Matt Rhule reveals what excites him about Nebraska now, in future

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is entering his second year at the helm for the Cornhuskers, and a season where he believes that his team can make some serious noise following a five-win season last year.

Rhule inherited a program that’s rich in tradition, but enters a new era of college football where building up a program looks a lot different than it ever has before. In a recent conversation with Joel Klatt, he revealed what appealed to him about the Nebraska job and how he thinks the future looks in Lincoln.

“When I looked at Nebraska I saw the facilities, I saw the fan base, I saw the financial situation. I saw a school that had no debt, one of the only Big Ten schools with no debt. And in the age we’re getting ready to move into, I thought well this place is uniquely positioned,” Rhule said. “I saw a history of excellence.”

Nebraska’s first season was in 1890, a kind of history that’s hard to find across the college football landscape. But recently the Cornhuskers have come up short year after year, failing to secure a winning record or a bowl game appearance since 2016. Which Rhule knows he can change starting with recruiting.

“My question was can we recruit there?” Rhule asked. “I had people telling me like hey, you know it’s in the middle of the country, too hard to recruit. Hey why don’t you wait for a job in Texas or Florida or something like that? And I kind of fell in love with the place, but that was always my question. So getting there and seeing how cool the town Lincoln is, how big of a city Omaha is, how much the football is pretty good in that area.There’s a lot of Division I players coming out of that area”

Despite Nebraska’s recent shortcoming, the program is still one of the biggest brands in college football. Which Rhule began to recognize more and more as his confidence gained regarding the positive vision of the program moving forward.

“There’s still a national pull and I still can wear this,” Rhule said referring to his Nebraska gear. “I can still wear this through an airport in Florida, I’m gonna get a Go Big Red, I promise you. So we have we still have some pull. Now, we have to play well. But we can get players to come to Nebraska, we can get players who want to come play in those facilities. And so that’s why I’m excited because we have a pretty good team.”

Nebraska’s slew of returning players paired with exciting new additions and an offense that can only improve after an abysmal year last year has many believing that the Cornhuskers are bound to be one of the most improved teams in the country. But Rhule is still keeping his cards close ahead of a highly anticipated 2024 season.

“I’m a coach, I’m not gonna say too much, but I think we have a pretty good team. I have kind of a quiet confidence while I walk around about where we’re headed. Is it this year? I think it is. Is it the next year? Definitely, and so I’m really excited about that,” Rhule concluded.

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