Luke Reimer's rapid rise leads him from walk-on to scholarship

Nebraska inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud officially spilled the beans on one of the worst-kept secrets of the Huskers’ offseason during his Zoom interview with local reporters on Tuesday.

Asked if there was a chance that sophomore linebacker Luke Reimer, a walk-on from Lincoln (Neb.) North Star, could be put on scholarship this season, Ruud acted as if that news had been announced long ago.

Technically, it hadn’t, though anyone following NU’s roster and scholarship situation had likely penciled in Reimer as a recipient.

“I believe that’s already happened. I’m not sure I’m supposed to speak out of turn over the head coach and say that, but I’m sure that’s already happened,” Ruud said.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Reimer seemingly emerged out of nowhere to become a fixture in Nebraska’s inside linebacker rotation last season as a true freshman. He played in 10 games of 12 games, primarily on special teams, and finished with 11 tackles and one tackle for loss.

But Ruud said he saw Reimer’s breakout coming much earlier than that.

“He was a guy that after going through his first couple shuffle drills as a freshman walk-on, I figured that it wasn’t going to take very long (for Reimer to earn a scholarship),” Ruud said. “He’s been nothing but great to be around, and he’s improved every day since he’s been here.”

Reimer posted 74 tackles and 14 TFLs to earn Super-State honors as a senior for North Star in 2018. Despite holding scholarship offers from Buffalo, South Dakota State, South Dakota, Northern Iowa, and North Dakota, he opted to accept a walk-on offer to NU.

Senior inside linebacker Collin Miller said it didn’t matter whether Reimer was on scholarship or a walk-on because all that mattered was that Reimer was a football player in every sense.

“He’s one of those kids that wants to perfect his craft,” Miller said. “He’s always trying to get in the film room to watch extra film with whoever. He’s one of those guys that just loves the game. When you know someone loves the game, you can respect them a little more.

“He always has his ‘why’ – why he wants to step on the field and perfect his craft. Like I said, he just makes plays, he flies around to the ball, gives maximum effort… He’s going to play good ball for us this year.