Matt Rhule confirms Nebraska DB Omar Brown is in concussion protocol
Matt Rhule is enjoying a successful year one at Nebraska thus far. After the Cornhuskers struggled last season, 4-8, heading into Week 10, Rhule has them sitting at 5-3 and tied for the top spot in the Big Ten West.
In their last game, Nebraska dominated Purdue at home, winning 31-14. But that victory did come at a cost, as the Cornhuskers lost defensive back Omar Brown. It was unclear the severity of the injury, but on Monday, Rhule shed some light on the situation, revealing his defensive back did, in fact, suffer a concussion. And Rhule also provided a brief status update on where Brown is currently on this road to recovery.
“Yeah, Omar is in the protocol. So we’ll wait and see what happens,” said Rhule.
Brown has been a stalwart on the Cornhuskers defense. The Nebraska starting defensive back, who primarily lines up at safety, is third on the team in total tackles with 38 and also has one forced fumble, an interception, and a pass defended on the season.
Should Brown not clear the concussion protocol in time for Nebraska’s next matchup, that could have a significant impact on their defense as they continue to battle for a spot in the Big Ten championship game. Up next for the Cornhuskers is a road contest against the struggling Michigan State Spartans. Michigan State enters the game with a 2-6 record, but ESPN’s matchup predictor does give the Spartans a solid chance of protecting their home on Saturday. Nebraska holds a slim margin in terms of victory percentage as of Monday, entering the game as a 53.1 percent favorite to win.
Matt Rhule has embraced Nebraska tradition to endure tough start
Rhule had a task on his hands when he took on the rebuild at Nebraska. However, he is already starting to show signs of progress towards the future in Lincoln because of what he pulling out from their past.
HuskerOnline’s Steve Sipple spoke about Rhule’s approach during Sunday’s episode of ‘Andy Staples On3’. From what he has seen, Rhule, the 31st head coach in the history of the Cornhusker’s program, is going back into the archive to help his team in the present.
“Rhule really embraces the past here. Not only embraces it – he uses elements of it,” explained Sipple.
His biggest point as to how Rhule has done this is with the offense. There has been a shift from what they were wanting to run with Jeff Sims and what OC Marcus Satterfield is calling running now with Heinrich Haarberg. It has roots back to what they were using back from the mid-70s to the early 2000s and, as of late, it has been effective for the ‘Huskers.
“You were around when Nebraska was running pure option – down the line, traditional option during the Osborne years, during the Solich years. Now they’re doing it again,” said Sipple. “It wasn’t anything that the offensive coordinator, Marcus Satterfield, knew how to teach – he had to learn. He had to learn himself.”