3 thoughts on commitment of TE Bear Tenney to Nebraska football

Nebraska football continues to build momentum on the recruiting trail as the Huskers landed their third commitment of this month in the 2025 class.

Bear Tenney started trending with expert projections on Wednesday, but on Thursday, Tenney, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end, pledged to the Huskers following a recent visit on April 11th.

It’s the sixth commitment total in Nebraska football for the 2025 class and the first tight end. Tenney is ranked No. 433 overall in the 2025 class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. He’s also the fourth-ranked player in the state of Utah and 24th among tight ends.

Here are three thoughts.

“A willing blocker”

That’s one of the things it says on the 247 Sports scouting report and it fits. Tenney is a bear. He’s a big dude and could be utilized a lot in 12 personnel. Maybe Tenney will be playing alongside Carter Nelson someday in the future.

Nelson is the kind of guy you can move all over. Tenney is more of a traditional tight end but he’s got good hands and can do some things after the catch.

Dylan Raiola also made a strong push for him, according to Tenney, which tells you what kind of pass catcher the Nebraska football quarterback sees in the three-star tight end.

“Me and Dylan Raiola have been in contact for a while now and he’s been pushing for me to join him,” Tenney told 247 Sports. “Nebraska is going to be a great fit. I’m going to love him as my QB — who wouldn’t want a five-star as their QB?”

Matt Rhule knows how to close

This is another example of Matt Rhule knowing how to close a recruitment. Nebraska football wasn’t even in the top five for Tenney when he released it. Instead, he was focused on Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Washington, and Utah. He even got an expert projection for the Utes at one.

Tenney was projected to Michigan too. That tells you the kind of player that Nebraska is getting. Forget about the rankings — Georgia and Michigan wanted the dude — that tells you what kind of blocker he is.

His potential really excites me. But the fact that Rhule got him on campus once and closed the deal is impressive. The Nebraska football head coach can recruit.

Momentum going into a huge weekend

Nebraska football has tangible momentum on the recruiting trail going into a huge visit weekend. The spring game is always an important time for recruits but it feels like the Huskers have all their top priorities on campus this weekend such as Cortez Mills, TJ Lateef, Christian Jones, Chase Loftin, Michael Terry, and others.

It’s going to be a loaded visit weekend. Dylan Raiola is going to shine and the defense should get some recruits excited too. I wouldn’t expect any commitments. This weekend isn’t about that.

Nebraska needs to put itself in a strong position going into the official visits. It probably has ground to make up with Mills and others. Jones and Loftin have been looking outside the state and this is a chance for the Huskers to re-asset themselves.

It’s also good to have landed three commitments in the past two weeks. Yes, they were three-star prospects, but momentum is real on the recruiting trail and Nebraska football has it.