On3 Roundtable: Culture reset starts with players for Matt Rhule, Nebraska

Early in his tenure at Nebraska, Matt Rhule is looking to reset the culture. Yes, results on the field are going to matter in 2023. But Rhule is in this one for the long haul, looking to once again give the Cornhuskers a seat at the table of college football elites.

Husker Online‘s Sean Callahan joined the On3 Roundtable and was asked how Rhule has done thus far with the culture. There have been two different windows of opportunity for Rhule and the coaches to implement their ideas into the program. Heading into the summer, it’s falling into the hands of the players.

“They’ve had a winter, they’ve had a spring, and now they’re doing their summer workouts,” Callahan said. “When the dead period starts, he wants the coaches out of the building for a few weeks, take a break.

“Let the players be away from the staff, let the team internally build that leadership structure, that culture that they want to see. Because let’s face it, all successful teams are led by the players.”

Summer workouts are a time when the roster is fully set. For the most part, there are not going to be fresh faces before a competitive snap occurs in September. Teams have to bond together and prepare for the 12-game season.

Nebraska starts the season off against a Big Ten opponent in Minnesota before heading to Boulder for a rivalry game against Colorado. Not exactly the easiest start for a first-year head coach.

And as weird as it may sound, coaches not being around is how Rhule plans to make the group bond. Whether it’s on-field moments or completely away from the Nebraska facilities. Leaders will have to emerge as the staff takes a step back.

When fall camp gets underway in August, the coaches can get back in the mix. Until then, Rhule is looking for some players to step up.

“The coaches are a huge part of it but I think he’s really trying to build the interworkings of his locker room right now and how he wants things to be built,” Callahan said. “The leadership, the day-to-day. It’s a demanding schedule.

“I think the players have responded well to all the things they’re doing. There’s a lot more team activities as well… I think he realizes how important it is to build some of these things right now in his first year.”