Plates to Playbooks: How Nebraska’s Nutrition Program is Emerging as a Recruiting Edge

There are many things that ultimately convince a recruit to sign with a school, and at Nebraska, the N on the helmet might stand for nutrition.

Andrew Marshall warming up before the Big Red Preview event. | Nebraska Athletics

Recruiting is an inexact science.

The top priorities for one star athlete could vary completely from those of the next star player standing right next to him or her. Facilities, proximity to home, playing time, and championship potential are all common traits many student-athletes look for when picking which university to play for. For others, it's a family-like atmosphere or a current player turned mentor working hard to bring in more commits.

The reasons to pick one school over another are endless, especially in the new world of NIL and the paying of college athletes. It's the wild, wild west out there. However, one key function of Nebraska athletics is starting to turn heads—performance nutrition.

In fact, during Tuesday's practice session, Idaho transfer Andrew Marshall admitted that it somewhat became an ultimate selling point for him.

"Nutrition was a big one," Marshall said. "Just the training staff. You just have a lot more access to things that can benefit you most definitely. At my FCS program, I thought we had it good. When I got here, you know, it was ten times better."

Nebraska's performance nutrition program is considered one of the best in the nation and for good reason. The program is led by Kristin Coggin, who is a nationally respected pioneer in high-performance sports fueling. Unlike many schools, Nebraska sports a fully self-managed kitchen and culinary staff, which features Assistant Sports Sous Chefs Scott Burkle, Roy Farrens, and Zane Nelson, who curates performance-optimized menus for players from all sports—not just football.

"You've got more access to nutrition," Marshall said. "They've got staff members here to help you. It was very eye-opening. I was really like, 'I get all this? All this is for my benefit?' It was real nice."

The program has four full-time sports registered dietitians with more than 60 years of combined experience. According to NU's website, these RDs are deeply integrated into daily athlete life and are trained in food and supplement security, helping athletes avoid contaminated supplements and maintain compliance with drug testing regulations.

When returning back to the player impact of the program, it's also important to note that Marshall is a defensive back, so not surprisingly, his performance plan is to stay strong, but lean. Speed, agility, and power are the key traits in making him a key cog this upcoming season in the Blackshirt defense. However, on the front end of that defensive unit is another player with a completely different performance plan.

Sophomore defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel is listed at 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds on the current Nebraska roster. I wouldn't plan on him defending any deep receiver routes anytime soon. During the same media blitz on Tuesday, Poppel admitted he's got a sweet tooth for a particular fast food chain in Lincoln.

"I like to eat a lot," Van Poppel said sheepishly. "I go to Culver's a lot. I went to Culver's last night—the night before. I probably shouldn't tell Kristin that, but I have to have more than three meals a day."

Talk about the difference between a defensive back and a defensive lineman, but it's that ability of the nutrition staff at Nebraska to cater each performance plan that is not only making the football team better on the field, but also more competitive off it.

Van Poppel said it's been a grueling fall camp to this point, but he boasted one health statistic that is standing out to him now that we're more than a week into the camp.

"For the first time in three years, I've held my weight through a week and a half of camp," Van Poppel said. "That's fun, and I'm confident. I'm moving around great."

In total, Nebraska has more than 90 health professionals supporting student-athletes across nutrition, performance, and wellness, and it's an unmatched figure in collegiate athletics. What makes it so unique is that the program is as much about life habits and professional readiness as it is about game-day performance.

Nebraska defensive linemen Riley Van Poppel and Dylan Parrott go through on the first day of 2025 fall camp. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Whether it's an extra Culver's run or a plate full of grapes, Nebraska's hoping for drastic improvement on the field this fall when the season kicks off in a mere three weeks on Thursday, Aug. 28. If the play improves, it might just catch up with the nation-leading effort already taking place inside the athletic department's nutrition program.

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