What Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said following the Big Red Preview
The Husker coach said that several players did not participate in the evening practice due to injury. Wide receiver Jackson Carpenter, running back Kwinten Ives, wide receiver Dane Key, defensive lineman Gabe Moore, and running back Trent Uhlir sat out on Saturday night.
Nebraska will open the 2025 college football season on Thursday, August 28, when the Huskers face the Cincinnati Bearcats at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CT. Find comments from head coach Matt Rhule by scrolling below.
Rhule on fall camp and the players' mindset.
'I've been really, really pleased this week with the effort and attitude every single day,' he said. 'They're trying to get better. They like football. They like practice. It's a clear step in the right direction.'
Rhule on his message to the team ahead of an open practice.
'I'd like them to be very appreciative of all the people that came out here today,' he said. 'I'd like them to be very appreciative of the fanfest. I'd like them to be appreciative of all the people that came out there. Last year was a little different – a different schedule. So this was me getting on the mic, it was kind of fun.
Rhule on the importance of a physical practice.
This is work today. This is our first day in full pads. In the NCAA right now, you get one day of full pads in the acclimation and then you get eight more times in full pads before the first game. Just think about that. You get nine times in full pads. Nine times you can actually, physically tackle someone before the first game. If you want to know why early-season football sometimes looks pretty sloppy, that's why."
Rhule on the need to be a business-oriented team.
We don't have any time to waste. I'd like them to entertain the crowd with their effort, their physicality. I haven't really said very much. To me, we have so much work to get done. This is a really business-oriented team. I want them to have fun, I want them to dap people up at the end and all that, but we just have to get better with football while we're out there. That's important to me, the fans are really important to me. That stadium is really important to me, and winning home field. This will be the first time under the lights at Memorial Stadium. I expect us to play to a certain standard when we're in there.'
Rhule on transfer players and how they've meshed with the team.
'I'll be honest with you, I don't think anymore about who's the transfers,' he said. 'They're all on our team. I guess that would be like Dasan (McCullough), (Andrew) Marshall, (Marques) Watson-Trent. The thing with those guys is they walked in from day one – we were really diligent this year about, I don't want to bring anyone in here who complains about having to eat at the training table. I fixed that problem. I didn't want to break anyone in here who complains about practice.
Rhule on coaching a team that likes to practice.
Practice on Thursday was shorter. Dylan (Raiola) is yelling at me, like, get another rack. They're all like, let's get another rack. Dylan walked off, he always makes fun of me. He's like, 'yeah, we like practice.' I want guys who like practice. They brought that. Dasan has brought that. Not that they brought it to a team that didn't have it, they've just assimilated into a bunch of guys who love practice. There's not a deal where it's like, that guy is a transfer, that guy has been one of us for a long time. It's very much like, we're all in it together. It's a really healthy thing. They have a lot of talent. I'll say this about Marshall. I don't get asked a lot of questions about this guy. This guy is as professional as can be. He practices and behaves like a pro. He doesn't say a lot. He's a really good football player. He's going to play really well for us. I respect the heck out of him as the competitor and professional he is.'
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
7 hours ago
- New York Times
College Football Playoff 2025 sleepers: 11 unranked dark-horse teams to watch
Though we usually have a good idea of which teams will be national championship contenders, the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams has made it easier for unpredictable sleepers to make a run into the bracket. Arizona State, Indiana and SMU joined top Group of 5 conference champion Boise State in leaping from unranked in the preseason to the Playoff last season. Who could do it this year? We asked 11 of The Athletic's college football writers to pick Playoff dark horses from teams that were unranked in Monday's preseason coaches poll. Advertisement If I keep predicting a Cornhuskers' resurgence at some point I'll be correct. Right? Two reasons why Nebraska could be in CFP contention late into the season: First, the Matt Rhule third-year bump. His teams at Temple and Baylor followed similar paths. Year 1, losing record. Year 2, bowl eligible. Year 3, double-digit victories and an appearance in the conference title game. Of course, doing that in The American and Big 12 is not the same as trying to do it in the Big Ten. That's where reason No. 2 comes in. There are six ranked Big Ten teams in the coaches poll and the Cornhuskers play only two: No. 14 Michigan at home early and No. 3 Penn State on the road late. Overall, the Huskers have five Big Ten home games. That's a manageable path for QB Dylan Raiola and Co. — Ralph D. Russo. What an alternate universe we're living in to consider Oklahoma a sleeper. But the Sooners have been sleepy recently. While one can argue that no head coach in college football is under more pressure than Brent Venables, he did make two of the splashiest offseason moves of the year by hiring offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and signing Superman impersonator quarterback John Mateer from Washington State. The Sooners had a wild string of bad