Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football team have been selective about players they have added from the transfer portal.
Before Tuesday, the Big Red has brought in just six players to its 2024 roster through the portal. Over the past week, though, the Husker staff made it known right away their interest in Montana linebacker and North Platte native Vince Genatone. Within minutes of entering the portal, he heard from NU, and a couple of hours later, his family was on the phone with Rhule.
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Genatone and his family visited Nebraska’s spring practice on Tuesday, and before they left Lincoln, they committed to Rhule and the Huskers.
“I committed,” Genatone told HuskerOnline on Tuesday. “I was just talking with Coach Rhule in his office, and I just told him that this where I wanted to be. He seemed pretty happy.
“What jumped out was seeing how well they develop guys. Coach Rhule and his staff are very well known for developing athletes and making them better football players and better humans too. That’s what jumped out to me the most, and that’s what am I’m most excited about.”
Genatone will come to Nebraska with three years to play three and technically join the team as a preferred walk-on this season. While at Montana, he worked as the No. 1 outside linebacker and kickoff returner but left Bozeman after spring practice ended.
Genatone said NU is recruiting him as a linebacker and running back, but he will start his career on defense.
“Nebraska knew all about my high school stuff,” Genatone said. “That’s part of the reason why they decided to reach out to me. I’m just really excited that they did and they are giving me this opportunity.
“I am just looking to get developed and be the best player I can be. After talking to Coach Rhule and all the other coaches there, I just thought they would have the best capabilities to do that.”
Genatone fits the Nebraska recruiting profile under Rhule
Genatone only competed for two years in Nebraska high school athletics. Before that, his family lived in Casper, Wyo.
However, he made the most of his two years in the state, as he was named the Omaha World-Herald’s Male High School Athlete of the Year in 2022.
While at North Platte HS, Genatone was named Super State with 136 tackles on defense, 911 yards rushing, and 13 touchdowns on offense. He was a two-time Class A state wrestling champion in the 195 and 220-pound weight classes.
On the track, Genatone also ran the 100-meter dash in 10.50 seconds in 2023, finishing third place behind current Huskers Jaylen Lloyd and Malachi Coleman.
“I saw those guys at practice,” Genatone said of Lloyd and Coleman. “Some of the coaches were making jokes that we have to rematch again. It was pretty funny.”
During the summer of his senior year, Genatone also posted elite testing numbers. He ran 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 4.13 seconds in the pro-agility shuttle, and posted a 38.5-inch vertical and a 127-inch broad jump. To put those numbers in perspective, the top LB broad jump at the NFL combine this year was 127 inches, and the top vertical was 39.5 inches.
Genatone’s father, Al, was a former linebacker and captain at Washington State for their 2002 team that played in the Rose Bowl. He later coached at WSU, Western Washington, and Idaho before enlisting in the Army as an officer and serving in Afghanistan as a Platoon Leader.
Vince Genatone said he plans to be in Lincoln by June 1. During his visit on Tuesday, he measured just under 6-foot and 225 pounds.
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