Why practice 'is the most important thing' for Matt Rhule and his Nebraska Cornhuskers' program
Optimism is full-bloom at Nebraska right now, as the Cornhuskers opened their first spring practice under new head coach Matt Rhule on Monday.
After five wayward years where the program’s Prodigal Son Scott Frost only took Nebraska deeper into the wilderness, the Cornhuskers are desperate for direction, discipline and development.
“I don’t know if we’re any good or not, but I know we’re a very coachable team,” Rhule said after Day 1.
It’s at least a start.
Nebraska is 10-22 in the last three seasons. It hasn’t made a bowl game since 2016. And yet the bones of something are there at NU. Frost was a disaster, but the framework (Top 40 team in returning production) is in place for Nebraska to at least become competitive again. The football program just needs the right guy to tell folks where to hammer the nails.
So in steps college football’s ultimate fixer, and while Matt Rhule has taken a bulldozer to the rebuilds at Temple and Baylor, this has the makeup more like a Chip and Joanna Gaines take their talents from Waco to Lincoln episode.
Rhule is a little more than 100 days into his tenure as NU’s head coach, and thus far, his offseason script seems to be going according to plan. There will undoubtedly be hiccups to come, but Rhule’s hope that a roster with 39 new faces would build a bond and chemistry during a purposefully taxing winter conditioning program has already provided signs of progress.
“I wanted them to learn the process,” Rhule said.
“I wanted to build a sense of brotherhood on the team, and we’ve made a lot of steps in that direction. Now it’s time to take that process over into football.”
This is Matt Rhule’s favorite time of the year.
He was so excited to start spring ball he got roughly three hours of sleep Sunday night, unable to go to bed until after 1 a.m., and then waking up just after four. His enthusiasm for practice is palpable, especially after he’s learned over the last seven weeks just how competitive his team is.
The goal this spring is to start mastering the margins — making every Nebraska fan reenact the Michael Scott’s “Thank you!” meme.
“People focus on the results, but we try to focus on what we can control, which is how we practice and the attention to detail. The thing with this team is they’re highly, highly, highly competitive, but sometimes the small details (are overlooked).
“Can we take that competitiveness and toughness, and this is a tough group now, and carry that over onto the football field and add in precision and detail? “If we can be really competitive and tough but also detailed and precise then we have a chance.”
The Cornhuskers were an unbelievable 5-22 in one-score games under Scott Frost. Whether is was bad special teams play, poor game management, or bone-headed penalties and turnovers, it all circled back to a lack of attention to detail.
But Rhule has his eye on the ball, and the next six weeks are about making sure his team understands the importance of the details, too.
Nebraska’s 15 spring practices will go a long way in determining whether it can snap its bowl-less streak in the fall.
Rhule and his staff must evaluate whether they’ve plugged the right holes on the roster, or if more help is still needed once the transfer portal opens back up in May. There will be position changes and a quarterback battle — although incumbent starter Casey Thompson will be limited this spring, possibly opening the door for Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims to grab ahold of the job. There’s much to do, but that’s what has Rhule so excited.
“Practice is the most important thing in our program,” Rhule said, a sentence he’s uttered multiple times since taking the job.
“Not recruiting. Not weight lifting. Not the offseason. Nothing. Practice is the most important thing in our program. I take that very seriously. I defend practice at a high level. This is my favorite time of the year. People ask me all the time how we’re going to be next year. We’re just going to try to earn the right to enjoy next season. We want to go into a game week feeling like we have a chance to win. That only happens at 6 a.m. or in our spring practices.”
The work started Monday. Let’s see how much progress the Cornhuskers make by late April.