luck at a historically talent-rich position at WR in 2024. If Mateer has a bunch of typical OU receivers to throw to — in addition to handing the ball off to Cal transfer Jaydn Ott — the Sooners should be appointment TV. On the flip side: Their 2025 schedule is brutal? Guess it boils down to how much Mateer can channel his A&M-era Manziel and keep the Sooners in 50-48-style games. — Christopher Kamrani The Cardinals went 9-4 a season ago and even upset ACC champion Clemson on the road. Jeff Brohm's teams have proven they can compete with anyone in the ACC, and 2025 should be no exception. Advertisement Miller Moss takes over at quarterback after transferring from USC, where he threw for 2,555 yards last year, and reigning ACC Rookie of the Year Isaac Brown returns at running back. The wide receivers should be strong with Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy, and the Cardinals' top two tacklers are back, as well, in linebackers TJ Quinn and Stanquan Clark. Matchups against Miami, Clemson and SMU will give the Cardinals three chances to pick up crucial wins on the national stage. — Grace Raynor The Utes had a disappointing and injury-ravaged 5-7 season in 2024, including just 2-7 in their inaugural year of Big 12 play. Predicting a Utah bounce-back means betting on head coach Kyle Whittingham, who is coming off just his third losing season in two decades with the Utes, and pushing in the chips on a new-look offense. Whittingham hired offensive coordinator Jason Beck away from New Mexico, and Beck brought the Lobos' dynamic dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier along with him. The combination of Dampier playing behind arguably the best offensive line in the country (anchored by left tackle Spencer Fano), Whittingham's consistently stout defense and a tantalizingly wide-open Big 12 should give Utah a reasonable road to the Playoff. — Justin Williams Brent Key has already brought the Yellow Jackets back to respectability. This isn't a five star-laden roster, nor one built through the portal. But Key has built along the lines and has a lot of good pieces back, most notably QB Haynes King, a three-year starter whose dual-threat abilities are a problem for defense. But the biggest reason for optimism is the schedule: The only two preseason ranked opponents are Clemson and Georgia, both of which are in Atlanta. (Georgia is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.) There's a path to the 10-2 record the Jackets would probably need to make the CFP, starting with the opener at Colorado, which is a chance to make a good first impression. — Seth Emerson Advertisement After years of jokes about Iowa's offensive ineptitude, what if that unit is (more or less) fixed? Transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski led South Dakota State to back-to-back FCS national titles and finished with more than 10,000 passing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns during his Jackrabbits tenure. Surely he can boost an offense that hasn't cracked the top 50 in passing efficiency since 2017. Assuming Iowa's defense continues to be strong — which seems like a safe enough bet — a good-enough offense can make the Hawkeyes an upper-middle class Big Ten team. With arguably their three toughest conference opponents (Indiana, Penn State and Oregon) all visiting Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes have an unlikely but feasible path to the CFP. — Matt Baker Jedd Fisch quietly put together one of the season's best coaching jobs last year. He took over the defending CFP runner-up that lost 21 of 22 starters and led it to a bowl game. This year, the Huskies have one of the Big Ten's best trio of skill players in running back Jonah Coleman (1,053 rushing yards), receiver Denzel Boston (834 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) and potential breakout star Demond Williams at quarterback. The defense also should be much improved. Washington plays four teams currently ranked in the top 14 of the coaches poll, but it hosts Ohio State in September, the Michigan (away)/Illinois (home) doubleheader takes place in late October and the finale against archrival Oregon is at home. — Scott Dochterman It's been a disappointing first two seasons under Hugh Freeze, both ending with losing records. The Tigers are a combined 5-11 in SEC play under Freeze and are 10-22 in the conference over the past four years. Their inability to win close games has been a big problem, as they're 2-8 in games decided by 10 points or less under Freeze, but I feel like things are ready to swing back in the other direction. Freeze knows how to win in the SEC, and I think he starts to get it rolling in 2025. This is the best O-line the Tigers have had in years. They have some dynamic players outside in Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. It's a favorable situation for a new quarterback to step into, and it's a talented group of options featuring Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels and Deuce Knight, a freakish freshman, who could be special in this system before too long. On defense, Keldric Faulk has the tools to be a dominant D-lineman and should cause fits for opposing offenses. He's the headliner of what looks like a tough defensive front, and there's plenty of speed and experience in the back end. The season opener at Baylor will be tricky. The schedule isn't easy, but Auburn doesn't play Texas or LSU and gets Georgia and Alabama at home at least. — Bruce Feldman What does Navy have to do to get some respect around here? Apparently winning 10 games last season — including a 31-13 thumping of rival and AAC champ Army, a wild 56-44 besting of Memphis, routs at Air Force and South Florida and an Armed Forces Bowl triumph over Oklahoma — isn't enough. Nor is returning senior true dual-threat quarterback Blake Horvath, backfield standouts Eli Heidenreich and Alex