Matt Rhule reveals initial impressions of Nebraska quarterback room

In the transfer portal era, it’s a little easier to flip a roster for a new head coach and bring in their own players. Still, it takes time and that’s exactly the case for Matt Rhule, who more or less inherited the 2023 quarterback room at Nebraska.

As of right now, Nebraska has eight quarterbacks listed on its 2023 roster who will be competing during spring ball. That includes returning starter Casey Thompson, Chubba Purdy, Logan Smothers, and transfer Jeff Sims. That’s a relatively crowded room for Rhule to give his initial thoughts on.

“I thought they threw the ball well. I thought they threw the ball well,” Matt Rhule said after the first spring practice.

“You know, quarterbacks had individual outs. It was windy. The quarterbacks — we’re not gonna throw very often in the indoor. We’re gonna learn how to throw the ball through the wind and so, I thought they threw the ball well. There’s so often if a play is not quite off, is the receiver at the right depth. So, there’s a lot of things I probably have to go back and watch.”

There is a lot of experience in the quarterback room for Nebraska. That, obviously, starts with Casey Thompson who was the 2022 starter when he was healthy. However, Matt Rhule brought in Jeff Sims, a three-year starter at Georgia Tech, for a reason. There will likely be a quarterback battle.

“But you can tell we have — that’s as talented a quarterback room as I’ve ever been a part of. So, it was good to see those guys out there.”

That’s high praise from a former NFL head coach. At the same time, it might be why he’s back in college.

Matt Rhule says the first day of practice was special

With spring practice kicking off, the Matt Rhule tenure at Nebraska has begun. For Rhule, this has already proven to be an incredibly special time for him.

“Oh yeah, and I couldn’t sleep last night. I probably fell asleep about 1 A.M. (I) woke up about 4:15 A.M. And that’s out of excitement, you know,” Matt Rhule said.

“You’ve heard me talk a couple of times about deserving the right. I think the guys have deserved the right to attack spring ball from the work they did in the winter. And so, I was anxious to get out there with them today.”