During his Dec. 4 signing day press conference, Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule talked about defensive coordinator Tony White’s departure to Florida State. When discussing the situation, Rhule talked about not wanting to change philosophically. “I think what’s important to me is I like the way we play defense, “Rhule said. “I like this defense. I like these fronts. I like the multiplicity of what we did.”

Newly promoted defensive coordinator John Butler — perhaps with input from associate head coach Phil Snow — is likely to make some tweaks to White’s 3-3-5 system. There will be changes in coverage concepts for sure, but what the base personnel looks like it still to be determined.

Whether or not Butler holds fast to a 3-3-5 foundation or gravitates more toward a traditional four-man front and shifts to a more conventional 4-2-5 model is unknown at this point. Whatever the defense morphs into in 2025 and beyond under Butler, I think you’re going to continue to see a similar profile defender being recruited.

Pierce Mooberry is someone the previous staff had begun building a relationship with in the fall of 2022 when the two-way standout visited for a handful of home games. Matt Rhule and his staff started monitoring him after he came to Lincoln twice in April 2023 to watch spring practices and were impressed by him when he returned for a Friday Night Lights camp a few months later on June 16.

The multi-faceted athlete impressed a number of schools during the offseason following his sophomore season at Millard North on Omaha. He received his first offer from Iowa State on April 13, 2023, then was reportedly one of the most impressive players Cyclone coaches saw during their extensive June camp season.

He was back on campus for Matt Rhule’s first Husker home game against Northern Illinois on Sept. 16 and coaches told him they’d be keeping an eye on his junior season.

Minnesota was impressed enough by Mooberry’s strong start to come through with an offer on Oct. 29, 2023. Mooberry finished with 68 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and an interception while earning all-metro honors from the Omaha World-Herald.

Nebraska kicked off the new year by offering Mooberry on Jan. 3, 2024. He had just gotten home from basketball practice when his phone rang. He let it go to voicemail because it was an out-of-state area code. Shortly after he got a text; “This is Matt Rhule. Happy New Years. Give me a call when you have chance.” Mooberry immediately called him back and was personally offered a scholarship by Nebraska’s head coach.

Pierce’s father, Brandon Mooberry, is a former Husker walk-on (1996-2000) and was a rush end on the last Nebraska conference title team in 1999. Pierce grew up a Husker fan and although Nebraska was a dream offer for him, he had established solid relationships with a few other schools and wanted to do his due diligence before blindly pulling the trigger.

Even so, he was being peer recruited by several in-state players. His teammate at Millard North, Caden VerMaas, had been committed to Nebraska since April 2023 and was pushing for his childhood friend to join him in Lincoln. He was also hearing from Omaha North’s Tyson Terry — committed since June 2023 — who had been his one-time teammate with the junior Mustangs during middle school. Mooberry was also hearing from Lincoln Southwest WR Jackson Carpenter and Bishop Neumann RB Conor Booth who he had met multiple times on recruiting visits.

Nebraska made Mooberry a priority, with Matt Rhule stopping by his high school on Jan. 18 during the contact period and then welcoming him to campus for a junior day visit shortly after on Jan. 27. Mooberry returned for spring visits on March 28 and April 11 while also making sure to take an unofficial visit to Manhattan to check out Kansas State on April 13.

He returned to Lincoln for the Red-White spring game on April 27 and then the Huskers seemingly closed the deal not long after when five assistants — Tony White, Terrance Knighton, Rob Dvoracek, Evan Cooper and Ed Foley — visited him at Millard North during the May evaluation period.

Mooberry had been planning to take official visits to Minnesota (June 7), Kansas State (June 14) and Nebraska (June 21) since March, but as the calendar flipped to June he realized his heart was already in Lincoln. After canceling his trip to Minneapolis, Mooberry decided to end his recruitment.

On June 8, with Nebraska set to host a Friday Night Lights camp, Mooberry let the coaches know he wanted to come down to Lincoln earlier in the day to chat about the program and ask some further questions. But when Mooberry sat down with the Husker coaches, he pledged to Nebraska on the spot.

At the time of his commitment, Mooberry had five Power Four offers: Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Minnesota, but he was getting serious looks from Wisconsin, Iowa, Washington, Oklahoma and Wyoming, among others. The first team to really take notice of Mooberry was actually Wisconsin, after he’d impressed at a camp in Madison in the summer of 2022 and took a subsequent visit that November for the Badgers’ game against Maryland. Had there not been a coaching change at the end of that season, it’s likely Wisconsin would have offered and been a serious contender.

Mooberry is an On3 four-star recruit ranked as the No. 218 player in the country. He was named first-team Super-State by the Lincoln Journal Star and second-team All-Nebraska by the Omaha World-Herald as a senior. He finished his career with 170 tackles in 29 games while adding 53 receptions for 1,110 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He was perhaps the state’s best two-way player last fall before missing the last month of the Mustangs’ season with an ACL injury. Most schools were recruiting him for defense, but Iowa wanted him as a tight end — as did the previous Husker staff.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Mooberry has a rangy frame that could fit well in a number of positions on the Husker defense depending on how he grows. He played all over for Millard North, including all three levels on defense. Mooberry spent his sophomore and junior seasons playing in a deeper, safety-like role in Millard North’s defensive system and spent his senior season playing more off-ball linebacker.

He could have a future as a rover thanks to an extensive background as a defensive back. He excelled playing 12 to15 yards behind the line of scrimmage diagnosing plays and pursuing downhill — while also being adept in coverage.

He could potentially play the Jack spot as well, depending on how that spot evolves under John Butler, but more than likely his future is as a Will linebacker in Nebraska’s system where his combination of size and athleticism should serve him well.

The blueprint will likely be current Husker Javin Wright, who shares a similar frame and was also a high school defensive back. I’m also reminded of former Husker linebacker Sean Fisher (2008-12), who also came to Nebraska from Millard North as a tall, rangy safety.

Mooberry moves well in space and has fluid hips for his frame. He has good footwork and is a smooth athlete for his size. As an off-ball linebacker he should do well in coverage against most backs and tight ends he’ll face at the college level, and with his playing radius he should be quite effective in zone coverage.

Mooberry joined the Huskers on their bowl trip but didn’t take part in any practices as he was still recovering from his knee injury. He’ll likely be limited this spring — if he participates at all — and is more than likely looking at a redshirt season in order to allow him to get completely healthy. There’s enough depth in front of him that he should be allowed a long runway to get back to 100 percent. Perhaps he sees time later in the year in some capacity.

More from Jeremy Pernell’s series

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