Tecza, star nose tackle Landon Robinson and a host of other key players from 2024. Advertisement Robinson landed on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List for a third straight year; it would be borderline freakish for this Brian Newberry-coached Navy team to end up short of another 10 wins given its quality and its schedule. — Joe Rexrode Kansas and preseason expectations don't always go together. The Jayhawks had some preseason buzz last year after going 9-4 in Lance Leipold's third season, but that quickly faded amid a 2-6 start. Quarterback Jalon Daniels had a disappointing season after an injury-plagued 2023, and the Jayhawks had a rocky transition from offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to Jeff Grimes. Looking ahead to 2025, Daniels is back, Grimes is off to Wisconsin and the Jayhawks are unveiling a long-awaited stadium renovation. Maybe this is their year. It will be fun to see what new offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski can do with Daniels and running back Daniel Hinshaw Jr., the No. 21 player on Feldman's Freaks List. There's no dominant team in the Big 12, and the Jayhawks avoid playing defending champion Arizona State in the regular season. The schedule sets up decently well for a dark-horse run to the CFP if Kansas can get past Missouri in a renewal of the Border War. — Austin Meek Few remember that Pitt started 7-0 last season, and with good reason. The Panthers did not win another game after that. But an avalanche of injuries down the stretch, especially on the offensive line, helps explain why Pitt went from averaging 42.3 points during those first seven games to 19.2 over its last five-regular season games. Pat Narduzzi's team has a lot of continuity, starting with breakout quarterback Eli Holstein. OC Kade Bell is back after installing a more wide-open attack. And believe it or not, Pitt returns two All-Americans: Running back Desmond Reid, who ranked fifth nationally in all-purpose yards (154.9), and linebacker Kyle Louis (101 tackles, 15 TFLs), along with All-ACC linebacker Rasheem Biles (82 tackles, 15 TFLs). Perhaps Pitt, which faces Notre Dame and Miami at home and does not get Clemson, could be this year's SMU in the ACC. — Stewart Mandel (Top photos of Dylan Raiola and Cam Coleman: Sean M. Haffey, Michael Chang / Getty Images)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Matt Rhule updates status of WR Demitrius Bell
It's been 464 days since receiver suffered a knee injury in the spring game of April 2024. The setback knocked Bell out for the entire 2024 campaign, plus this year's spring practices. Last Monday, head coach Matt Rhule announced Bell would be out for fall camp as well. Before Saturday's Big Red Preview open practice, Rhule touched on Bell's recovery. He said the 6-foot, 195-pounder recently traveled to Chicago to see a knee specialist. If all goes to plan, Bell could return to the practice field during the first half of the season. 'He'll be back here soon. When I say soon, in the first part of the year,' Rhule said. 'It's just the after effects, pain tolerance, different things like that. So I don't know enough to get too far into specifics other than, every time we've gotten closer, he's almost back, it's just a little bit of a setback. … Really positive outlook, though. So, expect him to be back, hopefully at some point in the first part of the season.' After redshirting his first season at Nebraska in 2023, Bell, a former 4-star recruit in the 2023 class out Nashville (Tenn.) McGavock, was the talk of spring ball 2024. Unfortunately, Bell was one of two players who suffered a serious injury during that spring game. The other was cornerback , who appeared to be the starter opposite Tommi Hill until he injured his knee. That setback knocked Blye out until midseason. 'Last spring game was really unfortunate, right? We lost D-Bell, who we thought was probably going to be one of our best receivers to a semi-contact injury,' Rhule said Feb. 1. 'And then Blye Hill, we thought was gonna be our starting corner. Those guys never quite came around.' If Bell's rehab does go according to plan, he'll compete for snaps in what appears to be a high-potential receiver room led by position coach Daikiel Shorts Jr. Kentucky transfer Dane Key, Cal transfer Nyziah Hunter and returning slot Jacory Barney Jr. are expected to be the core wideouts in a standard 11 personnel grouping. Veteran Janiran Bonner will also have a role as a pass catcher and blocker in offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen's offense. But the young talent behind those four are emerging. Big-body redshirt freshmen Quinn Clark and Keelan Smith stood out during Saturday's Big Red Preview, as did true freshman Cortez Mills Jr., who repped with the first-team due to Key sitting out. Uber-athletes Carter Nelson and Heinrich Haarberg, while listed as tight ends, could still have pass-catching roles out of the slot as well.
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Nebraska football receives votes in first US LBM Coaches Poll of the season
The Nebraska Cornhuskers went unranked in the first USA TODAY US LBM Coaches Poll of the 2025 season. The Huskers did make the 'others receiving votes' list with 19 points. "The US LBM Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at Football Bowl Subdivision schools. The panel is chosen by random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from a pool of coaches who have indicated to the American Football Coaches Association their willingness to participate. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th." It should also be noted that Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is listed as a voter in the 2025 edition of the poll. Texas was ranked No. 1, followed by Ohio State at No. 2 and Penn State at No. 3. Find the entire poll below. Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
