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New York Times
18-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Matt Rhule on Nebraska's spring game (it's on, sort of), punting shuffle and roster crunch
LINCOLN, Neb. — Matt Rhule woke up rested Thursday morning. It helped him bring extra energy into football practice, the 12th of 15 at Nebraska this spring. Why the good night of sleep? It's in part, he said, because Rhule sees a team on the field full of players who love to play the game. 'This is the team I've been waiting for,' the third-year coach said in a post-practice interview session. Advertisement For example, Rhule said, to punish these players after the offense fumbled in a competitive period Thursday, he removed them from the field. Instead of making them run the drill again, he took the game away. 'It's completely different,' Rhule said. 'And it has nothing to do with me. It's the guys. They like to compete. They love to practice. And they're competing at a high level.' Rhule provided an update Thursday on the spring as Nebraska enters the final stretch of this chapter in the offseason. Here are four observations: 1. Remember two months ago when Nebraska canceled its spring game? Well, it's back. "I'm going to put the ball down and play some live football." 👀🏈🏟️@CoachMattRhule is giving the guys their shot next Saturday at The Husker Games. Be there to witness what makes Nebraska Football so special. 🎟️ → — Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) April 17, 2025 The traditional Red-White format, pitting the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense, remains off the table. Rhule nixed the end-of-spring scrimmage in part because he didn't want to create a showcase for rival programs to scout the Nebraska roster. The school instead devised the Husker Games as an end-of-spring event, featuring skill competitions, a garage sale of apparel and memorabilia, facility tours and other sporting events. As of late this week, it will also include live football. Rhule cleared the idea Wednesday, he said, with athletic director Troy Dannen. The scrimmage will involve players mostly outside of the top 53 to 57 on the roster. 'We have a bunch of guys that, this could be their last time playing in that stadium,' Rhule said. 'We have a bunch of guys that are fighting to make the 105. We have a bunch of guys that, if they can't play here, they need tape to go somewhere else.' Advertisement With the House settlement and details on a roster limit unresolved, Rhule said he believes that current players will not receive relief in the way of a grandfather clause that allows programs to carry more than 105 when the season opens in August. Nebraska's roster stands at 131 players. Any reserve who 'still has meat on the bone,' Rhule said, will be given a shot in the scrimmage. 'We've got guys who do this schedule after being told, 'You're not going to make the 105,'' Rhule said. 'So I'm going to put them out there and tell my wife and kids to come watch them play. 'I can't tell you how grateful I am for the kids that are still here, knowing 'my odds aren't that high.'' 2. Nebraska has entered the market for a punter after Jack McCallister announced on opening day of the spring transfer portal window that he would leave the Huskers. I'd like to thank Coach Rhule, Coach Foley, Coach Ekeler, Coach Maher and many others for the opportunity to play at Nebraska. However, due to a change in circumstances I have entered the transfer portal with one season of eligibility remaining — Jack McCallister (@jmccallister38) April 16, 2025 McCallister arrived at Nebraska in January upon his transfer from Washington. The circumstances of his portal departure differ perhaps from any at Nebraska — and underscore the reality in this NIL era that college programs are managed more than ever like NFL organizations. Rhule and special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler, hired in February from Tennessee, met last week with McCallister to inform the punter that the Huskers planned to employ a rugby-style punting scheme in 2025. Ekekler used the system with the Vols to achieve success behind Australian punter Jackson Ross for the past two seasons. 'Schematically, it's a no-brainer,' Rhule said, citing rule differences between the college and NFL games that permit players in coverage to release from the line of scrimmage before the ball is kicked. Advertisement The Huskers offered McCallister an opportunity to stay. 'He asked if he could continue to stay at practice (through the spring) and finish what he started,' Rhule said. 'I just want to be very clear, I feel terrible about the circumstances. When I met with him, he was so professional, (though) obviously deeply disappointed. 'I don't feel good about how it happened. I don't feel good about the situation. I don't feel good about it, but it is what's in the best interest of us.' The coach said he hoped that his three children would 'grow up to have the type of character in the face of adversity that (McCallister) showed.' Nebraska has practiced covering punts in a rugby-style system this spring. It plans to add a punter in the summer. After the spring ends next week, players will break from team activities until June 2. 