rhule was hired in late November 2022 and Coleman decommitted from the Huskers Dec. 1. By mid December, Deion Sanders was on the phone with Coleman, the Buffaloes offered and he went to Boulder for an official visit. He even received Crystal Ball picks that predicted his possible Colorado commitment and signature during the following week’s early signing period.

Rhule and his staff worked fervently to build a relationship with Coleman and his family. Coleman later said that he made a decision on the first day of the early signing period. He went to bed not knowing whether it would be the Buffaloes or Huskers the next day, but he also said that he built great trust with Rhule and would “go to war for him.”

Call that win No. 1 for Nebraska over Colorado. The Buffaloes subsequently got the victory on the field last season, 36-14, in the first meeting between Rhule and Sanders at their respective schools.

Saturday, they meet for Round 2 in Lincoln — a prime (no pun intended) recruiting opportunity for Nebraska.

Coleman was a major pickup in his own right, but he was also a foreshadowing of what was to come for the Huskers.

The following cycle, Nebraska flipped five-star quarterback and current starter Dylan Raiola from Georgia on Nebraska’s way to signing a top-25 class in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.

The naysayers have floated that Coleman was an in-state player and Raiola has family ties to the Huskers, but the recruiting wins have not been limited to those two.

Those who cover recruiting can see that this staff can recruit, and that a win this weekend would add some gasoline to Nebraska’s fire.

“For a variety of reasons, all eyes are going to be on this weekend’s matchup between Nebraska and Colorado,” said 247Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Loy. “You’ve got Matt Rhule and elite freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola taking on Deion Sanders and big-time signal-caller Shedeur Sanders. For Nebraska, a victory this weekend could be huge for its recruiting efforts.”

The visitor list is enough proof of the groundwork that the staff has done and what could still be coming in this class.

As established with Coleman and Raiola, no recruitment is over to Rhule and his staff.