Former Nebraska wide receiver, NFL athlete and Omaha North graduate Niles Paul has helped lead his alma mater to a class A district title in 2025.
The sixth-ranked Vikings secured the title after defeating Bellevue West 41-20 on Nov. 16 and will head into the Class A playoffs as the No. 6 seed. Paul is in his fourth season at North and is currently serving as the special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach.
“I felt like I was missing out on the game, and I was missing something in my life,” Paul told Hurrdat Sports. “So, I talked to coach (Larry) Martin. We had a couple good conversations, and I decided the best move for me was to leave beautiful and sunny Jacksonville, Florida, and come back to Omaha, Nebraska, and coach at North.”
Paul graduated from North in 2007 and was considered the top player in the state of Nebraska in his class, becoming the first Viking to commit to the Huskers since 1998. Now he’s back at North working alongside some of the same men who helped him earn that opportunity.
“It’s an honor, it’s a privilege, because these are the coaches that actually coached me and set me on my journey to college and to the pros,” Paul. “So I feel honored to be out here with Larry Martin and Todd O’Neill and to be able to give them the knowledge that I’ve gained over the years. They’ve allowed me to come in and help this program out.”
Paul played for the Huskers from 2007 to 2010 and ranks sixth in program history for receptions with 103 and fifth in receiving yards with 1,532. As a return man, his 1,887 kickoff return yards rank second in Nebraska history, while his 4,122 total career yards rank fifth.
Washington selected Paul in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played seven seasons with Washington, transitioning to tight end, before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018, where he spent one season before retiring in 2019.
Now, he’s getting to learn the other side of things as a coach.
“I find myself doing things that I thought I would never do as a coach, and things that I didn’t really enjoy as a player, as far as kind of getting on my players a little bit,” Paul said. “I feel like just the way I was raised, and the way I was brought up through this coaching staff, and through being a player over the years, that this is kind of me forming who I am as a coach.”
Nebraska is in its third year of the Matt Rhule era and are sitting 6-2 following a win over Northwestern. Paul said he’s enjoyed watching the team improve this season.
“I think he’s done an amazing job,” Paul said of Rhule. “I think the players are buying into him. From what I know, the players love him, and they listen to him and they follow him. I think that’s one of the biggest things as a head coach, especially of young college men, is to get the players to buy in and really stand behind you and believe in what you’re trying to do there.”
While playing in the NFL, Paul played multiple positions including receiver, tight end, full back, and kick returner at different points. However, he was representing more than just himself on the field.
“Just being able to be the best football player, and develop through that, and learn the systems, and go out there and show them what I’m capable of, a kid from Omaha, Nebraska, I think that was one of my proudest moments,” Paul said. “Even though I didn’t really show up a lot on the stat sheet and have the biggest games, the players and the people we competed against and my teammates all respected me.”
Although Paul’s playing career is over, he’s learned a lot of valuable knowledge that he’s passing on to younger athletes that hope to follow in his footsteps.
“I think it starts with hard work, and dedication to the game,” Paul said. “You’ve got to commit to it. You can’t cheat this game, you can’t go and half-ass it, but you’ve got to go out here and commit to the process, commit to the program, put the work in and understand that this game is about resilience and perseverance. A lot of things aren’t going to go your way, but it’s how you respond to them and how you navigate to them and never being afraid to continue to get better.”
The Vikings will open the playoffs against 11-seed Millard North on Friday, and Paul will be there on the sideline playing his part.