3. Last week, offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen pulled the curtain back on several rising performers this spring on his side of the ball. Rhule added a defensive player to the list: sophomore linebacker Jacob Bower. A walk-on from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., Bower, after a redshirt season in 2023, did not earn an invite to preseason camp last August. But he embarked on a steady climb after his arrival when the fall semester began. He is not among the Huskers fighting at the end of spring for a roster spot. Bower, at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, is fighting for a starting spot. 'I can't run him with the twos anymore, because he plays like a starter,' Rhule said. 'He pays for school. Doesn't have an NIL deal. And he just plays and plays and plays and plays and plays.' He won't pay for school after this spring. Whether through NIL or a scholarship, Rhule said, Bower has earned his spot and then some. 4. Camp season at Nebraska is about a month away. The Huskers have acted more selectively, because of roster limits and the rising level of competition in the Big Ten, as they distribute scholarship offers close to home. Advertisement Of the top 10 prospects in the state of Nebraska in the Class of 2026, according to 247Sports, just two have received Nebraska offers — Omaha North defensive back Darion Jones and Millard South tight end Isaac Jensen. None are committed to the Huskers. Five of the top 10 are committed to Iowa State. Want an offer? Come to camp, Rhule said. 'I don't think there's anything wrong at the University of Nebraska that we carry ourselves like one of the top 20 programs in the country,' Rhule said. 'There's lots of kids I would like to recruit. If they've committed to a Big 12 school or somewhere else like that, come to camp. 'If you want to play in the Big 12 over the Big Ten, oh, I got it. But make no mistake, there's a big difference.' It's a reality, Rhule said, that the Big Ten and SEC play at a higher level than teams in other conferences. 'I have to worry about, 'What's Ohio State doing? What's Michigan doing?'' Rhule said. 'I love the state (of Nebraska). I love the players.' The Huskers will take in-state players, he said. 'I just have to be sure that they're good enough.'
New York Times
24-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Nebraska spring football storylines: Roster crunch, defensive reboot, young O-linemen and more
LINCOLN, Neb. — Let's be clear, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule savors spring football. During his 28 months with the Huskers, he has often said that this time on the calendar rates as his favorite. Even as talk has surfaced in the sport to eliminate March and April practices — or move them to the summer and adopt an NFL-style version with organized team activities — Rhule's affinity for spring practice remains. Advertisement 'I think (eliminating spring practice) would be a complete and total mistake,' Rhule said. 'There's a lot of players here that don't know how to properly tackle at this level; don't know how to block at this level. You coach in the NFL. You train players in college.' It's only the spring game for which Rhule has developed a distaste. In step with the third-year coach, Nebraska replaced its annual end-of-spring scrimmage next month with a day of food trucks and facility tours for its fans. Mark your calendars on April 26th for The Husker Games presented by @fnbo. 🏈🏐⚽️ The action-packed day features @HuskerFootball activities in Memorial Stadium, @HuskerSoccer vs. Wyoming at Hibner Stadium + a @HuskerVB match against Kansas at Devaney. Fans can also participate… — Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) March 6, 2025 The tackling and blocking of spring practice is alive and well in Lincoln. With the Huskers back from spring break, the first of 15 practices is set for Monday. Rhule has added six assistant coaches, shifting and solidifying all three coordinator spots. Thirteen of the 20 recruits who signed in December and 16 transfers are on campus for spring practice. There is plenty for the Huskers to accomplish and much for the public to learn about the direction of this team over the next month. Here are five storylines to watch this spring: It's more real now than ever, in fact, as Nebraska barrels toward its Aug. 28 opener against Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium. Thirty players transferred out of Nebraska after last season. Included were several productive pieces who the Huskers preferred to keep, such as defensive end Jimari Butler (transferred to LSU) and tight end Nate Boerkircher (Texas A&M) As of Monday, the roster includes 133 players. It must get to 105 by the start of the 2025 season, pending approval on April 7 of the terms in place for the NCAA v. House Settlement. Advertisement 'You have to make decisions based on production and professionalism, not potential,' Rhule said. Reasonably, there are five-to-10 spots up for grabs, with about 35 players vying for the positions. This spring looms large in many of the decisions. To complicate matters, 18 Huskers are out with injuries or