For at least one Nebraska transfer, the Lincoln-to-Corvallis pipeline has been shut down.
Late last week, it was reported that Greg Bell would not travel with the rest of the team to Wisconsin for Saturday’s game as he was considering a transfer. Monday night, the running back confirmed that he has indeed decided to leave the Cornhuskers football program.
In officially announcing his move on Twitter, Bell included a copy of the release letter he received from his now-former university.
Per that letter, Bell has been barred from transferring to any school in the Big Ten (standard, but nonetheless BS), any school on the Cornhuskers’ non-conference schedule the next three seasons (again, standard, but nonetheless BS) and... Oregon State?
Oregon State isn’t, obviously, in the Big Ten. Nor are they on any future non-conference schedule for Nebraska. So, why exactly is the Left Coast OSU included?
Of the 15 players, including Bell, who have transferred from or otherwise left Nebraska since Scott Frost took over, three of them have landed at Oregon State -- quarterback Tristan Gebbia (HERE), wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey (HERE), linebacker Avery Roberts (HERE). There are a pair of connections behind the abrupt surge of former Cornhuskers morphing into future Beavers.
The first comes in the form of assistant Trent Bray. After spending the past three seasons as the linebackers coach of the Cornhuskers, Bray was hired for the same job by the Beavers late last year and is in his first season as an assistant on Jonathan Smith‘s staff.
Additionally, Mike Riley, fired as the Cornhuskers’ head coach last year, was hired by his former school to serve as Smith’s assistant head coach. While he was named as the head coach of the Alliance of American Football’s San Antonio franchise in mid-June, Riley is still listed on the program’s official website as an analyst for the football program.