Matt Rhule made an announcement last week that live football would be played at Tom Osborne Field on Saturday April 26th. The announcement came after a change of heart by Rhule. He had stated earlier there would be no traditional red-white spring game. While Rhule laid out why, and most of his reasoning was legit, for many Husker fans like me, the thought of no spring football was a shot to the gut and unthinkable.
My biggest argument was that he was robbing players of an opportunity to play and get better, to prove themselves and fulfill a lifelong dream. It also robbed hundreds of future Husker fans of a chance to see their first Husker game. Something that thousands of current fans were able to experience. If you doubt me, go back and look at my photo for this article. You’ll see several young fans celebrating a touchdown with their parents. Every one of them will be a part of future Nebraska sporting events, either as a player, a fan, or a NIL donor. Perhaps all three. That experience can’t come to an end.
Rhule stated it didn’t feel right, and he prayed on it, and then he had this to say.
“You know we are going to do the Husker Games next Saturday, I called Troy last night, I’m gonna go live and do some red and white stuff. We have a bunch of guys. This could be their last time playing in that stadium. We have a bunch of guys who are fighting to make the 105. We have a bunch of guys if they can’t play here, they need some tape so they can go somewhere else. So, I waited until after the portal closed on Saturday. The portal closes on Friday so it won’t affect them. The guys who are kind of cemented in their spots, they won’t play. Some guys, they might ask to play or not, but those guys that are battling, some are two’s even, but they want to prove they’re a one. So, we’re gonna have the Husker Games, we’re gonna bring out a bunch of Husker greats. We’ll have a bunch of competitions like the Pro Bowl. But I’m gonna put the ball down a little bit and play some live football.”
Regardless of whether it was his conscience, his emotions, or his reflections after prayer, Rhule felt strongly that not allowing certain players a shot of showing what they were capable of was painfully wrong. From Rhule’s tone, and the passion he spoke with, it sounded to me as if his decision came straight from the heart. Matt Rhule, the walk-on, had an epiphany, and he did the right thing.
I stated it in an earlier article and Adam Carriker talked about it again last week. This is Matt Rhule’s Nebraska. This is Matt Rhule’s team and his players. Matt Rhule had to do what was right for his team, and that was playing football. With the House settlement still undetermined, the roster limit remains uncertain. Rhule said he really thought they would grandfather in the players on the roster. But as soon as he found out they were going to stick with 105, he decided he owed it to the kids on this team to have a shot at playing one last time.
“I’m not doing it to have people come to the game, and I’m not doing it for anything else other than, I just want to give those kids a chance to show what they can do,” Rhule said.
I believe Rhule when he says he didn’t do it to have people come to the game. But I will tell you this, having live football changed my mind. I had no plans of attending the 7 on 7 or skills competition. For me, there was nothing to see. But now I’m going. Even Steve Sipple of HuskerOnline said that there were media members who cover Nebraska for a living that said the same thing after Rhule’s announcement. They weren’t going before, but now they are. So, while Rhule may have not done it to put butts in the seats, that’s what has happened.
When Rhule was asked if he envisioned it being mostly twos and threes in the live portion, he replied with, “Not even all the two’s, right. I mean, basically the way we look at is like we have fifty-three-man roster like an NFL team. And we have a second fifty-three, and guys are trying to make that second fifty-three, so it’s probably maybe the first sixty guys don’t play. And then there are still guys trying to either prove they can go from two to one, or just anybody we think still has meat on the bone left to prove. And if they want to play, now I can just tell you this, I’m out there every day, and I’m like hey, red-zone lockout, thud, and Dane Key is like, make it live. Emmett Johnson, I mean they love football. This is the team I’ve been waiting for. In terms of that, this is the team I’ve been waiting for.”
I thought Rhule saying this is the team he’s been waiting for was a very telling comment. It’s year three. This is finally his team. This team has the attitude Rhule wants. This team possesses the necessary mindset needed to win. And because of that he realized he owes this team and these players a shot, and he’s giving it to them.
It’s not only a win for the players, but also a win for the fans and Husker Nation.
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