limited in spring practice — including five or six who seemingly reside near the cut line. And that doesn't factor in any portal additions the Huskers might bring in later. The evaluations of new general manager Pat Stewart are sure to impact the roster cutdown. Nebraska hired Stewart from the New England Patriots and will pay him $800,000 annually, in the same class as its top assistant coaches. The injury list this spring includes O-linemen Turner Corcoran, Gunnar Gottula, Henry Lutovsky and Teddy Prochazka, all returning with experience as starters. Nebraska added projected left tackle Elijah Pritchett from Alabama and experienced right guard Rocco Spindler from Notre Dame. Veteran Justin Evans returns as a starting option at left guard or center. Walk-on Grant Seagren fits as a solid reserve piece at tackle. Sophomores Jason Maciejczak and Sam Sledge have played limited roles in the interior. They lead a group of second- and third-year linemen whose time to impress has arrived. Up next: Tyler Knaak, Grant Brix, Preston Taumua, Brock Knutson, Gibson Pyle and Jake Peters. 'They've all waited their turn,' Rhule said. 'And while there have been some big portal moves, for the most part when you look at college football, people are building their offensive lines still through recruiting.' Are there two rotational players for 2025 in that next group? If so, it relieves pressure on the likes of Corcoran and Prochazka, who are coming back from multiple injuries. What we saw from the Huskers against USC, Wisconsin and Iowa — even in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College — was a version of the Holgorsen offense limited by his lack of time to do much of anything beyond game prep and the basic learning of personnel. That Nebraska played its best offensive game of the season on Nov. 23 against the Badgers in a 44-25 win, less than 20 days after Holgorsen joined the operation, speaks to his skill. Advertisement Expect new wrinkles and perhaps significant adjustments with an offseason for Holgorsen to get comfortable. He'll have had plenty of time by August to work and tinker without a game on the horizon. 'He's really a unifying force,' Rhule said of the 53-year-old former Houston and West Virginia coach. 'He works with everyone.' Holgorsen is an innovative coordinator. He's an imaginative play caller. With the makeover of Nebraska's pass catchers and the addition of wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts, who played and has coached for Holgorsen, some change will be noticeable this spring. At every level of the defense, change is afoot. Up front, it's a new day without Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher and Butler. Enter returnees Riley Van Poppel, Elijah Jeudy and Cam Lenhardt. At linebacker, Vincent Shavers and Willis McGahee IV return after breakout seasons as true freshmen. Newcomers Marques Watson-Trent and Dasan McCullough will help remake the group. Seventh-year senior Javin Wright is a bonus if healthy. In the secondary, the expected emergence of Donovan Jones and Mario Buford, with the portal addition of Andrew Marshall alongside Ceyair Wright at cornerback, should allow Marques Buford and Malcolm Hartzog to play their more natural safety spots next to returnee DeShon Singleton. Perhaps the most notable change, though, involves the defensive coaching staff as John Butler takes over as coordinator. Only linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek returns to his spot from last season. Terry Bradden, Phil Simpson, Addison Williams and Phil Snow are new. We'll get a look at the altered dynamic soon. Parts of three practice sessions — the first set for Thursday — are open for media members to observe. The Forging 😤#GBR x #WhatsNExt! — Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) March 15, 2025 It's far-reaching if you buy into the talk that follows Ekeler from Tennessee. The Huskers' new special teams coordinator is here to change the culture around the Nebraska kicking game, which has been sagging for several years. Snow vetted candidates for Rhule in the search to fill this position, and he sees Ekeler as a home-run hire. Rhule is apparently convinced, too, after he felt some skepticism initially. Rhule said that Ekeler offers a kind of balance within his coaching staff that hasn't always existed. Advertisement Ekeler delivers constant positivity and energy. If Ekeler's methods translate, his addition at Nebraska stands a strong chance to rank as the most important of the offseason. Thirteen of Nebraska's first 25 games under Rhule were decided by one score. Nebraska won three of the 13. Games at this level are won 'in the margins,' Ekeler said. He's not interested in what happened at Nebraska on special teams before his arrival. Ekeler is instead excited, he said, about working as part of a team with excellent speed, a 'phenomenal' strength program and a great leader in Rhule. 'I promise you this, the standard here is to be the best,' Ekeler said. ' So we've gotta giddy-up and go, or we're going to find people to bring that are going to hit that standard. 'That's just RLS. Real life shizzay.' (Photo of Matt Rhule: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)
