Let’s rewind. Coach Rhule is giving his opening speech and letting you know he’s a preachers’ son that loves football, loves his players, and loves the Nebraska culture.
When I heard Coach Rhule talk about God, it gave me hope for this team. Nothing against the last 3 head coaches, but I always sensed there was an ingredient missing. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. An amazing player would commit, win our support, win us a few games..then transfer. We would hear about off the field issues, like of which Georgia and Oklahoma State are currently dealing with – regarding some of their star players. We just couldn’t keep our talent, they didn’t appear to be very close, and it seemed like the culture was just off. It showed – They weren’t invested into “the standard”
Fast forward to today. Then I hear the five star quarterback talk about God. I went from hope to confidence. Suddenly, we didn’t have our players transfer out. Some of them even stayed one more year instead of going to the NFL. Now, we hear about the quality players not only enjoying the competition, but hanging out with each other.
In life, in business, in football, in relationships, in everything – there is a process. A standard. A code. Can we always meet Gods standard? No. But at least we know what it is. It’s not my standard, it’s not yours, it’s not even the coaches standard. It’s a standard between you and God. Did you leave everything on the field? Did you fight for your brothers on the left and right of you? That’s winning, that’s the standard. Progress – not perfection. Just keep going forward.
“If we shall win, let it be by the code”
Lastly, on a bad team, no one leads. On a good team, coaches lead. On an elite team, players lead. Transitioning from Rhule talking about the standard to Dylan talking about it, that’s progress. Maybe Nebraska wins 8 games, 10, or 12. Whatever the number is, if they play to the standard, they’ll be better and better til they can’t be beat.
Won’t be beat.
