April 22 Press Conference With Coach Rhule
As we near completion of Spring Camp major news has largely been absent out of the Cornhusker Football program. There have been a few departures in the transfer portal, but nowhere near as many as lots of other P4 programs around the country. On April 22 Head Coach Matt Rhule held a media availability, here is your breakdown of what he had to say:
– Rhule opened up the press conference describing a little bit of the difference between NFL and the modern College landscape. For example there is a salary cap in the NFL but currently there is no salary cap for players and teams in college
– The new Husker GM is adapting to going from evaluation in the NFL to the college level
– Rhule said that he loves each person on the team and staff for who they are as people
– The Huskers are still lurking in murky waters trying to navigate NIL and ensuring they are not breaking any rules currently in place
– The 4 Quarter scrimmage this Saturday is going to be a lot of the 2s and 3s getting in the reps. They are aiming for at least 60 reps for the scrimmage, around 15 plays per quarter if that works out. The idea behind the scrimmage is to ensure good competition. One of the events Saturday will be roping, and Elijah Judy has been selected to compete in that
– The team practiced in helmets today and they had a huge 2 minute drill day. They practiced in helmets today so they would be able to do so for the scrimmage
– As of now Rhule said the team is as healthy as can be coming out of spring
– Every player will meet with Rhule at the end of spring to be told how they can be as good as they can be, Rhule is going to treat it the same as he would have 10 years ago
– The head coach is accessible to his players 24/7
– Rhule does not talk about money with players, he leaves that up to the GM
– Nebraska has had some players tell Rhule that their families are getting contacted by multiple coaches about transferring to their program
– Rhule emphasized the importance to recognize Scott Frost and his staff for recruiting and developing players like Ty Robinson and Thomas Fidone, recognizing how important former TE Coach Sean Beckton was for Fidone
– Ty Robinson spoke to the team earlier this spring and talked about how he was 3rd team day one at the senior bowl and day 2 he was first team, showing that he knows how to practice
– Thomas Fidone is one of the most loyal players Rhule has been around
– Rhule encouraged Fidone to make the move to the NFL
– The NFL needs to give Nebraska players a chance in the NFL based off their discipline and attitudes
– Rhule discussed Cam Jurgens and his character that he has shown has helped lead him to his extension in the NFL
– There will be a ton of NFL players coming out of the program in the next 6 to 8 years
– Raiola is 10 steps ahead of where he was, excellent movement in the pocket, knowing how to read coverage, hitting his checks, and his coaching of the other QB’s on the roster
– The two minute has been emphasized a lot this spring because our red zone percentage compared to CFP teams was about 20% less, recognizing that they can’t replicate the game time pressure
– The team is coaching each other in practice, giving credit to the players and the staff
– This years spring scrimmage will have less of an emphasis on recruiting compared to previous years
– There will be key players in this weekend for recruiting, just not as many players as usual
– Rhule is excited to watch the women’s flag football game at the spring event
Rhule spoke today for around 22 minutes. There was no major news to be had, just more of an update as to what is going on with the team in practice. Rhule does seem to be incredibly happy with how the team has progressed this offseason.