Rhule leaves door open for transfer QB returns, praises o-line, and says a walk-on has NFL potential
In the days following the Red-White game, Nebraska’s quarterback room looked much different than it did going into spring ball.
After having six scholarship quarterbacks on the roster entering the offseason, the Huskers saw three signal calls enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. That included incumbent starter, Casey Thompson.
Head coach Matt Rhule reflected on his team’s QB movement during his monthly show on the Huskers Radio Network on Monday night. Rhule said all three decisions by Thompson, Logan Smothers, and Richard Torres came after “great conversations” with each player.
Torres ended up at Incarnate Word back in his native Texas. Thompson and Smothers, though, are both still on the market. Rhule made it clear that the door remained open for either to return to NU if they wanted.
“That’s different than playing linebacker. That’s different than playing tight end and running back. You don’t really rotate,” Rhule said of the quarterbacks. “If a guy’s in a situation where it’s his time to play and he wants to play, I’m OK with him going into the portal and seeing if there’s a better situation to get on the field.
“If not, then we’d love to have somebody back.”
Nebraska heads into the summer with Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims as the clear frontrunner for the starting job. Rhule said Sims was everything he had hoped for this spring and expected that development to continue through the offseason.
“Jeff is a big, dynamic athlete who’s a great passer and a great teammate,” Rhule said. “He works at the game, and I think his best football is ahead of him.”
As for the rest of the remaining quarterback room, Rhule expressed equal excitement over the potential of Heinrich Haarberg and Chubba Purdy.
Despite hardly even being in the conversation last season under the previous staff, Haarberg was one of the most talked about Huskers of spring ball. He struggled during the Red-White game, but Rhule reiterated how high he was on the Kearney native.
“I’m so excited about his potential,” Rhule said. “I think he can be a difference-maker for us.”
That might make it seem like Purdy was No. 3 in the quarterback pecking order. But Rhule said things started to click with the sophomore as he became more comfortable in NU’s new offense.
Rhule added that Purdy, who transferred from Florida State last offseason, was learning his third system in as many years.
“Chubba’s played a lot of football…” Rhule said. “I felt like the last week and a half of spring ball, he really made a move.”
Walk-on LB John Bullock could have ‘a future’ in NFL
There might not have been a more surprising name to emerge from spring ball than John Bullock.
The walk-on linebacker out of Creighton Prep had previously been a relative unknown for the Huskers. But after moving from safety to linebacker this offseason, Rhule said Bullock had thrived on the field.
At 6-0, 210, Bullock has been a mainstay on NU’s special teams. He’s appeared in 22 games over the past two seasons with six career tackles.
He joined the Huskers in 2020 as a linebacker but worked primarily at nickel until this spring. Rhule moved him back to linebacker, and he’s thrived ever since.
“John Bullock was one of the best players on our team this spring. I think he’s a starting-caliber player, and I think he’s a guy, hopefully, that will have a future at the next level. Making that move from safety to linebacker, I think, unlocked a whole future.”
Rhule continues to stand by Nebraska’s offensive line
Nebraska’s offensive line has been one of the most criticized and analyzed position groups on the entire roster, and for good reason.
But despite years of struggles, Rhule remained insistent that the unit had been doing everything right since he arrived.
While he clarified that the o-line still had plenty of work to do before the season, Rhule said the group had been a model for what he wanted NU’s program to become.
“There is no other position on our team more bought into being a Nebraska Cornhusker than those o-linemen,” Rhule said. “They work at a level I’ve never seen a group work at. So, I hope everyone is rooting for them because they deeply, deeply care, and they deeply want to make everyone proud.”
