Matt Rhule thinks big things are ahead - but it’s not his words which are convincing me.
When Nebraska Cornhuskers Head Coach Matt Rhule walks up to the podium these days, there’s a little more bounce in his step.
Of course, I’m not saying he was down or despondent before. His glass is always half full and he is always trying to find the light in the darkness. He is comfortable speaking in front of people, probably because he just gives it to them straight and the best speakers are the ones who come at you with honesty, since they never have to worry about being tripped up in spin lies.
If it’s something he doesn’t want to answer, he doesn’t BS through it, he’ll simply tell you he’s not going to discuss it. At Big Ten Football Media Days the last three years, it’s gone from a few to most of the coaches choosing to filibuster 13 to 14 of their 15 minutes on the big stage in front of the B1G cameras, thus only having to answer one question. This year, it resulted in around 14 solid minutes of P.J. Fleck screaming at the assembled media, perhaps unaware the sound system functioned fine.
Coach Rhule chatted for around three minutes and took questions for the next 12. No problemo for him.
All that being said, he just seems looser and happier. That kind of happy in which he’s probably unaware he’s walking around with a grin on his face. He shared the following story which was not at all told by a man feeling the vast weight of Husker Nation expectations on his spine.
“We start off in the mornings, with like special teams on the field. And so (Special Teams Coach Mike) Ek(eler) does a meeting. So I went over, and I kind of sat down next to Javin (Wright), and I was talking about how old I feel, you know, and they’ve got me working out in the mornings. I said, ‘I thought when you worked out, you’re supposed to feel better.‘ And he was laughing. And I said, ”Man, you’re going away. You’re going on year 567.“ And he said, ‘Coach, I’m in year 7. I’ve been through two college football careers.’“
It was dude just enjoying his morning spending a moment with one of his favorite players.
JAVIN WRIGHT
Speaking of a few of his favorite players – and there’s far more than I’m going to list here – he always speaks fondly of Wright and how can you not? I’ve talked often about how people mocking 6 and 7 year players ought to step back and check the stories. These are usually tales of overcoming adversity to play the game they love until they can’t anymore. To learn a little more about Javin give this piece I did on him in the spring a read.
Coach didn’t hold back talking about him.
“I used to watch every player’s press conference. I don’t have the time to do that anymore. I used to love to hear what the players are saying. If they’re saying what I’m saying, then I know we’re resonating, right? If they’re saying something different, I know I either have to adapt what I’m saying or speak differently. I certainly don’t tell them what to say. From them, you know, they tell you the truth.”
“I mean, I just don’t have the time to do it anymore. But when Javin’s on, I love watching him – that, smile, that beam, like he’s just an amazing guy.”
“Our kids are playing football to please people, to take care of somebody, to get something, and that just puts an amazing yoke on you, a burden on you. And Javin’s playing on borrowed time, right? He’s playing for the joy and passion of playing.”
ARCHIE WILSON
As we all know, Coach has not held back on Archie. I was sucked in early and wrote about him here and here before the frosh Aussie punter went national after becoming emotional when asked about being away from his family. Every Nebraska female with mothering instincts immediately offered to adopt him or at have an open invitation to every family meal.
But Coach wasn’t done and probably won’t be done for the next four years.
“I’ve never enjoyed the punt periods (of practice) in my life. It’s my favorite period in practice right now. I could watch Archie punt all day. Just, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like watching a YouTube short.”
THE RUNNING BACKS
Many fans wondered aloud why the Huskers didn’t leap in heavier on the transfer portal at a running back position where the locked in starter only had five starts in ‘24 and the meaningful carries by the rest of the room could probably be counted on one hand.
But Rhule and OC Dana Holgorsen have basically maintained they have all the talent they need in the room right now, no Help Wanted signs required. Said Coach:
“We got great backs. Anybody thinks that doesn’t think we have three great backs, then I can’t wait for them to see these guys. I mean, (Isiah) Mozee is a dude. Mekhi (Nelson) might be one of the fastest guys I’ve ever seen going from the first five steps. I think that’s a loaded room for us. Kenneth Williams is out there balling. Connor Booth – tell you what, he’s just gaining his stride right now. Emmett (Johnson) obviously has some pelts on the wall and some pedigree out there, but Mozee and Mekhi are making a tremendous push.
