Five things we learned from Nebraska’s Northern Illinois week press conference
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule held his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon. He recapped the loss at Colorado and previewed NU’s upcoming home opener vs. Northern Illinois.
Here are five of the biggest things that stood out from what Rhule had to say…
RELATED: Full recap of Matt Rhule’s Northern Illinois week press conference
Jeff Sims’ status remains unclear
By far, Nebraska’s biggest question this week is what it will do at quarterback.
Starter Jeff Sims has struggled mightily with turnovers through his first two games. He also suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Saturday’s loss at Colorado.
Rhule said Sims did not practice on Sunday and was questionable to play against Northern Illinois. Beyond ensuring he’s healthy enough to start, Rhule said his status would also depend on “how” the junior practiced this week.
“Jeff’s our starting quarterback, so if this hadn’t happened, he’d still be out there,” Rhule said. “That being said, we can’t keep turning the ball over. There’s a fine line… This is a top-down, starting with me, ‘Hey, we have to be better. We can’t be minus-eight.’ That goes without saying, right?
“Jeff’s our quarterback, but Jeff has to protect the football.”
If Sims can’t go, Nebraska is ready to roll with Haarberg
Nebraska won’t know for sure about Sims’ availability until later in the week. But if they do have to go with another quarterback vs. Northern Illinois, Rhule has total confidence in Heinrich Haarberg.
With Chubba Purdy dealing with an injury the past few weeks, Haarberg emerged as the clear No. 2 QB on the depth chart. The sophomore got his chance after Sims went down on Saturday.
Haarberg only completed 2-of-6 passes for 13 yards, but one of those completions was a four-yard touchdown to Thomas Fidone as time expired. He also rushed two times for 17 yards, including a 10-yard carry to convert a third-and-6 on his first snap.
Rhule said he felt that Nebraska could win with any of its quarterbacks and had complete faith in Haarberg if his name was called.
“I thought the moment wasn’t too big for him,” Rhule said. “What I loved about Heinrich is three times you had a guy blitzing him and hitting him in the face, and he stood in there and threw it. That’s the courage that we need. I thought he looked excellent running the football… I have a lot of confidence in Heinrich.”
RELATED: Five burning questions heading into Nebraska-Northern Illinois week
Rhule is staying patient with young wide receivers
Nebraska’s passing game hasn’t provided much through the first two games, and part of that has been due to the learning curve of a young receiving corps.
The Huskers’ starting wideouts – Billy Kemp, Marcus Washington, and Alex Bullock – played nearly the entire game at Colorado. Rhule said he hoped some of NU’s freshmen receivers could step up and become more of a factor going forward.
The two at the top of that list are Malachi Coleman and Jaylen Lloyd, who have seen sparse action through their first two collegiate games. Rhule added that fellow freshman Jeremiah Charles was “coming on” in practice while Jaidyn Doss was working his way back from a broken arm.
While Nebraska’s young defensive line has hit the ground running this season, Rhule said there was more to a true freshman becoming an impact player at wide receiver.
“Their opportunities will come based on the week,” Rhule said. “They are still freshmen – learning. Part of it is about being a second-team receiver; if you really want to play, you’ll have to back up three positions. You need to really kind of know a lot. They’re just not there yet, so they’re kind of backing up one position…
“The guys that are freshmen that are playing really well, the ones that came in mid-year, like Cameron Lenhardt and Princewell (Umanmielen), went through the culture, and they know everything. When you see the way they’re playing, you know the process works. It’s just some of these guys are a little later to the party in that (receiver) position.”
Rhule: ‘I’ve never disrespected an opponent a day in my life’
As if Nebraska’s 36-14 loss at Colorado last week wasn’t bad enough, the Buffaloes piled on afterward by accusing the Huskers of “disrespect” leading up to the game.
CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders said he took exception to NU meeting at midfield during pre-game warmups and for Rhule “saying things about my pops” during the offseason.
Rhule clarified on Monday that Nebraska’s midfield meeting was something the team did before every game. It wasn’t an intent to “disrespect” their opponent but a chance for the Huskers to pray together as a team.
“We do it at every stadium,” Rhule said. “We go there, and we pray for blessings. When (Colorado’s players) came in, I asked them if they wanted to – I asked Shedeur if he wanted to pray with us. I pray over every field. I’m a public official, but I can have my own faith. When I say pray, we take a moment as a team. We have Muslim guys; we have non-believers. We just take a moment as a team, and I just want that field to be safe for everybody.
“No one’s going to tell me who I am. At the end of the game, they told me, ‘Hey, we’re going to run right off the field. They’re going to storm the field.’ I said, ‘Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not.’ I don’t care if I get beaten up by a mob; I’m running across that field, and I’m shaking Coach (Deion) Sanders’ hand.
“When you’re losing, people are going to say all kinds of things about you. I know exactly who I am. I know exactly who I am. And I’m coaching this team with class, and I’m not changing. And I went over there, and I shook that man’s hand, I whispered in his ear. I’ve never disrespected an opponent a day in my life and never will.”
The Weekly Rundown: Many questions surround Nebraska as it prepares for home opener
Rhule is still undeterred by Nebraska’s 0-2 start
Sitting at 0-2 two with two nationally-televised losses was obviously not how Rhule wanted to enter his first game at Memorial Stadium.
Despite the harsh reality of the Huskers’ current situation, Rhule remained undeterred about his long-term plan and vision for the program.
“This is kinda what you get when you hire me,” Rhule said. “It’s not gonna be a quick fix, not overnight. It’s gonna be, what we believe, built to last. We take advantage of these painful, painful moments. We sit there, and as a coaching staff, we say to ourselves, ‘Our goal is in three years, we’ll look back and say that we did our best coaching during these weeks.’
“I understand if there’s frustration. We’re trying to learn how to win. That’s everything. Obviously, can you turn the ball over four times and win? No. We got that, but why are we turning the ball over? I take accountability to the guys – I did a poor job last week of preparing for the crowd noise. I didn’t do a good enough job. And that’s not an excuse; that’s me. I honestly did not do a good enough job…
“We wanna win so badly, but we’re not doing the things it takes to win… I think we have a good team. We’re doing things that are causing us to lose. We have to fix those things. It’s just so incremental to me that I’m just right here in the moment right now.”
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