Former Husker talks reasons for transfering
A former Cornhusker is talking about his reasons for transferring. Noa Pola-Gates transferred to New Mexico after spending the previous four years in Lincoln.
Pola-Gates was one of the top players in the class of 2019. He was a 4-star recruit out of Williams Field High School in Gilbert, Arizona.
The safety was one of five 4-star prospects in the 2019 recruiting class. Other top players that season includes Wan’Dale Robinson, Nick Henrich, Bryce Benhart, and Ty Robinson.
Gates recently spoke to the Albuquerque Journal about his reasons for transferring. He told reporter Sean Reider that his transfers came about after a conversation with head coach Matt Rhule.
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule told Pola-Gates in a post-spring exit interview to “go be great, go be a starter, go be a star player… somewhere else,” Pola-Gates remembered.
New Mexico was interested in the recruit after defensive coordinator Tony White made a call on Pola-Gates behalf. The Lobos and Huskers run the same version of the 3-3-5 defense.
“I’m gonna be completely honest: It’s identical,” he said when asked about the similarities between Nebraska and UNM’s base defenses. “It’s the exact same … Blitzes and everything. The only thing that’s different is the verbiage and terminologies they use.”
The prospect saw limited time in his Nebraska, recording only five career tackles in a Husker uniform. He initially entered the transfer portal in late April.
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