VINCE GENATONE
And then there was this guy recently switched from linebacker to the backfield.
“We moved (Vince) Genatone over to tailback. So we have a 230 pound guy that runs 22.5 miles per hour. We’re hoping he can get in that I-formation in short yardage and go get that yard when you need it. I know Emmett can, but we have another guy like Genatone in the can? So, I’m really pleased with that one. I have some concerns. That’s not a concern for me.”
It’s been a concern in recent years, although Dante Dowdell did a solid job on short yardage last season, but he had transferred to Kentucky ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl. But – no longer a concern, Check.
ENJOY THE JOB
And this is what seems different about this preseason. It’s him entering the “time to make a move” season of his Nebraska tenure walking around in a fine mood, stress-free and sounding like he’s having the time of his life. It’s different. But don’t get me wrong, he’s very aware.
“So that’s infectious to those guys, I think, for me, the pressure of this job at Nebraska, of being a head football coach, and of feeling like – man, I walk in the building, there’s 100 people every day, staff-wise, and there’s 125 players who are depending on me to do the job. That can make you start to walk around like this, but if I can, connect to the joy and passion of being out there, you know? And it’s sometimes it’s adversity that brings that out.”
THE DOWN TIMES
It’s not all peaches and cream and the emotion can be seen on Rhule’s face when he talks about the down times, such as when Javin’s blood clot issues flared again at the beginning of 2024.
“And it was a year ago, right around then, and I was sitting there. His dad was in there, in the room, I was in there, and we were all crying, right? And it was like, man, maybe he’ll have a chance to play against USC.”
And then again a few weeks ago when 2024 LSU transfer TE Mac Markway went down another ACL tear on the same knee which had just been repaired at the beginning of last season.
“Mac tore the ACL, and I walked into Drew’s office, and Mac was in there on the phone with his dad. And I just sat down the middle of practice and put my arm around him, and we didn’t say anything for like 10 minutes, man. So that’s the thing for me – sometimes I might get defensive when people say stuff about a player, just because I see them in those moments and I know how much they’re carrying on their shoulders. And so when something gets taken away from you, forget it.“
HAVE FUN
It’s not just about the talent either. It’s about having the right kind of attitude attached to that talent and it certainly sounds as if that’s what’s happening here now. We could run a ticker in the press room on how many times the phrase “Iron sharpens iron,” is said at each presser. We kid about it, but it’s also a sign the roster is buying in.
And it may be a case of everything coming together which has Rhule so excited.
“For me, it’s remembering to just have fun with this. This is – and probably a lot of old players remember this – this is probably most fun I’ve had with a team in a long time. And that’s no shot at anybody else.”
“This team is filled with guys like – literally, Dylan (Raiola) was chasing me off the field today and almost cussing at me because I wouldn’t let them have any more plays. I said, you get 40 plays. Later they got to 41 and he wanted six more plays – and Emmett was mad because we got however many reps and he still wanted more reps. That’s just the most fun.”
And here at the end, this is what makes this season different than all the other ones we tried to talk ourselves into over the last ten years or so. Because this time, he’s talking me into it – and not with his words, but with his demeanor and his body language.
He is carrying himself like guy who can’t wait to get this party started. That this Year 3 thing is real and he’s more than ready to show everyone. You sense it with Holgorsen and DC John Butler as well. And don’t even get Ekeler going – on second thought, do get him going. You’ll want to hit the gym right after.
Rhule believes big things are happening this season. And let’s definitely check back after Week 7 or 8.
“And that’s the biggest difference from last year’s team to this year’s team. Last year’s team was a lot of times like, ‘Why are we doing this? My friend at so and so said we don’t have to do this.‘ And now I want the guys being like, hey, we do more than everybody else, and we’re proud of it. Like we’re proud we’re proud of what we do.” “So Javen and all the guys, I think this has been a fun camp. We’ll see how the day goes. May not be fun tonight as we have to practice (laughter), but that’s, that’s part of the journey.”
GO BIG RED.
Category: General Sports
